ByRobert Girvan,Vice President, Utilities West at SAP

Anyone who works in utilities would probably agree: The problems you can’t see are the ones that you worry the most about.

We only need to look back a few years to the San Bruno pipeline explosion in the San Francisco area to see what’s at stake. The National Transportation Safety Board ultimately determined that incident, which killed eight people and resulted in $1.4 billion in fines, was caused by an inadequate pipe that hadn’t been properly maintained since its installation in 1956.

Monitoring pipelines in an efficient and cost-effective way has been a continuing challenge for utilities, especially when many of the
systems and materials were installed decades ago.

Three things in particular are at stake:

1. Greater populations of people centered near areas where safety incidents could occur
2. Utilities are under increasing scrutiny to root out problems in aging systems
3. The need for continued pipeline construction to meet rising demands, without starving the funds needed to update older systems

That’s why it’s critical for utilities to employ modern technology solutions that can provide visibility into age-old infrastructure
issues.

Single source of information can inform priorities

Having a single source of information that addresses both operational and compliance issues can help enable utilities to prioritize their investments so they can keep up with current needs while ensuring that legacy systems are operating safely.

Of course, pipelines that are buried deep in the ground often come with a host of other concealed obstacles. That is, as in the case of the San Bruno pipeline, much of the documentation surrounding these systems is difficult to access. If the information exists at all, it might be on paper in a filing cabinet, or it may be in another software system that’s incompatible with newer systems that are in use.

It may take weeks or months to find information that could be critical to helping divert disaster.

Beyond that, many enterprises are relying on point solutions that were built from an engineering perspective inside of their

organizations. Typically, these tend to not to work well with modern corporate systems because they’re unable to provide the best perspective on all the variables that need to be managed.

The SAP HANA platform can help bridge this gap. It not only connects these point systems with the databases where maintenance, materials, and inspection information is stored, it can also incorporate the existing point solutions into a larger data universe. That can create a holistic, geospatial view of pipeline integrity, helping enable engineers to make emergency repairs faster.

Plus, if utilities are in a better position to assess where issues are likely to arise, they can prioritize where to direct their budgets accordingly.

It’s an interesting time for utilities. Each enterprise needs to seek out a cost-effective, sustainable position to minimize risk while balancing project needs and shareholder values. A single source of information can help balance the objectives of operating and maintaining their assets safely, while also adapting to evolving market needs.

Here’s an example of how Alliander N.V. uses the SAP HANA
platform to conduct predictive maintenance on gas lines in The Netherlands.

Currently, Electric Mobility is starting to gain momentum again and is one element of the so-called energy transition.

The key benefits of Electric Mobility are:

• The operation of all kinds of electric vehicles (EV) using regenerative energies to fuel their batteries produces significantly less CO2.
• EVs could also help balance the volatile energies coming from wind and sun serving as "rolling" energy storage solutions (Smart Grid).

The German government has set ambitious goals and wants to become both the leading market provider for EV technologies, and the leading EV market, and also bring 1 million EVs to the market by 2020.

The adoption rate of all types of EVs and public charging spots has remained relatively low up to now. Most EVs are licensed in the US (223,000 EVs), followed by China (29,000) and Japan (88,500). The increasing variety of models on the market now means that the necessary charging infrastructure needs to be installed urgently, even if further developments in battery technology are to be expected in the coming years that might overcome the current restrictions to the EV range.

However, not only in Germany but also globally, the importance of Electric Mobility is also becoming obvious, particularly in those counties that apply flanking framework conditions (tax or purchase incentives, area-wide and easy accessible public charging infrastructure, standardized plugs...).

Finally, and according to futurologist Lars Thomsen the key tipping point with regards to the mobility of the future will occur within the next 200 weeks. This will boost Electric Mobility worldwide.

Download the E-Book

What does this mean for you and how can SAP help?

At this year´s conference we will introduce our solution portfolio in the Electric Mobility area and also discuss viable business models - especially those that are relevant for the utilities industry.

We are offering:

• Two microforums at which we will present an overview of our current solution portfolio.
• Directly after the forums, you will have the opportunity to meet the experts in a discussion round.
• I will also be available on both days for individual meetings with you to discuss your specific questions. Feel free to send me an email to arrange a fitting time slot

Stay tuned for more details, and remember to sign up for the conference!

To get regular updates, follow us on Twitter SAP Industries #SAPUtilities .

Geo-enablement of the information currently available at the business transactional and analytical systems is not only an improvement of usability, this is jumping from tabular lists of characters to a graphical map related environment, but it is much more:  this is to improve the understanding, the way we question, interpret, and visualize information revealing relationships, patterns and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports and charts.  Geo-Enablement investments on top of Transactional Systems are enabling Utilities to update and refocus their business processes and people to realise new and innovative strategies.

               1. The same ERP object, a pipe, in tabular view display and “geo-enabled”

Improving Asset  Management Proceeses

Such combination of information (someone would say that this is one of the "IT- OT integration use cases" ) enables in asset management the unification of data currently splited mainly among GIS and ERP system which has created lots of challenges to organizations pursing the improvement of construction and maintenance activities. Main Process afected and improved are:

• Asset Risk Management
• Asset Investment Planning
• Project Planning & Execution
• Maintenance Planning and Optimization
• Inspections and Work Management
• Compliance Reporting
• Generation Operations
• Situational Awareness
• Knowledge Transfer and Retention
• Management Reporting: KPIs and Metrics

As an example of these improvements here we highlight how this approach may impact one of the most fluent process, this is the Inspections and Workmanagement in its four main steps:  analytics of results and investigation (retrospective analysis) – Creation of Works – Scheduling and Dispatch – Field work.

Analytics

From Tabular display of objects, where decision is based on the design of alerts based on the combination of several data (KPIs, alerts based on parameters) to a more visual interface where experts can take easily decisions and investigate on different hypothesis. It is not about replacement but to merge both concepts and make them complementary and improves the required pre-processing and analysis of huge amounts of  data.

