Topeka-based Westar Energy has taken the predictive maintenance (PdM) system the extra mile-a few hundred miles, in fact. It not only installed PdM systems at all the generating plants in its portfolio but also networked those systems. Payoffs include a virtual team of analysts and engineers who can collaborate on solutions to problems at any of the plants. Westar would argue that missing a single opportunity to sell power in a high-demand market can cost a plant tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue-enough to pay for all the PdM equipment you'll ever need.