ABS releases enhanced version of NS5 Enterprise

ABS Nautical Systems (NS) has improved the functionality of its NS5 Enterprise suite of fleet management products through the release of an enhanced version of the software. Fleet managers can use NS5 Enterprise 6.3 to support their efficient ship operations, including vessel maintenance and drydocking scheduling.

NS5 Enterprise incorporates dynamic user work spaces and dashboards for the visual display of information. The program also has the ability to easily retrieve information by customising searches, creating favourites and allowing users to take full ownership of their system, ABS NS chief operating officer Stephen Schwarz said.

“When an owner or operator invests in a fleet management system, they want to be sure that it is not only powerful and capable, but it must be easy to train their people,” he explained. “Companies implementing software often do so as a result of business process reviews, and if the system is not something users can take to quickly, it does not matter how much functionality it contains.

“One challenge that our industry faces is that many companies grow with a mixed fleet, which means they have a mixed pool of people managing these assets. The balance we have to strike is between providing simplicity and ease of use on board the ship and enabling complex analysis of the resulting data in the office. The risk in trying to include so much functionality and capability is that applications tend to become very feature heavy and their screens cluttered. Instead of empowering users, it is easy for them to feel overwhelmed.”

ABS NS made a conscious effort to ensure NS5 Enterprise 6.3 was simple to use while keeping the functionality. Mr Schwarz said the system provides a well-defined and simple means of user set-up, which can be done to reflect the level of simplicity or complexity that can serve either shipboard or shore-based users. “Our conversations with owners and operators often highlight that the system’s ease of use, especially for crew members on board, is what differentiates our software from the competition,” he said.

When NS became part of the newly formed ABS Asset Performance Management group (APM), in 2013, the focus of development changed to enhancing the NS5 voyage and energy manager modules. APM’s mission is to support owners and managers in their efforts to collect and analyse vessel performance data, improve energy efficiency and apply advanced lifecycle maintenance practices.

These enhancements have been introduced in version 6.3. The software now includes a vessel scheduler, which provides a ship or fleet-wide view of scheduled arrival and departure dates at a port of call.

The scheduler improves visibility by tracking the vessel’s voyage, movement of crew, delivery of materials and attendance by service technicians.

“Custom required fields allow system administrators to specify which form fields are optional or required, based on chosen operational processes,” Mr Schwarz said. “Since not all users require the same information, having the ability to specify which fields are required improves the quality of the data collected by the ship’s crew.”

An audit logging feature supports compliance and onshore monitoring by tracking data modifications made by crew members during the voyage by capturing when data was changed, by whom and the reason for the change.

The cargo form, already found in the voyage and energy manager, has been improved and new features include the ability to record cargo load information by specific vessel type. The cargo performance report has also been enhanced to provide users with cargo-loading totals and variance by tank, including losses. All delays during cargo operations can be collected and reported, and improvements that will allow for more accurate cargo/fuel analysis and energy-efficiency calculations.

There have also been improvements to the health, safety, quality and environment (HSQE) module. “Based on customer feedback and responding to industry needs, NS5 Enterprise 6.3 also includes new functionality in the HSQE manager and crew manager modules,” Mr Schwarz said. “To assist owners and operators in complying with the Maritime Labour Convention, a new work/rest hours functionality has been added to the crew manager module, which automatically calculates the time and notifies the appropriate person within the organisation if the required rest hours are not met.”

Added to the HSQE module is the new quality time plan functionality, which allows users to create a compliance plan, maintain compliance activities and schedules, and track the execution of the plan. “Users can expedite workflow and easily track audits, inspections, drills and meetings, which will help to minimise regulatory violations and reduce port delays,” he explained.

ABS NS has gained new contracts in 2014 from shipowners and managers in Asia and North America. They include contracts from Swissco Offshore, Bestford Offshore, Limin Marine and Cara Shipping. Contracts have also been secured with Falcon Energy Group, Marine Tech, VSE Corp, Patriot Contract Services and Blue Marine Group.

Tero Marine has developed a method of accessing the TM Master suite of fleet management software on tablets and laptop computers (Marine Electronics & Communications June/July 2014). MEC