A team of industry partners say they have successfully tested a new solution for dynamic positioning (DP) system performance and redundancy audits – an industry first.
Developed by Norway's Kongsberg Maritime in collaboration with offshore service provider BOURBON and DP experts at Bureau Veritas (BV), the ‘DP Digital Survey’ application runs on an industrial data management system that ensures unprecedented data consistency for the verification of installed systems, Kongsberg Maritime explained. It acquires information directly from the DP system and delivers it to auditors via a secure cloud infrastructure, allowing compulsory surveys to be conducted remotely.
Kongsberg Maritime said the application offers a distinct advantage for vessel owners utilizing the remote survey tool to collect a comprehensive quantity of test execution and completion evidence, well beyond the capabilities of the photo and video recordings which have been introduced in recent years.
Frederic Moulin, BOURBON Operations Director, said, “This project greatly contributes to the aim of our smart shipping program, which is to capitalize on the digital revolution so as to stand out through a connected fleet while simultaneously reducing our operational costs. With our partners, we are ready to extend this ‘DP Digital Survey’ to sister ships in the coming months, and plan for further deployment later.”
“This collaboration allows us to strengthen our core products by offering our customers tools that will reduce their OPEX and streamline their operations,” said Eivind Alling, Vice-President of Digital Performance at Kongsberg Maritime. “KONGSBERG strives for innovation, and we are creating new applications that will give our end customers more control of their data to support their operations.”
Kongsberg Maritime plans to gradually automate the survey by capturing and digitalizing the best practices of DP auditors. It also plans to redesign the survey process and tests to best fit the new tools, based on the industrial data, and establish a continuous ‘DP Digital Survey’ framework, where the performance and the technical availability of the DP system are remotely monitored in detail.
“The key for us is to receive reliable performance and failure data – not just photos and pictures,” added Laurent Leblanc, Vice-President and Marine Operations Director, Bureau Veritas. “We have to first check the data is of sufficient quality: data quality management is a key factor, along with cyber-security for data transfer. Our expertise is then used to review and assess the data. This provides access to a higher level and depth of ‘onshore’ engineering expertise to make judgements on results.”