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MTP – Module Type Package – delivers improvements with depth from engineering to commissioning, the Marine Equipment and Systems Group in the German industry association VDMA says

System integrators, marine equipment suppliers and shipyards agree: MTP improves the entire value chain in the construction and operation of ships. The ab[ds_preview]breviation MTP stands for Module Type Package, with the help of which the various systems on board can be integrated into the ship‘s automation without time-consuming coordination of the interfaces. Conceptually, MTP can be compared to a printer driver, which paves the way for networking maritime systems with each other and thus making them much easier to modularise. The future lies in distributed intelligence on board.

Viewed from above, the same picture emerges throughout the maritime industry. It is the interfaces that do the most work along the value chain – and conversely offer the greatest potential for improvement. To be more precise, it is the communication interfaces within automation that regularly cause discussion. In contrast, shipyards and mechanical engineers have the mechanical interfaces well under control. The construction of ships from mechanical modules is common practice. What is still missing are the automation modules. A survey of the VDMA on the acceptance of MTP shows that automation experts from shipyards, system suppliers and mechanical engineering companies expect a noticeable time saving from the initial project planning phase to commissioning. This time saving makes the companies more competitive in the international market as a result of falling costs. In addition, projects with decentralised intelligence and the use of MTP are much easier to control and more reliable in their implementation. If – as a concrete example – a time window of just three months is available for the commissioning of a cruise ship, then no one can afford time-consuming discussions about signal shapes, data formats or the decimal places of measuring ranges. However, it is precisely such tough coordination that still determines reality – especially when functional units have to be brought into the higher-level ship automation system.

MTP: »Printer driver« for modular automation

© VDMA
© VDMA

Another complicating factor is that all subsystems within a ship as a whole organism can only really be integrated into the control level and tested when the ship‘s automation system is already in place. The resulting time dependencies quickly make it clear how susceptible this hierarchical organisation is to delays at individual points. For good reasons, mechanical engineering in the manufacturing industry has abandoned the classic automation pyramid in favour of decentralised intelligence of plants.

The VDMA survey continues to show that distributed intelligence is also in demand in shipbuilding. Function modules work with their own PLC for this purpose – which ultimately enables the decentralised control network on board. The respective PLC then integrates itself into the ship automation with its module type package. As a standardised interface, MTP is defined completely, unambiguously and free of contradictions. Another advantage is that MTP makes the manufacturer-independent structure of ship automation much simpler, because the detailed processes within a module PLC no longer enter the higher-level ship automation.

This statement becomes clear with the example of an engine to be started. Until now, a bit had to be set and reset again over a certain period of time in order to start the engine. Measured values then provided information as to whether the engine had actually started. Engine builders are constantly changing the details of this process. This also applies to scenarios of what to do if the engine does not run and has to be restarted. The task of starting a ship‘s engine, which seems simple at first glance, leads to complex interrelationships in the control system. MTP simplifies the procedure by offering the module type package a service for its functional area (in this case the engine). From the point of view of ship automation, this service is called: «Start the engine«. When the engine is running, the MTP gives the feedback „Completed“ via its state machine. In summary, with the help of MTP, it will no longer be a question of how a function is realised in detail in terms of automation, but only that it is available at all and functions reliably. This approach significantly reduces the complexity of ship automation.

Further development

Based on the thesis that with MTP it will only be a matter of defining the available services of a functional area, machine builders and system suppliers are now in a position to optimise their solutions even during an ongoing shipbuilding project. Research and development can thus be fully incorporated into a module until shortly before delivery – without any nasty surprises later on during commissioning. The players from the maritime industry in particular also appreciate the fact that fewer interfaces have to be documented.

Keyword commissioning: The VDMA survey shows that with MTP, maritime systems can already be reliably tested at the machine manufacturer‘s premises, regardless of the higher-level target system. System manufacturers therefore associate the lower effort for rework with real monetary advantages. If changes are made in current projects, they are always associated with residual risks, which then mean additional expenditure during commissioning. If this is not included in the quotation, unpleasant renegotiations will ensue at this point at the latest – about who bears the costs.

Outlook

The VDMA survey shows how great the potential of MTP within modular automation with decentralised distributed intelligence is assessed in shipbuilding. The advantages range from the initial planning phase to engineering and commissioning. With this technology, European shipyards as well as the supplying mechanical and plant engineering industry in Europe have a real advantage in international competition. Shipping companies also benefit from significantly better possibilities for data analysis due to the consistency of the overall system. In view of these advantages, the participants in the VDMA survey demand the necessary pioneering spirit from the maritime industry. An understanding of modular automation is also called for – with the aim of making it a global standard that is firmly established in the specifications of shipowners and shipyards. RD

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