Construction of System for Operating Maintenance and Management of Thermal Power Departments

The Thermal Power Departments at the Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. are constructing a System for Operating Maintenance and Management of Thermal Power Departments that operates by means of a client server system, connecting each of the thermal power stations to the Thermal Power Department at the Head Office. The main objectives of the system are to further increase business efficiency, improve business quality, and accumulate technical know-how. These are achieved through “successive expansion, ranging from standard operations within the limits of systemization, to analysis, diagnosis, and planning operations”, “sharing of information throughout the Thermal Power Department”, and “improvement of education and training by using compact simulators and other learning tools”. The major features of the system are: (1) a shift from a mainframe-centered network to a decentralized network, (2) sharing of information throughout the Thermal Power Department through networking, (3) easier usage by improved man-machine interface, (4) accumulation of engineering know-how through development of intelligent features, and (5) cost reduction in development, improvement, and maintenance by utilizing multiple vendors, openness, and system-building tools. This report provides an overview of the system and the status of its construction