Asset owners are beginning to leverage the digital strategies that enable condition-based class.
Digitalisation has the potential to transform the shipping industry, but the effects will also be disruptive. Managing this transition calls for a combination of technical and operational measures and a deep understanding of how digi[ds_preview]tal business affects a function like classification. The immediate goal of digital class is to be able to increase remote and virtual inspection of assets using techniques like image recognition, drone technology and video streaming.
Our ultimate goal is to use digital tools to enable Condition-Based Class; unlocking better operational decisions that deliver benefits in terms of safety, efficiency and sustainability. Digitalisation is closely linked to shipping’s decarbonisation challenge because the greater the efficiency of vessel operations, the more fuel and therefore emissions can potentially be saved. It’s a challenge our clients have already embraced for operational reasons; our role is helping to capture the deeper value in that process so that the impact is felt both in their bottom line and in their safety and sustainability strategy.
The results of this strategy are already bearing fruit. ABS and offshore energy logistics specialist Topaz Energy and Marine recently announced the implementation of a pioneering project ultimately enabling a condition-based survey approach. The agreement marks a significant step in Topaz’s journey to transform its fleet to a CBC model with the entry of »Caspian Voyager«, Topaz’s largest modern Platform Supply Vessel in the Caspian Sea, into the extended dry-docking scheme as a bridge for this transition.
Our »Smart« Notation launched in April 2019 is key to this process as it brings together the operational aspects of a digital strategy and reflects the changes in the inspection regime. Smart functions will drive increasingly condition-based approaches to both maintenance and class survey. While the functions themselves are designed to help owners and operators proactively manage asset health and performance, they also make possible an increasingly data-driven approach within a CBC program.
The process includes benchmarking existing equipment and evaluation of the penetration of installed sensors; running the results through a risk matrix to understand where vulnerabilities may lie. Increasing the number of sensors monitoring equipment health and knowing what to do with the resulting data enables owners to get to ‘Smart’ operations more quickly and move progressively away from prescriptive, calendar-based inspections. Looked at from a distance, digitalization looks like a huge challenge, viewed up close the scale of the challenge is even more obvious.
What we are doing is showing that by approaching the problem methodically, it is possible for shipowners and ship managers to move forward on the journey to digital class and quickly start to realize the opportunity that digital presents.
