
The digital twin has been a real buzzword in the production industry for a few years, and it is also becoming an increasingly interesting trend in asset management. Cloud technology offers affordable and accessible ways to utilise digital data and creates new opportunities for organisations of various sizes and industries. This article describes the digital twin concept and discusses its applications in asset management.
What is a digital twin?
The digital twin is a dynamic virtual model of an existing physical asset. It is an up-to-date and accurate copy of the asset and therefore is fundamental to have real-time data attached to the 3D model, allowing the digital twin to change in real-time along with its physical counterpart.
When creating a digital twin of a building, the building is usually modeled using remote sensing technology.
The building can be photographed from a drone or an airplane or scanned using laser or sonar scanner for the underwater parts. After this, a 3D photogrammetry or a point cloud model of the building is created by utilising the gathered survey data.
After the basic spatial information is gathered, it can be enriched with intelligence, e.g., material information, operational optimisation tools, and interfaces of other systems.
Users can add the data, such as maintenance personnel adding remarks on repair needs or the surveyor updating the newest survey data. Data from external systems or sources can be added as well, such as weather stations or AIS data in the maritime industry. This ensures the digital twin is up-to-date and usable during the whole life-cycle of the asset.
What are the opportunities for using a digital twin in asset management?
In asset management, the digital twin combines different assets and their information in one place, enabling the improvement of operational efficiency.
Centralised and visual asset information allows easy utilisation of data and ensures the data is always available to all relevant stakeholders of the asset. With digital twin, it is possible to simulate operations and compare historical data to the latest one in order to predict future changes.
When the solution is cloud-based and user-friendly, there is no need for new software installations or special skills to get the digital twin to serve as a maintenance system platform and to optimise asset maintenance.
How to build a digital twin online?
With GISGRO online software, you can combine the 3D model of your asset with different kinds of asset information and further utilise it in the optimisation of daily operations.
For example, 3D data can be gathered with a drone, sonar, or laser scanner. Additional information can be, for example, photographs, notes or remarks, and geospatial data in GeoJSON format. You can further use the platform, for example, to take send work orders for maintenance, make measurements, do volume calculations, and more.
GISGRO offers an easy way to utilise a digital twin in asset management.
Want to know more about GISGRO?
Book an online demo meeting with our expert to discuss more GISGRO benefits for your port.
Ville Mäkeläinen
CDBO
+358 44 513 2222
ville@gisgro.com
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