Class society ABS performed the first ever remote failure mode effect analysis (DP/FMEA) as part of completing the special survey of machinery on the platform supply vessel Cat Island, owned by Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO)
The remote FMEA was conducted using the Louisiana-based OSV owners’ Remote Monitoring Centre (RMC).
Located in Cut Off, Louisiana, ECO’s RMC allows vessels and key assets to be tracked anywhere in real-time. This enables ECO to monitor maintenance and reduce the risk of unexpected failures, mitigating costly downtime. Using real-time data, vessel operators can respond before a problem occurs.
ECO has one of the most advanced platform supply vessel (PSV) fleets in the world, capable of providing remote troubleshooting and inspections. This reduces the need for technicians to travel to vessels, and supports social distancing, crucial to limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
ABS and ECO used this opportunity to pilot this DP/FMEA survey. These remote offerings also reduce emissions and improve efficiency for Chouest’s clients by limiting business travel emissions to and from port locations.
To conduct the FMEA, ABS senior surveyor Shawn Poulin and surveyor Charlie Morrow operated from the Remote Monitoring Centre for the event. “This was a unique experience and ABS plans to continue to work with Chouest and to use this process to execute remote surveys in future where possible,” said Mr Poulin. Chouest’s 312 class of PSVs have the features needed to make these remote surveys possible. These features on the 312 class combined with ECO’s RMC allow the execution of remote pilots with a key step on the road to digital class.
ABS conducts special surveys every five years. During the special survey, a full FMEA trial is carried out to evaluate processes and identify how they may fail and to assess the relative impact of different failures in order to identify the parts of the process that are most in need of change.
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