1. Introduction to pc-GAR and pc-GAR MT
G. Michael Curley Manager of GADS Services October 29, 2010
In our last discussion, we talked about the data collection. Now I want to tell you about what we do with the data.
We have a software product called pc-GAR. It is an easy to use program to allow users the tools to analyze groups of units.
A copy of the program will be given to you tomorrow at the WEC/NERC workshop. Please pay attention to how the program works so it will be easy for you to use.

2. GADS Data Sources 280+ Generators Reporting 5,800+ units,
“B”
“A”
“C”
“D”
“E”
280+ Generators Reporting 5,800+ units,
including international affiliates.

3. What is pc-GAR?
Unique software product to allow access to the data collected in the GADS database.
It reports equipment outage information for the purpose of improving electric power output.
Pc-GAR is a unique software. It allows anyone access to the 12 million event and performance records collected in GADS since There are more than 75,000 years of power plant outages in this program.
One of its many purposes is to allow operators access to data so they can improve the production of their power plants. It can help locate causes of outages, designs improvements, fuel change impacts and many more things. It is very help to operators, engineers, and design personnel.
pc-G.A.R

4. Why pc-GAR? Introduced in 1992 Created to:
Reduce the number of special studies produced annually.
Allow users quick access to GADS information.
Increase the need to maintain good outage records.
Only one of it’s kind in the world!
WEC wants to follow this example
For many years, GADS provided utilities with special studies. These special studies were reports that the GADS staff did for the utilities. The utilities would tell GADS what is wanted and the GADS staff create the report.
By 1990, there were too many special studies for the staff to do so they planned and programmed the pc-GAR software.
Now, after 10 years, we have a wonderful software that can be used to answer many questions in North America. The World Energy Council is also using it as part of their work to help other countries increase electric production.
A group of utilities in the United States formed a group called the Electric Utility Cost Group (EUCG). They combine unit performance information and cost data to illustrate the relationship of performance and spending. Pc-GAR is the software for this work.

5. With data mining, you take advantage of past experience …
you learn from the past to
prepare for the future.

6. Unit Types Available (12 choices)
Fossil
Fluidized bed fossil
Nuclear
Gas Turbine
Jet Engine
Diesel
Hydro
Pumped Storage
Combined Cycle
Geothermal
Co-generator
Multi-boiler/Multi-turbine
We have 11 choices of units in pc-GAR. Here is a list of the choices.
Please note that we cannot combine two of these groups such as fossil and gas turbines. We do not want people to mix two different technologies.

7. Units Selections All Including Own All Except Own Own Units
United States Only
Canada Only
2 Regions required for analysis
We can now pick the units for the survey. There are 6 choices:
All including own means all units in GADS
All except own means all unit in GADS except your utility. If you reported data to GADS, it would exclude these units.
Own units means only the units you report to GADS
United States only means only those units with the boundaries of the USA
Canada only means only those units with the boundaries of Canada
2 Regions required for analysis means you need to pick 2 or more regions of NERC for the report. If you want all regions, pick “All including own.”

8. Two Types of Variables Class Continuous “Yes” or “No” types Range
Super or sub-critical
General Electric or other manufacturer
Balanced or pressurized draft
Continuous
Range
MW size ( MW)
Steam Pressure ( psig)
EAF (0-100%)
Class variables are “yes” or “no” type questions. The unit is either a fossil unit or it is not. The steam turbine is made by General Electric or it is not.
Continuous variables are ranges where you can choose the upper and lower limits. For example, the megawatt (MW) size of the unit can be anywhere between 1 and 1,300 MW. You choose the upper and lower limit.

9. Three Groups of Criteria Selection
Physical (class)
Example: # of pumps
Performance (continuous)
Example: # of service hours
Statistics (continuous)
Example: EFOR

10. Help with pc-GAR

11. Help #1 – Selecting Fuels
Two fuel selections
“As designed” means what the unit was designed to burn.
“Actual fuel burned” means what did the unit actually burn in the specific year.
100% of the “actual burned” fuels
90% of the “designed fuels”

12. Help #1 – Selecting Fuels
Actual Fuel Burned
Design Fuel

13. Help #2 – Apply Criteria By…
You can apply the performance/fuel criteria by either year or range.
Year – tests the criteria on a year by year basis. A unit may pass the test one year but not the next. Only the one year where it passed will be in the survey.
Range – tests the criteria on the average for the period you selected. If you picked a 5-year period for an EAF > 85%, then the average EAF for the period is tested. If it fails, that unit will be removed from the survey.

