An expert panel provided insight into what is required for advanced vessel maintenance during Riviera Maritime Media’s Ship system condition monitoring for smart vessel maintenance webinar
This event, sponsored by Wärtsilä, was held 3 February 2022 during Riviera’s Vessel Lifecycle Maintenance Webinar Week,
On the panel were Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BMS) Hellas group technical superintendent Theodore Ioannou, Wärtsilä Marine Power general manager for product management Patrik Strand, MOL LNG Transport (Europe) project technical superintendent Daniel Popa and Geislinger sales manager for digital services Florian Zeitler.
They discussed different pathways for adopting smart vessel maintenance to reduce the risk of issues with onboard systems causing downtime. Experts examined the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and sensor networks for better maintenance management, real-time condition monitoring, predictive diagnostics and optimising onboard processes.
Mr Popa said a complete enterprise resource planning system for ships needs to include interlinked modules to manage machinery maintenance, drydocking, purchasing, accounting, crewing, certification, health, safety, quality and environmental modules.
“Modules are all linked and need to be kept up-to-date,” said Mr Popa. They are used for “managing operations on board, keeping spares updated and analysing data to prevent machinery failures.”
Data from engineroom and bridge systems can be combined for condition-based maintenance and “for improving overall efficiency and reliability,” said Mr Popa.
Mr Ioannou said BSM uses condition monitoring to optimise its maintenance strategies for owners. “It helps us know the health condition of our machinery, without the need for opening them up,” he explained.
Condition monitoring enables BSM to collect data with non-invasive techniques. “And like a good medical doctor, we are able to diagnose a treatment outside the fixed boundaries of a planned maintenance system,” Mr Ioannou said.
BSM can plan better plan maintenance routines using condition monitoring. “We can achieve better spare prices since we will order them in a timely manner,” he continued. “We can perform corrective actions to expand the asset’s life and increase the time between overhauls.”
Ongoing condition monitoring also helps BSM “avoid unnecessary openings that lead to sudden breakdowns soon after closing the equipment, due to improper mounting,” said Mr Ioannou.
Attendees of the webinar were asked a series of poll questions for their opinion on various elements of smart maintenance strategies.
In one question, they were asked what the single most-important benefit of condition monitoring was. Of those who responded, 52% said it prevented sudden breakdowns and possible off-hire of vessels. 20% thought it reduced operating expenditure, another 20% voted for giving better insight to engineers about the health condition of ship equipment and 8% said it saved crew time on maintenance and increased their productivity.
They were then asked what the most challenging aspect of condition monitoring is. 45% said it was owners accepting the costs of the services and 24% thought it was convincing the industry about the truthfulness of the diagnostics and its results. 22% voted for the provision of condition monitoring services from major engine makers and 9% thought it was proper training of crew and shore-based staff.
For crew training, 99% of the responding delegates agreed that data-based best-practice sharing can support crew training.
Mr Strand said onshore experts could be used to provide insight to chief engineers and technical superintendents. “With increasing complexity, more maintenance solutions should have experts involved,” he said. “Key to success is close co-operation between clients and partners to enable smart maintenance.”
Experts can use data and analytics to provide actionable support and verify condition monitoring. “Deviations in operations are highlighted to the expert using both AI- and rule-based detection methods,” said Mr Stand.
Then, experts can provide recommendations to shipowners, managers and crew for onboard maintenance actions.
“We can continue to learn through condition monitoring and enable proactive maintenance,” said Mr Strand. “With more sensors, we do not want to overwhelm crew with vast amounts of data. They need advice from experts and advances in AI and analytics.”
Wärtsilä provides daily direct contact to experts in technical operational issues for 24/7 remote support. It has a range of collaborative tools and capabilities to support case resolution.
Webinar attendees were positive about sharing knowledge across the industry. 88% agreed with this question, “Do you believe a shared, common-knowledge platform with industry based practices will help improve our overall performance?” 12% voted no.
But there was a mixed response to how much responsibility could be realistically shifted from crew to remote experts. In a poll, 59% of respondents said half of the responsibility – there should be strong co-operation between crew and remote experts, with decisions taken jointly. 21% thought a quarter of the responsibility could be transferred – with remote experts assisting the crew, but the main responsibility should be on board.
17% thought three-quarters could be shifted onshore; the main responsibility should be with the remote experts with crew helping to make the right decisions on board. Just 3% voted for all responsibility remaining with the onboard crew and no one voted for all responsibility removed from the crew.
In his presentation, Mr Zeitler explained the digital services from Geislinger, including monitoring powertrain components such as dampers and transmission.
Sensors on this equipment produce data which is transferred to junction boxes on the ship which combine data and send it to a processing unit, which feeds information to onboard operator panels and Geislinger’s digital platform.
Ship operators gain remote access through the analytics platform to “powertrain data and trouble shoot warnings and alarms and anomaly detection,” said Mr Zeitler.
They can visualise key performance indicators and implement predictive maintenance.
Condition monitoring will be increasingly needed as shipowners and operators slow ships to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
“New rpm ranges on powertrains will increase wear,” said Mr Zeitler. He expects regular monitoring and AI-drive analytics will enable owners to detect issues and act to reduce wear on components.
Webinar attendees were in agreement of the importance of condition monitoring of the drivetrain. 89% agreed to the statement “Comprehensive insights of the powertrain can help to reduce total cost of ownership and support the industry achieving the go-green goals” in a poll.
In another poll, attendees were asked if data analytics will play an important role in the future for the definition of the scope of maintenance works. 64% strongly agreed, 34% agreed, and just 2% disagreed.
Up to 93% of those responding agreed that condition monitoring should be part of a regulatory framework in the future, with just 7% clicking no.
On Riviera’s Ship system condition monitoring for smart vessel maintenance webinar panel were (left to right) Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Hellas) group technical superintendent Theodore Ioannou, Wärtsilä Marine Power general manager for product management Patrik Strand, MOL LNG Transport (Europe) project technical PMS superintendent Daniel Popa and sales manager for digital services Florian Zeitler.
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