     2. Query on pipelines per type, location and proximity and relevant buildings “geo-enabled”  versus tabular view (simulated)

Workorder Management

The capability to display the work orders in the territory enables not only the mapping, managing, analyzing, and displaying of SAP workorders and other objects and records geographically, thereby enhancing SAP functionality in the administration of linear and non-linear assets. The effect of adopting such approach is the enablement of faster decision making with visual insight and the increase understanding of what, where, why, and how.

          3. Capacity to display workorder list on its map including status and types

Significant advantages of this approach are the capabilities to see the history of the workorders (this is by time range) on a map while is was not possible with GIS systems, which only provide a “snapshot” of the current situation, and from the other side enable the creation of a notificaiton or a workoder with the mouse, by creating a polygon in the zone where is desired to act  without the need to point to an object as it is currently done in the “tabular” transactional system.

Scheduling

Our functionality in the ERP for Resource Scheduling and Dispatching, this is Multi Resource Scheduling, has included the integration with GIS I order to optimize the work assignments resulting an accelerated speed of complex scenario processing and analysis as well as ensuring the trust in decisions

      4. Visual contextualization and prioritization of the Capacity and duties to perform using MRS

Field Execution

Additional productivity improvements with mobility are achieved not only by ensuring that every technician follows the same process when completing daily tasks but adapting and configuring the client version to workers needs, and GeoEnablement is  one of these configurations. Current version of Syclo Workmanager enables the conectivity with a GIS server of the SAP Mobile Middleware to bring Base Maps, Attributes and Feature layers and trasfer to the client version.

                    5. Visual contextualization of the works to be performed in the filed available in Syclo Workmanager

Customer Case Study

The usage of Geo-enablement technologies and solutions is getting up to speed since some years ago. Some significant references exist from very visionary organisations, such as City of Cape Town (image 6) which presented their case studies at SAP Events and Forums have raised the interest of many peer companies which are triggering Proof of Concepts and projects mainly in Europe and the United Sates.

           6. Example of City of Cape Town case study

The raising interest and the dramatic technological evolution experienced have enabled several approaches on Geo-Enablement being the main one the usage of the capabilities of HANA spatial. As a transition period, GeoExplorer is a service which  easily enables the view and update of the spatial representation of objects on a map by providing the ability to connect to online background maps ( ArcGIS Online and BingMaps) and Linear reference information converted to spatial representation automatically to Explore business data geographically.

Business benefits summary

By Integrating GIS technology into any enterprise information system framework the benefits grow exponentially.  There is a growing awareness of the economic and strategic value of this integration. The benefits of generally fall into five basic categories:

• Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency: Optimize maintenance schedules and daily fleet movements. Implementations can result in a savings of 10 to 30 percent in operational expenses scheduling

• Better Decision Making: Examples on decisions about location include real estate site selection,route/corridor selection, evacuation planning, conservation, natural resource  extraction, or Earthquake zone analysis for better pipeline route planning.

• Improved understanding and Communication:  Greatly assist in understanding situations and in storytelling. Its usage improves communication between
  different teams, departments, disciplines, professional fields, organizations, and the public.

• Better Record Keeping: Framework needed  by many organizations which  have a primary responsibility of maintaining authoritative records about the status and change of geography and/or assets within geographic bounds

• Managing Geographically:  Integration among spatial and transactional informaiton  becoming essential to understanding what is happening—and what will happen—in geographic space. Once we understand, we can act.

Companies from asset-Intensive industries like Utilities, O&G or Chemicals are forced to run a continuously growing number of capital and investment projects to ensure market competitiveness, comply with environmental regulations or achieve operational excellence. These capital projects can include e.g. the construction of new power plants or production capacities, upgrades of existing facilities, extensions or maintenance of the distribution networks or implementation of energy savings measures.

Running large scale billion dollar program requires asset intensive companies to continuously optimize the project portfolio and monitor the performance of the capital investments in real time. These companies need to select, prioritize and execute projects and manage the related resources, cost and budget data effectively throughout the entire capital project lifecycle. But relevant project data often is spread across disparate systems, with business decisions being made based on information that is neither timely nor accurate. Companies can improve process efficiency by incorporating effective project controls and collaboration tools, increasing process transparency, and optimizing overall project profitability.

Instituting an effective capital portfolio and project management strategy can help improve project performance, success rates and revenues and reduce budget overruns, start-up delays, and underutilized resources.

Optimize your Capital Project Portfolio with SAP

SAP’s End-to-End solution for Capital Portfolio and Project Management provides the capability to collaboratively assess investment opportunities, priorities, and risks, and govern project execution from inception to closure.

With this solution Project Management Organizations can gain visibility into all aspects of ongoing and proposed capital projects to effectively align business objectives with capital project portfolios. Strategic business and capital investment decisions can be made objectively based on readily available information such as portfolio value, capital budgets, and financial and project performance data. To align objectives with portfolios consistently requires managing scope, progress, issues, resources, budgets, and costs using tightly integrated information and well-defined processes.

Based on SAP’s solution information generated throughout the project lifecycle can captured in a timely fashion and made available to support sound business decisions.

SAP’s solution for Capital Portfolio and Project Management includes

- SAP Portfolio and Project Management

- SAP Commercial Project Management

- SAP Enterprise Project Connection

- SAP ERP Project Systems

SMART Business Dashboard - Project Execution

If you want to learn more on how these solutions can help you manage capital projects more efficiently, join us at theInternational Utilities Conference in Berlin, April 13-15 2015.

Come to Workshop 14: Managing the Capital Project Lifecycle with SAP, on April 13th, and find out more about the solution key capabilities and see hands-on in our live demos how this works in the system.

We are preparing a number of major product announcements for customer solutions at the International Utilities Conference in Berlin from April 13-15.

SAP is helping utilities across the world reinvent how they serve their customers. Among other changes in the industry, a generational shift is taking place. Millenials will be the largest customer group that utilities will be serving - and will be employing in the near future. SAP has long recognized the trend and invested in new solutions that help utilities market, inform, and serve customers at any time, anywhere on any device.

Join us in Berlin and enjoy product demos and discussions for the following groundbreaking solutions:

1) New Interaction Center solution for Utilites.
Build from the ground up this new solution delights the agent and simplifies their daily work.

.