14. Help #2 – Apply Criteria By…
EAF = 90.40%
EAF = 87.56%
EAF = 84.55%
EAF = 85.98%
EAF = 86.91%
If criteria included
EAF of 85% or
greater, then 3 of
4 years accepted using
“Year” button.
greater, then average EAF
of 4 years accepted using
“Range” button.
Accepted
Rejected

15. Help #3 – for Years/for Periods
Events and performance data are divided into monthly intervals for retrieving and analyzing data by months, years, and multi-year periods.
When using less than one year, use:
“Annual/monthly Unit Summary Report” for viewing monthly numbers.
“Unit-year Statistical Report” for projections of how the unit would operate if operated in the same manner as the short period.

16. Help #3 – for Years/for Periods

17. Help #3 – for Years/for Periods
Data pulled for months 01 to 12 for three years.
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Jan Feb …. Nov Dec Jan Feb …. Nov Dec Jan Feb … Nov Dec
Data pulled for months 11 to 02 for three years.
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Jan & Feb Nov to Feb Nov to Feb Nov Dec

18. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
pc-GAR allows you to add or remove youp own units from any selected group (“units included in report”)
You cannot remove units that NERC considers not yours (even if you are a part-owner.) “Ownership” (to NERC) is the organization reporting data to GADS.

19. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
All own units
Own units in
report.

20. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
First, select one unit
at a time to move.
Next, click on the
Button to add own
units to report.

21. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
The unit is now
added.

22. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
To remove a unit
from the report,
first highlight the
unit then
click on the
“remove unit”
bottom.

23. Help #4 – Adding/removing Units
The unit is now back
into the “own unit” list
and out of the report.

24. Help #5 – Same Peer Group
This procedure allows you to use the same group of units from one period to the next, assuming the same units reported in both periods.
First, select the group of units using the standard procedure for choosing a group.
Second, in “Menu of Reports,” choose “Report Data Range.”
Third, select a new period to analyze.

25. Help #5 – Same Peer Group Some criteria may change from one
period to the next
as shown here.
Select criteria and
then save.

26. Help #5 – Same Peer Group
Select a new
period here.

27. Help #5 – Same Peer Group Here you select a new period for
analysis using
the same
group of units.

28. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
For when you want to create a pc-GAR report for just one of your own units.
Normal selection procedure for own units.
Remove all but the single unit from the “Units included in Report” section.
Apply criteria as “Reapply Criteria …”

29. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Choose “Own Units”
to remove any units
not under your
control.

30. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Select the unit(s) you
wanted to analyze. You
can pick more than one
if you want for a single
group or show the
performance of a plant.
Suppose we want to
see the performance of
3 units.

31. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
After removing all
but the 3 units using
the “remove unit”
button, you return to
the “Report Design”
section of the
Criteria Entry.

32. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Apply the Criteria.

33. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Choose the “event option” you want (see Trick #7
for details) and click “ok”.

34. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Select “Re-apply Criteria …” option to pull data for just the 3 units.
If you use the other option, you’ll be back where you started with
all of your own units.

35. Help #6 – Single, Own Unit Report
Now you have only
3 units for your
report.
Save the file.
Print the report as
you normally do.

36. Help #7 – Data Making Statistics
There are three options for choosing the units and data for making the statistics in the reports:
Units that report both event & performance records and units reporting performance data only.
Units that report both event and performance data only.
Units that report both event and performance data for all years of the period.

37. Help #7 – Data Making Statistics
This option includes all units reporting to GADS, whether they reported events data or not.
This option may show differences in statistics like EAF, EFOR,
EFORd, etc because not all units reported deratings.

38. Help #7 – Data Making Statistics
This option includes all units reporting to GADS where
events are reported during the period being examined.
This option will show accurate statistics like EAF, EFOR, EFORd, etc because all units report deratings.

39. Help #7 – Data Making Statistics
This option includes all units reporting to GADS where events were
reported during the complete period being examined. If you were
examining 5 years, the unit would have to report events all 5 years.
This option will show accurate statistics like EAF, EFOR, EFORd, etc.
because all units reported deratings.

40. Help #8 – Start Fresh or Re-examine?
When retrieving data, you have the option to start fresh each time or re-examine the existing data.
It is faster to start with a big group, add a criteria, and then re-examine the group as each criteria is added.

41. Help #8 – Start Fresh or Re-examine?
Always uses this option when starting a new retrieval or increasing the
population of an existing retrieval.

42. Help #8 – Start Fresh or Re-examine?
Use this option if you are “trimming” an existing retrieval. Never use it if you
suspect that the population of the retrieval will increase.

43. Help #9 – Inclusion
In pc-GAR, the software assume you want everything unless you specify that you only want something special.
For example, the program will assume you want all NERC Regions unless you specify you only want two certain Regions.

