Just as connected devices are making headway on land, connected ships are growing in popularity at sea thanks to their ability to streamline and improve marine operations
While it could be said that more is being done to integrate and adopt digital technologies in the consumer space[ds_preview], we have to recognize the strides that the marine industry has taken – from introducing automation and control system to implementing real-time fleet tracking. It is also vital to note that a consumer device, whether that be a car, fridge or watch, is a completely different beast from a 150,000t ship, so the two worlds can’t move at the same speed. However, the key benefits of connected components remain the same no matter what industry we are discussing.
There are five key benefits of implementing digital operations aboard a vessel:
1. Route optimization and fuel efficiency
This is crucial for the safety of the crew and also for reducing fuel consumption. It is no secret that both fuel saving and optimizing operations have been the main drivers of introducing digital technology into a fleet because in some cases, fuel costs account for up to 40 % of total operational expenses. Use of technology has the ability to reduce this figure as predictive analytics tools can bring in weather forecast data to optimize route planning, manage propulsion levels and reduce overall fuel consumption.
2. Fleet management
By looking at an entire fleet, not just at each vessel in a silo, operators can automatically check operating performance against other ships, highlighting anomalies or inefficiencies aboard a specific vessel. Digital technologies are revolutionizing and simplifying this process, and it is not just fleet operators that are responsible for spotting potential issues; the use of predictive analytics systems also allows experts to compare operational statistics and data against other fleets, providing a greater pool of data from which they can draw insights.
3. Improve design and testing from the outset
The use of data and predictive analytics is not just crucial when a ship is at sea, but also in its design phase. Combining decades of experience, software modelling tools can analyze a vessel’s anticipated operational profile, optimizing the design from the offset. It has the ability to test the performance of a ship’s systems against mathematical models and against different combinations of weather and other marine conditions to assess and refine vessel performance.
Used during the shipbuilding process, software analytics can also provide fast, real-time comparisons of the performance of different electrical configurations, enabling improved design and configuration of electrical solutions and estimating the annual running costs incurred by the vessel design, so equipment selections can be made to reduce fuel consumption and achieve further savings.
4. Reduce downtime
Unanticipated outages on board vessels can cost serious money. In fact, unplanned downtime for a drillship can end up costing up to 12mill. $ per year. However, predictive analytics tools, can identify impending equipment failures before they happen, reducing unplanned downtime. A digital model, called »the digital twin«, can be built based on years of a vessel’s data history. By comparing asset to asset and vessel to vessel with the digital twin, the software is able to search for anomalies and give early warnings of a potential failure, enabling the industry to shift from planned to condition-based maintenance.
5. Remote monitoring
The use of data allows companies to monitor vessels in real time, record and analyze their histories and search for anomalies. Software and connectivity can bring the issues encountered on board a vessel to the experts on shore, allowing issues to be resolved more quickly and helping to reduce third-party cost.
What’s more, the use of predictive analytics also helps address a global skill shortage. Few vessel operators have access to sufficient qualified engineers to be able to deploy experts in every system aboard every vessel. As such, being able to resolve issues from the shore can significantly enhance operations and reduce the number of engineers needed without sacrificing safety or operational performance.
There will be many large employers that risk losing 50 to 80% of their retirement-eligible population in the next five years. The use of analytic tools also allows knowledge and insights to be stored, capturing and retaining some of the experience that would otherwise be lost when personnel retire.
Tim Schweikert