2) New Customer Self-Service applications on web and mobile.
All build on one foundation that makes building and adjusting consumer apps a breeze.

3) Omnichannel Commerce for Utilities.
Built on the hybris omnichannel platform finally utilities can assist customers at any touch point (mobile, web, shops or  retail locations etc etc), connect them with all product, services, programs and information the utility has to offer. Now, utilities can enjoy the speed to
market and an extraordinary hyper-personalized customer experience previously only known to other industries like retail or consumer products.

So, that is all I wanted to talk about in this short blog. Stay tuned for more details in the upcoming days!

See you in Berlin!

Juergen Kuhmann

SAP Utilities

ByHenry Bailey, Global Vice President, Utilities IBU Industry Business Solutions, SAP

I attend over a dozen conferences and events each year focused on Utilities trends and Technology benefits. I am sure you do the same. So why invest the time and money for this year’s International SAP Conference for Utilities on April 13-15 in Berlin, Germany?

Because SAP just announced S/4HANA (Watch replay of the S/4HANA launch event), the biggest announcement since R/3 and you need to know how SAP’s solutions for Utilities will benefit from this HANA strategy. This includes keynote presentations from Simon Paris, Peter Maier and me outlining the latest innovations and industry vision from SAP including S4/HANA strategy

With only 8 weeks to go for our 10th International SAP Conference for Utilities, registration is on track to be our most attended conference in history. Hotels will sell out. Here are a few key points you need to know:

• SAP S/4HANA will simplify the Utility business. Learn the use cases, road maps, and benefits
• There are three full days which will cover the complete Utility solution portfolio
• Use the opportunity to network with the experts and get your detailed questions answered
• More than 25 Customer case studies from across the utilities industry such as AGL, ACEA, CenterPoint Energy, HydroOne, DEWA, EPS, Fujian EPC, Israel Electric Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric, Multinet Gas, Pidpa, and many more
• Break-out tracks focus on the customer, the asset, the business, the innovation, the technology, and the grid. Hear detailed customer case studies and get expert updates on SAP solutions
• Live demos, microforums, and a vibrant SAP and partner exhibition allow you to make the most of the networking breaks
• The whole event starts with 14 extensive preconference workshops on
  Monday, April 13,
  • 2 Full-Day Workshops
  • 12 Half-Day Workshops (morning & afternoon, so that you are able to mix & match)

  See a full list of workshops here (space is limited!)

Find out more and download the complete event brochure!

Register now and I look forward to meeting you in Berlin.

Based on the positive feedback from last year, we have decided to repeat the Partner Enablement Workshop this year in Berlin again!

In the utilities industry in 2014, our partners have been a key source of co-innovation and client success and we therefore value this industry ecosystem as an important source of our overall success.

I am happy to announce that on Thursday April 16th, we will be running the Utilities Partner Briefing and Enablement Workshop at the Sofitel Berlin Kurfuerstendamm, close to the conference venue in Berlin.

This free-to-attend half-day session is open to all SAP partner staff registered for the main conference and your opportunity to hear the latest on SAP programs like HANA Cloud Platform and S/4 HANA, receive updates on industry trends and our future roadmap in the utilities industry.

While content will be king, we will also leave time to network with other partners and SAP experts.

A full programme and further details is available here.

If you have any other questions about the workshop, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

As a sponsor and partner participating at the upcoming International SAP Conference for Utilities in Berlin, I would like to thank you for your investment and
support of the event and look forward to seeing you in Berlin in April!

The Maintenance Contribution to Profitability

Maintenance is really about trying to maintain equipment so that assets function according to the manufacturer’s specifications. In an ideal world, if parts did not wear out, we would not have to maintain them and then track asset history, warranties and budgets.

Building a regimen of preventive maintenance requires people, with the relevant skills, to service the equipment regularly to prevent breakdowns and service outages.  Maintenance’s work is critical because outages = lost revenue =lost profit.

VIZIYA, a certified SAP partner, delivers maintenance software solutions that are designed from the ground up withone primary focus:  Equipment Uptime. 

We welcome the opportunity to demo our solutions at the International Utilities Conference (IUC) again this year. Our WorkAlign® Suite offers advanced functionality that complements your SAP PM system so you can control your maintenance workflow:

Scheduler makes sure that critical work is only scheduled for the right assets, at the right time, with all the right resources with less downtime

Analytics helps you focus on improvement initiatives with 4,000 SAP PM data elements, in a hosted solution, that drives maintenance best practice reports and dashboards 

Warranty Tracker links warranty items/assets to work orders, automates warranty claims for cost recovery

Mobile connects remote workers to SAP PM throughout the maintenance workflow  - work management, material management, notifications, and asset management

Budgeting allows for asset-based budgets to be created with real-time views of actual maintenance history and future plans

See you in Berlin.

Below are few of my learnings

1. Operating System

2. Database

3. Application

4. Middleware

5. SAP BASIS Daily monitoring and checks

6. Oracle Advanced level Compression

Operating system referred to below is of HP UX and Database is Oracle.

OS level Parameters

HP-UX 11.31 Itanium and PA-RISC (HP-UX 11iv3)

1. Ensure you follow the OSS note.

SAP on HP-UX: OS Kernel Parameter Recommendations (SAP Note 172747)

2. Size the SGA based on the capacity (CPU and RAM) on Database servers

Oracle 11g - 1431798 - Oracle 11.2.0: Database Parameter Settings

Database SGA

SGA Max size                         

Shared pool size                 

DB Cache size                      

Log buffer                             

Db writer processes              

Redo log size                        

3. Application level parameters :

Schedule a SAP Technical Performance Optimization Service on solution manager and based on the report change the below parameters.

