Environment & Energy | Wednesday 8 November, 2017 4:35 pm |

GE (NYSE: GE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GCC Electrical Testing Laboratories (GCC LAB, Saudi Arabia), an independent start-up laboratory, to collaborate to have the ability to develop and provide advanced Monitoring & Diagnostics services for the industrial sector to enhance efficiency and productivity while lowering operational costs. Drawing on GE’s digital industrial solutions - underpinned by the integration of big data and advanced analytics with heavy machinery – the MoU marks another key knowledge sharing initiative by GE to support greater productivity and resource use optimization in Saudi Arabia and the wider region.

 

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the recently held Saudi Electricity Forum in Riyadh by Eng. Saleh Al-Amri, CEO, GCC Electrical Testing Laboratory and Hisham Al Bahkali, President & CEO, GE Saudi Arabia & Bahrain.

 

Eng. Saleh Al-Amri, CEO, GCC Electrical Testing Laboratory, said, “This is a strategic initiative for GCC LAB, a start-up enterprise that aims to energize the region’s power sector as well as other industries through advanced solutions that will enhance efficiency and productivity. Our collaboration with GE will help build a strong platform to monitor industries for any unplanned incidents that lead to operational losses and downtime.”

 

Mohammed Mohaisen, ‎President & CEO of GE Power’s Grid Solutions business in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said, “The MoU underlines our commitment to promote localized innovation that will not only help build the skills of Saudi professionals but also lead to innovative solutions that are ‘Made in Saudi’ for the world. It also brings our advanced digital industrial solutions closer to our customers, who can leverage them to monitor their plants, identify challenges before they occur, and take timely action to reduce maintenance overheads and unplanned downtime.”

 

The MoU will support a diverse breadth of industries in the Kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations by looking at implementing and localizing GE’s Monitoring & Diagnostics solutions. GE Power’s Grid Solutions business will drive the project using GE’s innovative Asset Performance Management (APM) solution.

 

Hisham Al Bahkali, GE’s President & CEO for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, added, “This is another example of GE’s commitment to support Saudi Vision 2030 to promote stronger local collaborations and knowledge sharing for greater industrial efficiency. The MoU further underpins Saudi Arabia as a key hub in providing advanced solutions that transform the power sector and other industries, especially through the application of our digital technologies.”

 

APM gives industrial businesses a complete, integrated view of their assets and equipment and can be applied to both GE and Non-GE equipment.  Today, the APM solution has helped customers improve the reliability of grid assets, reduce unplanned downtime and transform to condition-based maintenance. Looking across the industry, a report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2016 stated that $1.3 trillion of value can be realized purely by deploying and adopting digital technologies over the next ten years in the electricity sector.

 

With over eight decades of partnerships in the Kingdom, GE has over a 4,000-strong workforce, including Baker Hughes, a GE company, with 50 percent of its talent in highly skilled engineering and technology roles. A key partner in the Kingdom’s power sector, GE has more than 500 gas turbines installed in Saudi Arabia, which provide over 50 percent of the country's electricity.