With cargo owners and ship managers increasingly demanding access to data from shipowners, standardisation of verification measures is needed for an efficient digital ecosystem
With cargo owners and ship managers increasingly demanding access to data from shipowners, standardisation of verification measures is needed for an efficient digital ecosystem
Standardisation is needed if shipowners and managers are to see the full benefits of big data on a fleetwide basis – this was a key takeaway from a press briefing given by DNV GL’s commercial director for the Veracity platform, Magnus Lande, in which he called for collaboration and efforts to combat siloisation.
Mr Lande was speaking on Industry 4.0 and the need to break down traditional silos. “Industry 4.0 is to a large degree about information being available,” he said, noting that in other sectors such as finance, banking and aviation, information availability is becoming much more open.
There is increasing demand for data and transparency, he said. “You see more and more ship managers and cargo owners asking for data access in their contracts [..] but they can’t get it because the shipowners themselves don’t have access to it.”
He noted that one of the difficulties in generating uptake for performance management and condition-based monitoring suites is the lack of standardisation. “Many companies want to go on board and get information with their own protocols and standards – that’s fine for knowing how their equipment is being used […] but at the end of the day it doesn’t help the shipowner, who would like to have an asset-centric or fleet-centric view of their ships.”
“If you have 50 ships with 50 different equipment makers, each getting their data out in their own formats, and the shipowner says to them [they want all of the data] sent somewhere, you can imagine how much it would cost to consolidate all that data to provide the shipowner the possibility of a fleet-centric approach to optimisation.
“If you want all of this to come together, either you can build it yourself and spend a lot of money, you can partner up with someone, or you can join one of the many initiatives in industry today,” he said.
He called for collaboration as a solution to this, noting that the initial response to digitalisation from industry has been that “everyone is trying to figure out how to protect their business model and make good money.”
“This first reaction is not asset-centric and I hope that will be overcome over the course of the next few years,” he added.
Mr Lande noted that new ISO standards relating to maritime data, ISO 19847 and ISO 19848, came out in October last year. The Japanese maritime cluster was involved in developing these standards and is promoting their adoption, he added. ISO 19847 specifies requirements for shipboard data servers used for collecting data from a vessel’s machinery and systems and sharing this data in a safe and efficient manner; while ISO 19848 relates to the structure of ships, shipboard machinery and equipment, and is intended for implementers of software used to capture and process sensor data from these.
Asked whether DNV GL was backing the ISO standards, he said “We are pushing for standardisation – whether or not it’s this standard is not important; the important thing is we agree on standardisation.”
“I believe the industry is amid a cacophony of digitalisation,” said Mr Lande, warning that currently a lot of effort is being put into extracting data without much thought as to how it can be efficiently used, and vessels are still becoming paper mills where crews are spending a lot of time on administrative tasks that could be digitalised.
“It’s all about the people – not only running companies but doing the job on the ship.
“What digitalisation is about is incremental change and transformational change,” he said. “At first we should focus on making the people and the industry more efficient with this new toolbox, and later on you will […] move towards transformational change.”
LR launches asset performance management software
UK-based class society Lloyd’s Register (LR) launched AllAssets in December 2018, a software-as-a-service-based asset performance management platform.
AllAssets is the first in a series of planned software releases from LR and incorporates a suite of functionalities. These include a model builder that can build custom models in days using code-free techniques, to provide performance and risk insights to better inform teams across an enterprise. This allows for increased knowledge sharing and a boost in productivity. LR also offers validation and certification of models built by users to ensure compliance with regulations, industry standards and software practices.
Another function is enterprise resource planning (ERP) system integration, which drives operational efficiencies through sharing data with ERP systems resulting in greater clarity and certainty in maintenance and planning schedules.
The base AllAssets package comprises two areas – risk-based inspection (RBI) and inspection data management systems (IDMS). RBI contains a library of risk models that support common asset types such as pressure vessels and piping, allowing users to prioritise operational inspection work for the most common equipment found in asset-intensive industries. IDMS assists with planning and managing inspection, maintenance and repair, based on AllAssets risk-assessment and the user’s own strategic goals.
Optional modules available so far centre on reliability-centred maintenance, which is used to establish safe minimum maintenance levels for reliable and compliant operations, and root cause analysis, used to investigate contributing factors behind high-impact incidents.
LR estimates using AllAssets can reduce inspection and maintenance costs by 50% and increase equipment uptime by at least 20%, with the implementation costs achieved in less than a year.
Callenberg keeps cool with big data
A major challenge for Callenburg Technology Group involved sorting out invalid or corrupt data by qualifying it at the point of collection
Turning big data into smart data is the interesting and innovative focus currently being explored by Callenberg Technology Group.
This approach involves connecting all systems within HVAC (chillers, pumping systems, fan coils, ducts, air handlers and other critical components and sub-systems serving the machinery and accommodation systems) to ensure all are closely integrated and work in harmony.
Callenberg’s energy management and HVAC marine conversion director Magnus Hansson explained “We have worked with our own network, smart components and wireless technology to link the different areas and sub-sectors of HVAC, taking full control of, for instance, the cabin climate.”
He said the next challenge involved digitalisation and internet-of-things technology.
“A challenge is how we handle all this information. How to efficiently turn big data into smart data, as big data just takes up space if not used correctly. A major challenge has been to sort out invalid or corrupt data by qualifying it at the point of collection."
Mr Hansson went on to explain that this required advanced software, otherwise one risks “taking decisions that are not correct and that could result in [a] poor climate control and waste of energy.”
Hence, Callenberg’s recent focus has been all about ensuring the data it uses is ‘smart’. To this end, it uses an advanced process involving several algorithms to qualify the data and ensures all parts of HVAC work as one seamless system. “It is very easy for sub-systems to counteract each other, as very often different parts are provided by different suppliers. Therefore, smooth co-operation between the different systems is of great importance,” Mr Hansson said.
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