ICM Parameters

icm/traffic_control                                                             

icm/max_sockets                                                              

icm/max_conn                                                   

icm/server_port_1                                             

icm/server_port_2                                             

icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/max_entries      

icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/memory_size_MB           

icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/size_MB                             

icm/min_threads                                               

icm/host_name_full                                          

icm/server_port_0                                           

icm/keep_alive_timeout                                  

mpi/total_size_MB                                       

Buffers

rsdb/ntab/entrycount

rsdb/ntab/ftabsize

rsdb/ntab/sntabsize

ztta/parameter_area

ztta/roll_area

rdisp/ROLL_SHM

rdisp/ROLL_MAXFS

rdisp/PG_MAXFS

abap/heap_area_dia

abap/heap_area_nondia

abap/heap_area_total

ztta/roll_extension

rdisp/wp_ca_blk_no

rdisp/appc_ca_blk_no

abap/buffersize

rsdb/cua/buffersize

rsdb/ntab/irbdsize

rsdb/obj/buffersize

rsdb/obj/mutex_n

rsdb/obj/large_object_size

rsdb/obj/max_objects

rtbb/max_tables

rtbb/buffer_length

sap/bufdir_entries

zcsa/db_max_buftab

zcsa/presentation_buffer_area

zcsa/table_buffer_area

rsdb/esm/large_object_size

rsdb/esm/max_objects

rsdb/esm/buffersize_kb

rsdb/otr/mutex_n

rsdb/otr/max_objects

rsdb/otr/buffersize_kb

abap/heaplimit

em/blocksize_KB

ict/exclude_compression                                *.zip,*.rar,*.arj,*.z,*.gz,*.tar,*.lzh,*.cab,*.hqx,*.ace,*.jar,*.ear,*.war,*.gzip,*.uue

Daily Monitoring

Daily Checks

Database overview                                             DB02/DBACOCKPIT

Table space maintenance                                 DBACOCKPIT/BRTOOLS

Correcting ST22 dumps & SM21 errors          ST22/SM21

File system monitoring                                       DBACOCKPIT/OS level

Jobs Monitoring                                                   SM37

Creating missing indexes                                  DBACOCKPIT

Work Load Analysis                                            ST03

Database Alerts Check                                      ST04

Check TemSe Status                                          SP12

Check Spool Output Requests for Errors        SP01

Backup Log Overview                                        DB12

Database Locks Check                                      DB01

Backup Calendar                                                                DB13

SMLG                                                                     SMLG

Transport Management System                       STMS

ICM Status                                                            SMICM

Overview of Send Orders                                  SOST

Work Process Status                                           SM50

Running Jobs Status across all systems        SM66

SAP Server / Work Process Status                   SM51

Check Lock Entries                                             SM12

Update Requests List                                         SM13

Dump Analysis                                                    ST22

Operating System and FS Check                     ST06

System Log Analysis                                          SM21

Buffer Analysis and Status                                ST02

CRM Checks

CRM Middleware Monitoring Cockpit              SMWP

Analyze Object and Sub Object logs               SLG1

qRFC Outbound Queue Monitor                       SMQ1 or SMWP or  RZ20

QOUT Scheduler                                                                 SMQS

qRFC Inbound Queue monitor                         SMQ2

QIN Scheduler Status                                         SMQR or SMWP or RZ20

Message Flow Statistics                                     SMWMFLOW

BDoc Messages/Summary                                               SMW01/ SMW02/ SMW02A/ SMW03

Check Flow Definitions                                      SMO8FD

Monitor Load Status                                            R3AM1 or SMWP

Monitor Request                                                  R3AR3 or SMWP

Replication objects                                              SMOEAC

Check Object Types from Admin Console     SMOECK

Status of generation processes                        GENSTATUS

Trace Status                                                         SMWTAD

Housekeeping

General Housekeeping

SAP_REORG_JOBS

SAP_REORG_SPOOL

SAP_REORG_BATCHINPUT

SAP_REORG_ABAPDUMPS

SAP_REORG_JOBSTATISTIC

SAP_REORG_UPDATERECORDS

SAP_COLLECTOR_FOR_JOBSTATISTIC

SAP_COLLECTOR_FOR_PERFMONITOR

SAP_COLLECTOR_FOR_NONE_R3_STAT

SAP_REORG_PRIPARAMS

SAP_REORG_XMILOG

SAP_CCMS_MONI_BATCH_STARTUP_DP

SAP_SPOOL_CONSISTENCY_CHECK

SAP_REORG_ORPHANED_JOBLOGS

SAP_CHECK_ACTIVE_JOBS

SAP_DELETE_ORPHANED_IVARIS

SAP_REORG_ORPHANED_TEMSE_FILES

DBA:CLEANUPLOGS

DBA:UPDATESTATS

DBA:CHECKDB

CRM Specific

SAP_REORG_CRM_PRODUCTS_INACTIV

SAP_SOA_ARCHIVE_PLAN

SAP_SOA_DELETE_HISTORY

SAP_SOA_DELETE_MESSAGES

SAP_SOA_TABLE_SWITCH

SAP_SOAP_RUNTIME_MANAGEMENT

ZCRM_ICI_TRACE_DELETE

ZRESTART_INBOUND

SMWP_BATCH/MW_S_COCKPIT_COLLECTOR_DWY

GN_GENERATE_CHECK/MW_S_CHECK_P_DWY

GN_WORKLIST_GENERATE/MW_S_GENERATE_P_DWY

SMO6_REORG2/MW_S_SMO6_REORG2_DWY

RSRLDREL

RSRLDREL - Object Links

BSP_CLEAN_UP_SERVER_COOKIES

HRBCI_ATTRIBUTES_BUFFER_UPDATE

Application Log Size (BALHDR)

System-wide performance can be impacted due to the large size of the application log tables, BALHDR etc. Reduce the number of entries in table BALHDR on a regular basis. Use transaction SLG2 to delete entries out of table BALHDR as described in SAP Note 195157.

Middleware tables SMW*_BDOC* can grow very large

Depending on the load of your trace or middleware log, tables can grow larger than 100 MB. Consequently, it can often be observed that expensive insert and read operations take place on the SMW3_BDOC* tables. Take administrative actions to reduce the size of the tables according to SAP Note 206439. Only increase the trace level if necessary.

Furthermore SAP Note 835761 has to be implemented to remove the BDocs in status I04.

Schedule report SMO6_REORG2 on a daily basis.

If the table SRRELROLES contains many entries with the OBJTYPE TRANSID consider the SAP Note 1385766 to reduce them. If the table SRRELROLES contains too many entries with the OBJTYPE BUS* you have remove them by archiving the corresponding objects using the transaction SARA.

