EWIssueTracker

EWIssueTracker captures the trend charts at the proper point in time to show the issue, and connects the diagnostician's comments. The data tree groups the issues and their related trend lines, and the comment box at the bottom allows for extensive notes by the engineers and technicians involved in resolving the issue.

EWIssueTracker is an integrated part of EWViewer that tracks problems or concerns from their identification, through categorization and prioritization, and finally to resolution and verification. It gives you a task management system directly within EnergyWitness™ that captures operational issues and allows multiple engineers and technicians to work together and resolve problems, so your facility runs as effectively and energy efficiently as possible.

You See a Problem? Track It!

EWViewer allows your facility engineers to quickly monitor every point of control under their management. When they uncover a problem or potential problem, what then? EWIssueTracker is always just a click away.

Resolving issues is not a single-person task, nor is it a one-step process. EWIssueTracker makes the details of each operational issue available to be shared by the entire team of people involved—facility managers, energy engineers, control engineers, building and zone managers, and technicians. They each can see user comments, trend charts, and equipment information that has been identified as relevant to the issue. (Of course, access and update privileges are controlled by EWIssueTracker.)

A typical issue workflow goes something like this: when your diagnostician or engineer spots a problem they can immediately capture it with as many facts as are known right then—just right-click on the chart and create a new issue. More information can be added later as you investigate further. The issue is tied to the specific trend lines and point in time where it was noticed—no need to search for the operational data associated with the issue. When you add additional comments later, each has its own time stamp to easily track progress.

Once captured, the issue should be categorized based on its impact to operations and cost. All the information collected so far, and the expertise of the diagnostician and engineers, is used to develop a plan for resolving each issue and prioritizing the complete list of outstanding issues. They can be assigned to the appropriate personnel to take action, whether it be a new control setting, replacement of a sensor, or much larger design and construction effort. The more comments added along the way, the better documented the issue and its resolution will be. When complete, you can verify the results immediately through EnergyWitness—both ensuring the change had the desired effect and that no unintended side effects occurred. Assuming all is well, you circle back to continue the diagnostics or ongoing monitoring process.

It's common for a site to identify dozens, or even hundreds, of previously unknown issues with EnergyWitness when they get their first real look at how the systems operate—we see it all the time. (Not that surprising, really, when you go from seeing 2% of the data to seeing 100%.) For this reason we strongly suggest an in-depth diagnostics program as one of the very first steps once EnergyWitness is installed. You'll find everything from improperly calibrated sensors to engineering design flaws.

After a preliminary diagnostics program with EnergyWitness, a sample issues report might look like this:

Want to See what else EnergyWitness can Uncover?

If the idea of being able to find and track various facility problems you didn't know you had (and they're in there), and reducing your energy bills as a result is appealing to you, please contact us to arrange a personal demonstration. Give us a call at 617-744-1091, or send an e-mail to info@intdatsys.com.