Resiliency as a Service: Ongoing Lightning Protection Management

Here's what typically happens: a facility commissions a lightning protection system, files the compliance documentation, and moves on. Five years later, SPDs have degraded without anyone noticing. Earthing connections have corroded. Standards have been updated. The facility has been modified. The protection system that was compliant on day one is now a liability, and nobody knows, because nobody's been looking.

Lightning protection isn't set-and-forget. Systems degrade, regulations evolve, facilities change, and most organisations don't have the in-house expertise to manage all three.

Aetheric's Resiliency as a Service (RaaS) is continuous lightning protection management through a subscription model. Structured, proactive programmes covering monitoring, testing, modelling, compliance, and strategic planning, protection that stays performing and compliant, year after year.

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Traditional consulting solves specific problems, new designs, risk assessments, audit remediation. But it leaves gaps between engagements where the protection system gets no expert attention:

• SPDs degrade silently: surge protective devices have finite lifespans and can fail without visible indication. Without monitoring, failed SPDs leave equipment exposed.
• Earthing systems deteriorate: corrosion, soil changes, and physical damage gradually degrade earthing performance. Without periodic testing and modelling, the decline goes undetected.
• Standards evolve: codes are updated, new requirements emerge, and what was compliant at installation may no longer meet current obligations.
• Facilities change: new equipment, building modifications, and operational changes alter the protection requirements. Protection systems designed for the original facility may no longer be adequate.
• Knowledge walks out the door: when staff who understand the protection system leave, institutional knowledge is lost. Maintenance lapses. Documentation gaps appear.

RaaS closes these gaps with continuous expert oversight, protection that doesn't degrade between the engagement that installed it and the incident that exposes a failure.

RaaS wraps Aetheric's consulting services into a structured, ongoing programme, tailored to your facility's complexity and criticality, delivered on a predictable schedule:

1. Baseline Assessment

Comprehensive site audit and risk assessment establishing current protection status, compliance position, and risk profile. The baseline against which all future activity is measured.

2. Protection Programme Design

Based on baseline findings, we design a tailored programme of ongoing activities, monitoring schedules, testing intervals, modelling updates, inspection protocols, compliance milestones, and improvement priorities. The programme is documented and agreed with your team.

3. Ongoing Delivery

Scheduled earthing testing and modelling, SPD condition monitoring, compliance verification (IEC 62305-2:2024, AS/NZS 1768:2021, IEC 61643 / AS/NZS 61643), and reporting. Issues are flagged, prioritised, and routed to our design and remediation services.

4. Continuous Improvement

Annual reviews assess effectiveness, update risk profiles using current Skytree Scientific lightning data, fold in standards changes, and adjust the programme as your facility evolves.

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Three tiers, each designed for different facility profiles. Each builds on the one below:

Essential

Core ongoing oversight every protected facility needs but few receive, built for facilities with established protection systems requiring structured maintenance and compliance verification.

Includes:

• Annual site inspection and protection system condition assessment
• Periodic earthing system testing (frequency based on standards and site conditions)
• SPD condition verification and replacement recommendations
• Standards compliance tracking and gap notification when codes are updated
• Annual summary report documenting system status, findings, and recommendations
• Dedicated Aetheric account contact for technical queries

Best for: Single-facility operations, commercial buildings, and infrastructure with standard risk profiles and established protection systems.

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Advanced

Adds proactive monitoring, faster response, and deeper analytical capability, built for facilities where protection performance directly drives operational availability and financial risk.

Everything in Essential, plus:

• Bi-annual site inspections with detailed reporting
• SPD monitoring programme with proactive replacement scheduling
• Earthing system modelling and performance trending
• Lightning strike event analysis (post-event investigation when strikes are detected near your facility)
• Priority response for urgent protection concerns
• Risk assessment updates incorporating current lightning data from Skytree Scientific
• Compliance documentation maintained and audit-ready at all times
• Annual protection system performance review with improvement recommendations

Best for: Data centres, energy facilities, hospitals, and critical infrastructure where protection performance is tied directly to operational availability and regulatory compliance.