MIME Repository consistency check:

After each SP import, execute the report RSIR_MIME_EXPIRY_CLEANUP on node /SAP in order to avoid repetitive download of static mime objects from the server that otherwise may be stored in the browser’s cache. Make sure Z-style sheets have at least 1 week caching time defined in the P-System.

CRM Middleware (CRM MW) Alert Monitor

Based on the SAP CCMS alert monitoring infrastructure Use transaction RZ20. This is available under the monitor collection “SAP CRM Monitor Templates” with the name CRM Middleware.

The CRM MW Alert Monitor monitors the following:

CRM MW-specific qRFC queues in SAP CRM system

CRM MW-specific qRFC queues in SAP ERP back-end system

The qRFC QIN scheduler of the SAP CRM system

The qRFC QOUT scheduler of the SAP CRM system

The processing status of messages in the BDoc message

The replication and realignment queues and the R&R queue demon

Status of the Communication Station

Enqueue Server shows slow performance –

We can go ahead and set the profile parameters .

1.       Note : 1353668 - Locks are retained due to network instabilities

2.       Set the instance profile parameter in the ABAP application server:

3.       enque/sync_dequeall = 1.

4.       Also set the following parameter in the standalone enqueue server:

5.       enque/encni/set_so_keepalive = TRUE

Follow the recommendations in SAP Note 1791958 to reduce the lock time on table VARINUM and avoid scheduling several background jobs simultaneously for the same program. Correction is not delivered in a Support Package. If required, you can implement the attached correction in the note.

Application log is too large

Should delete the obsolete entries. Need business decision to delete these entries (specially on the time – from which date can we go ahead and delete the entries).

Rebuilding the indexes – Run report RSORATD and check for the index storage quality and based on the requirement we can rebuild the indexes.

Please note that this report is very time and cpu consuming. So need to discuss on when we can run this report.

No reorg job scheduled to reduce size of tables SRRELROLES

706478 - Preventing Basis tables from increasing considerably

Growth of CRM_ICI_TRACES can slow IC

1712755 - Large ICI trace log affect the performance of IC function

It is recommended to keep the ICI trace log in a small size.

Delete the ICI trace on a regular basis.

To do this, you need to run program CRM_ICI_TRACE_DELETE to delete the old ICI trace log regularly.

By default, the program is pre-set to delete the ICI trace record log older than 14 days. You may set up your own delete trace age option according to the speed of the log growing in your system.

CRM WebClient performance related settings

Clear the inconsistent MIME objects. Refer to SAP Note 1277476 to clear out the inconsistent Mime objects and make the caching sufficient.

Adjust ICI trace parameter settings and remove out-of-date traces. Follow SAP Note 1712755 to adjust ICI trace settings and remove redundant ICI traces to improve the CTI integration performance.

To prevent a deadlock for IDoc update in parallel, you must configure at least number of dialog work processes >= n + rdisp/rfc_min_wait_dia_wp +1. Refer to SAP Note 565527 -Deadlock when using local update (IDocs). To avoid system hanging due to tRFC cascade, set rdisp/rfc_min_wait_dia_wp parameter >= 66% *(total number of DIA processes) per instance, refer to SAP Note 726148 -SAPLARFC occupies all work processes, RFC cascade.

Fragmented indexes

Based on the results of the Oracle Automatic Segment Advisor

(SQL: "Space_SegmentFragmentation_SegmentAdvisor"),the following indexes have allocated more than 100 MB of unused space and their storage quality is <= 50 %.

Rebuild the mentioned indexes as suggested by Oracle database in order to reduce fragmentation, and also regularly check for fragmented indexes. See SAP Note 771929 for more information regarding index fragmentation.

Database statistics for RFC-related tables

The statistics for RFC related Tables (ARFC*, TRFC*, etc.) are still generated through the standard BRCONNECT functionality. When the load is heavy and the RFC tables are inserted and deleted, the Cost Based Optimizer of Oracle may use the wrong access path. The transaction then takes a long time to execute.

Impact:

The Cost based Optimizer of Oracle may choose a sub optimal access path, resulting in expensive database access.

Recommended Task:

Follow the instructions of SAP Note 1020260 to generate the appropriate statistics.

ICM cache Configuration

Description:

The time recorded in Http Watch trace is longer than the time recorded in ST12 trace, which indicates that there is a lot of time spent on ICM.

The ICM cache was with default setting and was not tuned.Impact on Business:It will negatively affect the performance for HTTP request from BSP page to CRM backend.

Recommended Task:

Tune the following parameters as recommended.

Set icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/size_MB to 0 to disable the disk-level cache

Set icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/memory_size_MB to 1792

Set icm/HTTP/server_cache_0/max_entries to 25000

Refer the following documentation for more details: http://help.sap.com/saphelp_nw70ehp1/helpdata/en/48/405cbfca2331c3e10000000a42189d/frameset.htm

Please follow the sections from the SAP CRM Consultants Cook book.

http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-36041

Oracle Advanced level Compression

Compression for OLTP and OLAP.

Please refer to the below notes.

SAP note 740897 (Info about the Oracle license scope), Advanced Compression is an option contained in the Oracle database license offered by SAP

1289494 - FAQ Oracle compression

1436352 - Oracle Database 11g Advanced compression for SAP Systems.

Thanks for reading...

Ravi

Shaped by the experience in their private life – shopping, booking, exploring data via mobile devices and the internet – users are demanding simplicity and task orientation also in their business environment. For SAP, user experience is one of the key important topics and drivers for business solutions. To jumpstart the UX journey within your company, you can get information and the latest update at the upcoming 10th edition of the International SAP Conference for Utilities - taking place in Berlin/Germany from 13 to 15 April 2015.

On Monday 13 April afternoon, join the pre-conference workshop 10 offered by SAP experts, explaining how to:Turn the SAP User Experience Strategy into Your Customer Reality by

• Learning how you can refresh, renew, and reimagine your SAP investment for greater adoption and ROI
• Discovering how to create your customer specific UX strategy and road map
• Finding out where is best to start to improve user experience and get recommended next steps
• Connecting with peers and SAP UX experts to share and discuss about their approaches and experiences
        
      

Throughout both conference days (Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 April) you can learn more, discuss and deep dive into user experience and especially SAP Fiori for Utilities at the microforum.

