IAM awards 2021 Digital Innovator Award National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, and lies at the heart of a transforming energy system. It manages more than 60,000 assets (circuits, relays, transformers, and so on) and delivers an investment plan of 800m-1bn a year, allowing for replacement, refurbishment, connecting with new and existing customers and policy-based maintenance. This investment plan was previously tracked using a Microsoft Access database with an Excel front end that was not linked to any data from core systems. As the system grew in volume, this made it very difficult to maintain data and track progress. By April 2020, NGET had made a commitment to deliver interventions worth 1.5bn during the following five years, creating a need for a robust planning tool. With the help of a team of experts across the globe, NGET developed the Asset Replacement Tracker (ART), an automated, integrated digital solution that enables the company to effectively plan and deliver asset replacements. ART tracks asset interventions and categorises them using an automated red/amber/green (RAG) deliverability status code, assessing risk and functionality using the real-time data integrated with the system. There were some hurdles in staff training because of COVID-19 making it impossible to deliver workshops in person, but since going live in September 2020, the tool has delivered significant benefits to the business. First, it is considerably faster than the old Access database, which has resulted in an annual saving of 36,327 in employee time alone. Second, it provides the project, planning and investment teams with a single platform on which to work, leading to greater employee satisfaction. Finally, it succeeds in making risks more visible, meaning mitigation strategies can be used earlier and more effectively. NGET is looking to continually enhance the tool by extending tracking of the new connections, cyber resilience and site-based, large-volume auxiliary works. With the help of a team of experts across the globe, NGET developed the Asset Replacement Tracker (ART), an automated, integrated digital solution that enables the company to effectively plan and deliver asset replacements Resilience Award Military accommodation provider Project Allenby/Connaught is powered by UK Power Networks Services, which is responsible for the design, build, maintenance and operation of existing and new distribution networks covering the garrison towns of Aldershot, Bulford, Larkhill, Tidworth, and Warminster. As part of an effort to increase the resilience of the projects assets, UK Power Networks Services identified an opportunity to upgrade the substations by introducing an automated system that would extend the useful life of the ring main units (RMUs) with the retrofit of actuators and installation of remote terminal units (RTUs). This system would provide a live view of the network state showing the status of the equipment, including current load, as well as reducing outage times and allowing for safer remote operation. The project is currently progressing in a phased manner. In completed sites, remote switching and automation has replaced manual switching where possible, thereby bringing about a reduction in operation risk. Any faults resulting in the need for local switching are now solved in a matter of seconds via automation based on pre-set algorithms, and a 24/7 control room where engineers can reconfigure networks in a safe and timely manner, thus minimising disruptions to customers and risks posed to employees. This year, an event resulted in a loss of supply to 13 substations. The living accommodation, gymnasiums, dining areas, barracks and sewage works were all affected. The remote switching system automatically established a solution to isolate the fault and restore supplies within 11 seconds. If these operations were carried out manually, the time to restore the supplies would have taken far longer, requiring multiple visits to various substations to locate the fault. The installation of the new equipment also has the potential to give critical insights into the health of the network supplies. With the improvement in restoration times, UK Power Networks Services is more able to appropriately organise resources and concentrate on customer expectations ahead of unplanned cuts to power. The remote switching system automatically established a solution to isolate the fault and restore supplies within 11 seconds. If these operations were carried out manually, the time to restore the supplies would have taken far longer Maintenance on the UKs electricity network McKeown Award for Individual Achievement Adnan N AlAbaalhareth is an IAM-certified management professional with nearly 26 years of asset management experience in oil and gas and maritime industries. Since 2019, he has been offering his services to the International Maritime Industries Company (IMI), the largest full-service maritime facility in the Middle East and North Africa. There, part of his role is to facilitate a company culture that supports good asset management while developing all the relevant documentation and ensuring that ISO standards are met. AlAbaalhareth has spent the past two years working towards getting the IMI the ISO 55001 certification, which he believed would optimise the company and enable more contracts to be secured. Since IMI is a fairly new company with little previous experience in formal asset management, acquiring the certificate would involve constructing an entire asset management system from the ground up. Other setbacks included the young average age of IMI employees, most of whom had never heard of asset management before the start of the process, and the ever-present practical challenge of COVID-19. Thanks to his knowledge, experience and determination, AlAbaalhareth was able to take all these challenges in his stride throughout the process. With the help of his team of asset management professionals, the company employees and apprentices were provided with rigorous education, including no fewer than 30 awareness sessions. Twelve of these employees were then given more advanced training that allowed each of them to gain IAM certification, with a view to certifying more employees in the future. AlAbaalhareth also developed a multitude of asset management documents for the IMI, including a new strategic asset management plan, job descriptions and a manual for best practice. AlAbaalhareths efforts helped to embed asset management principles into IMIs company culture, which facilitated a much faster progression towards ISO 55001 certification. Both the internal and external audits were highly successful, and the certificate was received in August 2021 a major achievement for the company. His efforts helped to embed asset management principles into IMIs company culture, which facilitated a much faster progression towards ISO 55001 certification Adnan N AlAbaalhareth McKeown Award for Individual Achievement Asset management expert Seyed Ali Seyedi Pour has achieved a great deal over the past 18 months, including reaching the final round of the Team Achievement category of the 2020 IAM Global Awards. What makes him truly stand out is his consistent dedication to the promotion and implementation of asset management techniques in his home country of Iran. Seyedi Pours primary area of expertise is the oil and gas sector, which is where he has carried out most of his asset management work. In a previous role as Principal Advisor of Physical Asset Management in the Iran Ministry of Petroleum, he produced multiple top-level government documents detailing the necessary asset management procedures for different aspects of the sector, including contract specifications and policy requirements, all with a strong focus on ISO 55000 guidelines. One of his particular strengths is asset information management, which involves mapping and analysing data as well as creating software. As the Director of Physical Asset Management in the National Iranian Drilling Company, he completed several optimised data spreadsheets, including one that he was able to synthesise into a user-friendly dashboard. Now a certified Master Data Quality Manager, Seyedi Pour has devoted a significant amount of time to education and knowledge-sharing in the asset management field. His personal philosophy centres on asset management as a dynamic profession, which has motivated him to nurture the next generation of asset management innovators both at business and university level, by acting as an asset management course and thesis supervisor. He shared his extensive executive knowledge in process piping, pipelines and plants integrity management with the publication of two books. At the corporate level, meanwhile, he has delivered ISO and asset management training courses for multiple oil refining companies, municipalities and ports, and developed a comprehensive maturity questionnaire designed for use by all large organisations, covering both human and physical assets. He has contributed directly to all areas of the asset management field, showing high levels of commitment, enthusiasm and knowledge. His personal philosophy centres on asset management as a dynamic profession, which has motivated him to nurture the next generation of asset management innovators at business and university level Seyed Ali Seyedi Pour