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Strategic

Full programme management for organisations operating multiple facilities across regions, integrates RaaS with lightning resiliency planning so strategic oversight runs alongside operational delivery.

Everything in Advanced, plus:

• Multi-facility programme coordination with portfolio-level reporting
• Enterprise risk dashboard tracking protection status across all sites
• Strategic planning integration including capital investment prioritisation and multi-year roadmaps
• Regulatory compliance framework management across multiple jurisdictions
• Climate adaptation monitoring incorporating evolving lightning patterns into protection strategies
• Dedicated programme manager and quarterly executive briefings
• Training programmes for facilities operations staff
• Priority access to all Aetheric consulting services at preferential rates

Best for: Government agencies, utilities, defence, multi-site data centre operators, and organisations managing distributed assets across geographic regions.

Learn more about Strategic →

RaaS isn't just a billing change, it changes the economics and effectiveness of protection management:

• Predictable costs: annual subscription replaces unpredictable reactive spending. Budget with confidence instead of scrambling after incidents.
• Proactive rather than reactive: scheduled monitoring catches degradation before it becomes a failure. You fix problems on your timeline, not the weather's.
• Continuous compliance: standards evolve constantly. RaaS ensures your documentation and systems stay current without you tracking every code revision.
• Retained expertise: your Aetheric team knows your facilities, your systems, and your risk profile. No re-onboarding, no knowledge loss, no starting from scratch each engagement.
• Demonstrable due diligence: a documented, ongoing protection management programme is the strongest possible evidence of due diligence for regulators, insurers, and stakeholders.

Regardless of which tier you choose, every RaaS subscription includes:

• Baseline site audit and risk assessment at programme commencement
• All testing on calibrated Megger DET2/3, results processed through XGSLab
• Compliance verification against current IEC 62305-2:2024, AS/NZS 1768:2021, and IEC 61643 / AS/NZS 61643
• Documentation maintained to audit-ready standard
• Access to Aetheric's full consulting capability for additional project work

RaaS is designed for sectors where lightning protection isn't a one-off compliance exercise, it's an ongoing operational requirement:

How long is a RaaS subscription?

Annual agreements, with multi-year terms at preferential rates. Minimum initial term is 12 months to allow baseline assessment and programme establishment.

Can we change tiers during the subscription?

Yes, upgrades any time, downgrades at annual renewal. Many clients start at Essential and move to Advanced as proactive monitoring proves itself.

What if we need additional project work beyond the subscription scope?

All subscribers can access Aetheric's full consulting capability for additional work, new system design, major earthing upgrades and modelling, or RSM modelling. Strategic tier receives preferential rates for additional project work.

Do we need an existing protection system to subscribe?

No. The baseline assessment identifies what's in place (or missing). If a new or upgraded system is needed, design and implementation fold into the programme, RaaS then manages the ongoing lifecycle.

Is RaaS available in all your operating regions?

Yes. RaaS is available across all our operating regions, New Zealand, APAC, the Middle East and West Africa, delivered by Aetheric's team with current knowledge of local standards and regulatory requirements.

How does pricing work?

Pricing is based on facility complexity, number of sites, tier selection, and geographic location. Contact us for a tailored proposal.

RaaS isn't a separate product, it's a delivery model that draws on the same expert services our clients have always relied on:

• Risk Assessment Studies: baseline and periodic risk quantification (Skytree Scientific)
• Lightning Protection Systems: protection system design and SPD coordination expertise
• Ground/Earthing Testing & Modelling: scheduled testing programmes (Megger DET2/3 + XGSLab)
• Site Audits: periodic inspection and compliance verification
• Design Services: remediation and upgrade design when issues are identified
• Lightning Resiliency Planning: enterprise-level strategy for multi-facility programmes (Strategic tier)