Stay tuned for more details, and don’t forget to sign up for the conference! To get regular updates follow us on Twitter SAP Industries #SAPUtilities .

Blog by: Forrest Hu

SAP plays an important role as a solution provider and trusted advisor in the Utility Industry supported by a significant number of partners having their unique role and contribution to this role.

Among others, the MDUS (Meter Data Unification Synchronization) partners work with SAP to deliver end-to-end industry solutions which help the customers enable their business processes in a more efficient and automatic manner.

SAP provides Enterprise Services within their industry-specific solution SAP AMI Integration for Utilities AMI (Advanced Meter Reading) to communicate between SAP backend systems and a metering system platform that is connected to smart meters, allowing information to flow back and forth between the different entities of a utility, and a customer's electric meter.

Previously, SAP had a nominating-based partner strategy, such as EBS/QBS. In order to make the market a more open and flexible one, in 2014 SAP transited to SAP certification which is an open program for all partners in the industry.

The program is called SAP Enterprise Service Bundle Certification Package. It includes the below elements:

• An Enterprise Service Bundle Certification

This certification will certify the how capable the partners can consume
SAP ES and implement the PI Content.

• System Landscape Access Service

The system landscape will provide SAP Utility ERP as the backend and PI 7.3 as the router to MDUS. As a  subscriber, partners can use the landscape for testing, training and sandbox purpose.

Upon the successful certification, you as a partner will able be to:

• Enroll into the SAP PartnerEdge program and obtain an SAP partner status
• Be granted an SAP certificate and test report which is valid for 3 years
• Make press releases with the help of an  SAP PR team
• List your solution in the SAP Store
• Receive regular industry newsletters and join SAP webinars
• Join OpenSAP for detailed product training for free

Without certification, a certain company cannot bear the SAP Partner Logo and shall not claim the partnership with SAP.

By 2014, we already have a number of partners who have subscribed for the above certification program and are working closely with SAP ICC for accomplishing the certification.

We will continue to release the progress of the certification and technical aspects. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Forrest Hu.

United Energy Distribution and Multinet Gas have a problem - Information Envy.

United Energy and Multinet Gas own and manage the distribution networks that deliver electricity and gas to 1.2 million customers in Victoria Australia. They recently implemented SAP HANA in 4 months and from day one they were blown away by the surprising insights into their operations. This rapidly attracted interest from all parts of the organisation.  Now everyone wants similar insight into their part of the of the business.

Trailblazers Lead the Way

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Utility companies were talking with trepidation about a “Tsunami of Data” from smart grid devices and smart meters and despairing at the seas of “Dark Data” that flowed from these operational systems into long term storage never to be used again.

In response, a first wave of trailblazers embraced SAP’s in-memory technology and proved that HANA could tame Utility grade big data for everything from customer engagement to long term demand forecasting. These pioneering Utilities helped drive forward the development of HANA as they delivered unique solutions to prove the technology for their businesses.  Their innovative stories are well told:

• AGL - Data Intelligence Program
• Alliander - Real Time Load Forecasting; Spatial Analytics
• Centerpoint Energy – Call Center Predictive Anlaytics, Segmentation, Forecasting Model Engine
• PSE&G – Revenue Integrity
• Southern California Edison -  BW on HANA
• MVV Energie - CRM on HANA.
• Snohomish County PUD - Suite on HANA

The Second Wave

Of course many companies are risk averse and don’t want to be trailblazers so we are now seeing a second wave of Utilities looking for proven solutions to simplify the way they manage data and generate insight. The good news is that in the last 4 years the technology has matured as HANA has evolved from revision 16 in 2011 to revision 90 by the end of 2014. This maturity is evidenced by the rapid, on time, on budget HANA implementations of Utilities like United Energy Distribution and Multinet Gas. Along the way the HANA technology has passed the maturity tipping point to become mainstream, feverishly copied by competitors and a magnet for partners to develop complementary solutions such as SAS, ESRI, OSIsoft, Space Time Insight,  Fichtner,  Rolta. If your Utility had any lingering doubts that the technology was ready for prime time, then these should have been put to rest by the S4 HANA launch where SAP indicated that in the future core business applications will only run on HANA. Not surprisingly then, these days Utilities are no longer focused on “Proof of Concept” projects to prove the technology but rather “Proof of Value” activities to demonstrate the business case.  This is important because the business case for a HANA deployment involves not only IT benefits but more importantly business benefits.

IT Benefits

The IT benefits for HANA involve reduced cost of administration, hardware and software according to Forrester and up to a 50% reduction in report development effort according to Southern California Edison (play video from 18:25).

Business Benefits

The business benefits for analytics can be more difficult to quantify and get signed off in a business case. This is why a Proof of Value can be so powerful. As United Energy Distribution and Multinet Gas found out, it can be hard for business process owners to imagine analytics that are impossible with business as usual technologies.  However  when they see insight delivered on their own business data in a way that could never be done before, business people recognise the value immediately.

You never know, you may inspire Information Envy amongst your business also. Wouldn’t that be a good problem to have?

If you would like know more come to the International SAP Conference for Utilities and see the presentation “Information  Next – Building an Innovative and
Customer-Centric Platform” Anna Manojlovic, United Energy & Multinet Gas.

If you are building a HANA business case you can find free business case templates and questionnaires using the SAP Value Life Cycle Management tool.

Enterprise Asset Management is one of the top business imperatives in the Utility Industry as we work to manage operational challenges in our ever changing world.  From the inside of each of our utilities comes innovation, however we must turn to each other to learn and grow in our pursuit of operational excellent.

6 weeks from now Utility professionals from around the world will gather for the International SAP Conference for Utilities in Berlin Germany to present, discuss and learn from each other.  My colleague Uwe Meyer and I will have the honor of moderating the Enterprise Asset Management track for the attendees and we would like to highlight the exciting content for you.