44. Help #10 – Exclusion
In pc-GAR, you may have to specify you DON’T WANT something in order to get the condition you really want.
For example, if you wanted units with a single reheater in the boiler, you would have to specify that the first RH section is 1 to 9999 psig and the second RH section is 0 to 0 psig.

45. Help #10 – Exclusion By placing a “0” (zero) in some criteria, you can
focus on special cases of design. Here we locate
single RH units and remove non- and double RH.

46. Question & Answer
On to the demo…

47. Examples

48. Class Example 100-300 MW Oil Unit
Example for locating your unit for comparing to others
AF and EAF distributions
Suppose that your unit is between MW and burns oil as its primary fuel. How would you locate other units in GADS and compare yourself to them?

49. Class Example 100-300 MW Oil Unit
STEP
Double Click on pc-GAR icon
Click on “New Report Wizard”
Input Study Description
Input Author
Click on pull down menu for “Unit Type”
Click on desired Unit Type (fossil-steam)
Click on pull down menu for “Units”
Click on “All Units Including Own”
Click on “Next”
Enter “1993” through “1997” in “Years” window

50. Class Example 100-300 MW Oil Unit
STEP
Click on “Add a Criteria” Button
Select Window for 1st Criteria Category (Physical, Performance or All)
Enter Select Criteria
Click on “Add a Criteria Button”
Select Window for 2nd Criteria Category
Click on “Apply Criteria”
Click on “OK”
Note number of Units Selected
Click on “Next”

51. Class Example 100-300 MW Oil Unit
STEP
Click on “Next”
Click on “Save” (after adding Title 1,2 or comments if desired)
Highlight desired study
Click on “Print Report”
Click on “Unit Statistics Distributions”
Check AF & EAF
Click on “OK”
Check “Print Unit Names on Cover Page”
Check on “Print”
Observe Page 1 of report results

52. Class Example 100-300 MW Oil Unit
STEP
Click on Page “down”
Observe statistics for mean & median values for AF & Distributions
Write down 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles and Mean & Median values of AF
Repeat steps for EAF
If you have time, try another technology (Hydro, GT, CC, or another type fossil steam on your own

53. Question & Answer

54. What is pc-GAR MT?

55. What is pc-GAR MT?
Software product to provide a distribution of times to repair (TTR) and times between failures (TBF)
Software product to provide Mean TTR and Mean TBF for modeling and analysis programs
Software product that allows YOU control of the units in the data set.

56. Events as Reported to GADS
Most events are shown as one, continuous activity per year
However, there are some where the single event is divided into parts by:
Months for internal utility reporting
Years as part of the GADS cut off

57. Need for New Software Combine monthly events into one
Combine year-ending & year starting events into one
Ability to isolate events by event types
Ability to isolate events by cause codes or groups of cause codes

58. The pc-GAR MT Plan Year 1 Year 2 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Event 1
Goal: one event, no matter its start or end!

59. The Programming
pc-GAR
New Data Handling
Software
pc-GAR MT

60. Why pc-GAR MT?
Determine more accurately the times between failures for modeling
Determine more accurately the repair times for shorter down time
Manage inspections to equipment to prevent forced outages
Evaluate operating/maintenance practices

61. What’s in common between pc-GARs?
Same design retrievals
Same performance retrievals
Same ability to use range or year option
Same years of resource
Same wizard for selecting units
Different output reports

62. What’s in common between pc-GARs?
Design data
Event/Performance Data Fuel Data
Retrieval Criteria
pc-GAR MT
pc-GAR

63. pc-GAR MT Main Screen Once the criteria is chosen, you start the MT
retrieval with this
button.

64. pc-GAR MT Cause Code Selection

65. pc-GAR MT Event Type Selection

66. pc-GAR MT Output
Example of pc-GAR MT output.
Lots of information!

67. FD or ID Fan Problems Fossil units, 400-499 MW during 1993-1997
Problems with more than 1 hour of full forced outage.
24 out of 146 events were less than 1 hour!

68. Versions of pc-GAR and pc-GAR MT
Annual update normally in the fall of the next year
14 month subscription
pc-GAR+Plus
Monthly update with all new data passing the GADS edit programs
12 months subscription
pc-GAR MT

69. Versions of pc-GAR Power Generator Version Manufacturer’s Version
Assess to manufacturer-specific data
Assess to own unit data
Manufacturer’s Version
Assess to own manufacturer equipment and units
All competitors are grouped as own manufacturer
All others
No assess to manufacturer or unit-specific data
Rule: 3 utilities and 7 units for any reports

70. Question & Answer Contact: Mike Curley Manager of GADS Services