Instrument 01 Solar O&M Maturity Survey South African cohort

Seven areas. Six levels. One scale for solar.

The Solar Operations Maturity Institute (SOM Institute) is an industry initiative with two parts: a standardised maturity model for the solar PV industry, and a benchmark of the South African industry built on it. The model is a common language for how well solar assets are monitored, measured, optimised, financed and reported on.

Its first instrument is the Solar O&M Maturity Survey. It takes under ten minutes, benchmarks you against the South African cohort, and gives you a gap analysis toward the level you choose.

Take the survey Read the model
Areas
7
Rated questions
13
Yes/no question
1
Minutes
<10

Fig. 01 The SOM Institute maturity matrix

7 areas × 6 levels · short titles

Full descriptions
The SOM Institute maturity model: seven areas, each rated on the same six levels from 0 to 5. Each cell gives that level’s short title in that area.
Area 0 Blind 1 Manual 2 Reactive tooling 3 Systematic 4 Automated & integrated 5 Optimised & quantified
01 Monitoring No monitoring Portal-by-portal Vendor alerts One view Alerting with ownership Measured & prioritised
02 Performance Not tracked Eyeballed Vs a static estimate Weather-adjusted Causes attributed Every lost kWh explained and costed
03 Data Quality Unknown Found by accident Spot checks Gap detection Cross-validated Quantified confidence
04 Data Analysis Raw data only Occasional exports Portal charting String & temperature analysis Automated anomaly analysis Continuous fleet analytics
05 Optimisation Commissioning settings Occasional tweaks Seasonal reviews Per-site optimisation Simulation-backed Continuous & verified
06 Finance No financial view Rules of thumb Estimated savings Tariff-accurate Asset-level finance Auditable
07 Reporting None On request Manual monthly Automated & standard Role-tailored Insight-driven

Read across a row for one area, or down a column for one level. Every area sits on the same 0–5 spine, so a level means the same degree of maturity wherever it appears. The bar on each cell fills to its level.

01 Who it is for

Four paths into the survey.

The survey opens by asking which of these describes your organisation.

  1. Path A: Owner-user

    “We own solar assets and use the power ourselves”

  2. Path B: Owner-PPA provider

    “We own solar assets and sell the power under a PPA”

  3. Path C: Provider

    “We build, operate or manage solar for other businesses”

    EPCs, O&M providers, asset managers

  4. Path D: PPA customer

    “We buy power under a PPA, someone else owns the plant”

Also read by

Funders, boards and landlords. They read the reports rather than answer the survey.

02 What you get

Three things in return.

  1. 01

    Your maturity, benchmarked

    Area by area, against the anonymised South African cohort: installers, O&M providers, asset owners and managers. Confidential.

  2. 02

    A gap analysis

    For every area, the practical steps from today’s level to the target you set.

  3. 03

    The industry insights

    The aggregate picture: where the sector is strong, where it lags, and what the leaders do differently.

Delivery

Results are emailed within about two weeks of the survey closing. This site never shows a score; your report arrives by email.

03 The survey, specified

What you will be asked.

Seven areas, thirteen rated questions and one yes/no question. Under ten minutes in total.

Areas
7Monitoring · Performance · Data Quality · Data Analysis · Optimisation · Finance · Reporting
Rated questions
13Each answered on the same 0–5 scale.
Yes/no question
1Whether the expected-generation figure is independently verified.
Per area
How important the area is to you (Not applicable, Low, Medium or High), the level you want to reach (your target, 0–5), then where you are today (0–5) on each question in that area.
Unfamiliar terms
Any question can be marked as unfamiliar.
Context
Approximate site count and installed capacity (ranges), and an approximate monthly budget range for monitoring and analytics per site.
Where production is lost
  • Grid unavailability
  • Downtime & maintenance
  • System underperformance
  • Throttling or curtailment
Time
<10minutes
Results
Emailed within about two weeks of the survey closing.
Confidentiality
Individual answers are confidential. The benchmark partners receive aggregated, anonymised results only. Read the privacy note.

04 Partners

Run in partnership with

  • University of Cape Town
  • TruePoint South Africa
  • Partnerships for Growth (P4G)
  • SolrBoost

Note The maturity model behind the SOM Institute was developed by SolrBoost. Read the model history

Instrument 01 · Solar O&M Maturity Survey

Under ten minutes to answer. Your benchmark and gap analysis, by email.

Take the survey