Each day will feature SAP and Customer presentations covering important topics such as future SAP EAM roadmap, Operational Excellence, Mobility, Smart Financial Processes, Materials Handling, Environment, Health and Safety, Fuel Supply Chain Management and More !

Additionally there will be demonstrations and discussions taking place on the show floor using various formats.  Look for micro forums covering a wide variety of topics for the EAM community such as Mobility, Analytics, and GeoSpatial Enablement.

As with historical events – there is always more to see than we each seem to have time for.  So check out the online agenda, focus on the EAM track and make your commitments to attend in Berlin!

Watch this SCN Blog for additional details on the EAM track and more tips and tricks to maximize the value you can access from the SAP utility ecosystem.

See you in Berlin – Rory / Uwe

Only 6 weeks to go for the 10th International SAP Conference for Utilities.

We already informed you about our:

• 14 different workshops taking place on Monday, April 13. Each workshop provides you with a unique opportunity to address challenges, discuss them with your peers, and gain valuable guidance from some of the most knowledgeable experts on the applications from SAP. >> View workshop schedule

• The agenda with outstanding keynotes from external and internal executives/thoughtleaders and 6 different breakout tracks are already live since January and you can start to build your conference agenda. >>Latest agenda

BUT one additional key attraction is missing, The Exhibition.

The center of a conference, the place to meet, to discuss and to get your questions answered in an individual conversation.

This huge area consists of:

• Partner exhibition with more than 30 Utility partners presenting their solutions and services on offer >>Sponsor overview
• Partner demo theaters to better understand the latest partner solutions in the market and how they can support your business
• and of course a SAP Exhibition, devided in:
  • a welcome and meet the expert zone
  • 2 SAP microforums with 60 different sessions over two days about the latest SAP solutions and innovations to understand how you can optimize your business process (agenda will be live soon)
  • After each of these sessions the experts will be available at SAP Pods and your questions can be answered
  • For the first time we will offer a speed networking area where you can, exchange experience and increase your network in just a few minutes

For more information about the upcoming IUC and Utilities in general, follow me at @MelanieFiolka and join me on LindedIn.

I look forward to meeting you in The Exhibition! :-)

S/4HANA offers utility companies a great platform for innovation and improved business efficiency.

We will cover these topics in a pre-conference workshop at the International SAP Conference for Utilities, taking place in Berlin on April 13- 15, 2015.

On April 13 from 10:00 - 17:30 you can learn more about S4/HANA in Workshop 2: SAP HANA in the Utilities Industry - Use Cases, Transition Road Map, and How Utilities Companies Can Benefit. Read more and register here.

The picture below provides you a short description of the topics that are considered in that workshop. It will be presented by SAP experts with deep knowledge in these areas.

There are several session that also might be of interest for you:

Keynotes:

• Simplified Innovation for the Energy Industry presented by Peter Maier, Henry Bailey and Ken Evans, SAP on April, 14 at 10:15 am
• The Predicatability Horizon: The Emergence of SAP HANA as Time Machine presented by Dr. Steven Pratt, CenterPoint Energy on April 14 at 12:15 pm

Break-out Sessions:

• Get End-to-End Process Visibility in Real Time with the Intelligent Business Operations Bundle from SAP presented by Harshavardhan Jegadeesan, SAP on April 14 at 14:45 pm
• Instant Insight to Action - How SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA and SAP Fiori Change Decision-Making Processes in Utilities Companies presented by Jürgen Butsmann and Stefan Blum, SAP on April 15 at 11:15 am
• Simplify your Business with SAP S/4HANA and Cloud Solutions for Utilities presented by Stefan Engelhardt and Dieter Körber, SAP on April 15 at 11:15 am

Microforums:

• How to run a comprehensive System Landscape - supported by SAP MaxAttention presented by Stefan Blum, SAP
• Operational Reporting using HANA Live in Lumira presented by Axel Memminger
• Embedding Operational Reports (HANA Live) into Interaction Center presented by Axel Memminger
• Operational Process Intelligence presented by Harshavardhan Jegadeesan
• SAP Fiori apps for Utilities - Meter to Bill presented by Anne Krott

I am looking forward to seeing you in Berlin,

Axel

See how SAP HANA has allowed United Energy to innovate and streamline its IT systems to become more efficient and deliver quicker response times to employees and customers alike.

View the viedo and read the this blog Information Envy. The best problem you never had. to get deeper insight.

If you find this interesting and would like to hear more about this project, visit the International SAP Conference for Utilities, taking place from April 13-15, 2015 in Berlin.

United Energy and Multinet Gas will cover this project in their presentation "Information. Next - Building an Innovative an Customer-Centric Platform" on Tuesday April 14 from 16:45-17:25 pm

Since the very early days of smart metering SAP started an ambitious development programme to secure that the requirements and impact of smart meter technology could be accomodated by the extensive set of processes covered in the SAP for Utilities Business Suite.

The ideas and concepts behind smart meters have evolved as it did the SAP AMI Integration solution under which comprehensive smart metering related enhancements have been delivered from the very beginning with Enhancement Package 4 up to the present development roadmap.

Key topics in focus in this workshop are:

1. Alternatives for Reference Architectures
2. The SAP MDUS Concept
3. Master Data Model and Enhancements
4. Integration Concepts and Data Volumes
5. Meter Asset LifeCycle and Commissioning
6. Communication of Meter Readings
7. Processing of Events
8. Disconnection/Reconnection
9. Energy Settlement on SAP HANA
10. Support of Critical Peak Pricing and Demand Response
11. Architectures for Liberalized Energy Markets
12. Smart meter planning and roll-out

Do not miss the opportunity of discussing with your industry peers facilitated by the SAP experts your individual smart metering requirements, gain from the experience of many projects globally and learn on the roll-out strategies that can be followed for your individual company situation and respective regulatory environment.

Come to Workshop 3"SAP AMI Integration for Utlities" on April, 13 from 10:00 - 13:30 at the International Utilities Conference in Berlin.

I am looking forward to meeting you in Berlin

By Stefan Engelhardt and Dieter Körber

Related to: International SAP Conference for Utilities, Innovation Breakout Track, April 15, 2015

In February 2015, SAP announced the SAP Business Suite 4 on HANA (SAP S/4HANA), the next generation core ERP solution. Built on the design principle of simplicity and connecting state-of-the art business processes in real-time with external networks and the Internet of Things, SAP S/4HANA will become the game changing innovation platform for the next generation Utility Enterprise.

