Emerson has introduced five new Ovation AI Agents designed to help operators monitor power and water plants and identify potential problems before they lead to equipment failures or disruptions.
The five AI tools are:
- Sequence Assistant Agent: Helps operators identify why an operating sequence, such as starting a steam turbine, has stopped and suggests corrective action.
- Alarm Insight Agent: Helps operators identify the most important alarms when many alerts occur at the same time.
- Predictive Maintenance Agent: Monitors equipment for early signs of deterioration and alerts maintenance teams to potential problems.
- Root Cause Agent: Examines information from alarms, equipment and plant processes to help identify what may be causing a problem.
- Loop Performance Monitor Agent: Monitors control systems and identifies problems such as poor tuning and fluctuations.
The tools work with Emerson’s Ovation 4.0 Automation Platform and continuously analyse information from the plant. Operators remain responsible for deciding what action to take.
Emerson says early deployments have shown that the tools can help identify problems more quickly. In one case, the Sequence Assistant Agent identified a failed condition within seconds that would previously have required a lengthy manual investigation. In another, the Predictive Maintenance Agent identified an equipment problem before it became critical.
The five AI Agents are scheduled to launch in autumn 2026. Emerson plans to develop additional AI agents covering areas including operations, maintenance, optimisation, instrumentation and control.
