Capital Ship Management reports 'dramatic' reduction in repair costs

SKF’s handheld device, QuickCollect, is a Bluetooth sensor that connects to apps that work with both iOS and Android devices. The device combines vibration and temperature sensing and overall data can be viewed on the spot in real-time or pushed to the cloud for future analysis.

Onboard engineers use handheld devices to collect vibration data from critical machinery including cargo pumps, engineroom fans, compressors, purifiers and electric motors.

Capital said it has been investigating condition monitoring strategies since 2006 to reduce maintenance costs. Capital Ship Management technical fleet director George Ioannidis said using the SFK device helped the company in obtaining quick and reliable results and has reduced the cost of repairs “dramatically”.

He added “The onboard engineers using this vibration device can now collect vibration data from all critical and non-critical machinery, including cargo pumps, engineroom fans, compressors, purifiers, electric motors etc and present detailed vibrations reports to class surveyors during periodical machinery survey.”

The device provides vibration data in real-time on a tablet or mobile phone via SFK’s QuickCollect and ProCollect apps. This allows engineers to carry out maintenance and replace components immediately if required.

SFK said the system can be customised for different marine customers, depending on their specific needs.Vibration data can also be viewed and reviewed using the PC-compatible Analysis and Reporting Manager (ARM) software. Data can also be uploaded to the cloud, allowing SKF’s onshore vibration analysts to make a more detailed assessment and prepare a report if needed.

Capital has implemented the solution across a fleet of 30 vessels, with eyes on extending this to the whole fleet of 56 vessels.

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