The first important step on the journey to this brand-new Next Generation ERP Platform was the adaptation of SAP’s market leading Utilities Business Suite to SAP HANA in 2013. The integration of analytical and transactional data and processes on one technical platform marked a paradigm shift in the history of business applications: The in-memory technology of HANA enabled the convergence of operational and commercial IT for the first time and paved the ground for a new dimension of business analytics based on real-time information during the process runtime.

The next logical step was consequently the simplification of the application infrastructure through the reduction of aggregates and tables that are no longer needed in the new real-time world – the S/4HANA vision was born and SAP decided to start the reinvention of the Business Suite with a simplified component for Financials (SAP Simple Finance), which became available already in 2014. The next milestone will be the delivery of a simplified logistics component (SAP Simple Logistics), followed by further components of the Business Suite.

SAP S/4HANA is developed on a completely new codeline and can be consumed either on-premise or via Cloud-services. Thus it creates unique opportunities to not only run your day-to-day business in real-time with industry best practices but also to reinvent business models and drive new revenues through: 

• Reimagined business models: Simplicity to connect to people, devices and business networks in real-time to deliver new experiences and value to customers. Internet of things and big data become accessible to any business – no more complex business collaboration and interactions 

• Reimagined business decisions: Simplicity to get any insight on any data from anywhere in real-time: planning, execution, prediction, simulation are now all done on the fly to drive faster business impact – no more complex data consolidation through Excel 

• Reimagined business processes: Simplicity to focus on the essential tasks in real-time and gain flexibility and agility to change business processes as needed for new efficiencies.

From an IT value perspective, S/4HANA can dramatically simplify the landscape with SAP HANA as the great simplifier through: 

• Reimagined user experience: Simplicity to get the job done across lines of business with a personalized, responsive and simple user experience available on any device - no more complex and different Uis - minimizing training efforts while increasing productivity. 

• Reimagined data models: Simplicity to reduce data footprint and work with larger data sets in one system to save costs (hardware and operational) and time - no more indices, aggregates, data redundancies and discrepancies between systems 

• Reimagined configuration: Simplicity to configure with an intuitive guided configuration for easy adoption

We will explain in our presentation at the 10th International SAP Utilities Conference how Utilities can benefit from S/4HANA already today and how SAP supports the migration from the classical Business Suite to S/4HANA. Furthermore we will describe how existing SAP Cloud Solutions complement S/4HANA and provide finally an outlook on the further evolution of SAP’s industry-specific components on the new platform.

LANDIS+GYR EMEA Tens of millions of smart meters installed all over Europe create huge data streams. Utilities receive hundreds of millions daily meter reads, power quality and network status adding up to terabytes of data into their systems. The question is:  how to manage the available data with efficiency and precision – and how to turn it into valuable information for smart decision making?

Efficient data management

Getting maximum value from the data requires a next generation meter data management system. One that allows utilities to consolidate metering, consumption and related data from all sources in a centralized system; that standardizes data according to customer specified rules and interconnects field metering systems with a broad range of enterprise applications. One that enables use of the data with a wide range of utility operations and helps analyze usage patterns, events, system performance and programs.  And one that analyzes realities in the field and translates them into meaningful, automated actions.

Role of MDMS

Integration Hub:

MDMS provides a unifying integration point and system of record to consolidate, analyze, and normalize metering and asset data information from a variety of sources.

Data Access and Transaction Integrity: Processes and delivers valid and accurate data to/from other utility systems in support of business operations and analytics.

Data Repository / Data Governance: Provides an enterprise-wide data repository of metering and asset information. MDMS also governs data versioning, use and access.

Prepared for the future

MDMS investments have to be made to enable increased data volume. Thus it is important to understand the long-term sustainability - both operationally and technically.  It’s essential that the system is based on a modular structure and is capable of scaling up in size and number of integrations.

End-to-end Big Data integration

Gridstream® MDMS is part of Landis+Gyr’s end-to-end solutions portfolio. The meter data management system stores, processes and analyses the streams of data into information ready for usage across the utility business.  Using international and industry standards, it interconnects field metering systems with a broad range of enterprise applications. Its analytic processes prepare data for a wide range of utility operations. Gridstream MDMS includes MDUS (Meter Data Unification and Synchronisation) for seamless integration with SAP IS/U. This enables end-to-end-business processes by connecting smart metering landscapes to SAP® for Utilities. The system is built on a platform that has proven its reliability and scalability in high-volume smart metering operations.

Interested to hear more? Please visit Landis+Gyr at International SAP Conference for Utilities in Berlin, April 13-15.

Versioning allows you to manage, document and keep track of changes made to aproduct.

Product modules are used to accelerate the modeling process.

In addition to the general documentation available on the Help Portal (http://help.sap.com/utilities-crm7.03 -> SAP for Utilities as part of CRM 7.0 EHP3 -> Application Help -> Product Modeling for Utilities), we want to offer you an example of the possible versions of a product module in the system.

In our example, you create a product module with version 0001, and the attribute Consumption Total. This version has the status In Progress:

If you set the status to Active for Testing, you can’t change the product module any more, until the version has been released, set obsolete or the old version has been retrieved:

If you set the status to Obsolete, you can no longer change the product module:

You can only create a new version of the product module:

If the version is reversed, the status of the product is changed back to In Process again, so that you can change the product module again:

You can add a product module to products. In this example, you have assigned the product module IUTA_ELEC_MODULE with version 0001 to a single-household rate contract (IUTA_ELEC_SINGLE) and a family-household rate contract (IUTA_ELEC_FAMILY):

When you release version 0001 of the product module, you can no longer change it. You can only create a new version:

You create version 0002 of product module IUTA_ELEC_MODULE:

You add attribute Rate Category , update the assigned products and release version 0002:

When choosing the History menu entry, you can display the version 0001 for PM IUTA_ELEC_MODULE. In this case, the attribute Rate Category added to version 0002 disappears: