Feature 5 | BALLAST AND WASTE WATER TREATMENT
BWTS customers offered ‘scan and save’ solution
RWO is offering an auxiliary 3D scanner service to its ballast water treatment system customers, to enhance measurement tolerance and to slash onboard survey times by up to 60%, pre-installation.
O
ne of the main challenges when it comes to retrofitting ballast water treatment systems (BWTS)
is ensuring that said systems – including their associated piping and periphery parts – perfectly fit the designated installation area onboard the vessel. Tis is particularly true of smaller vessels that may be obliged to comply with the terms of
the IMO
International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water, ratification of which is expected this year, as soon as IMO achieves its target sign-up of international states representing 35% of the world’s tonnage. As highlighted in Ship & Boat International
January/February 2012 (see CAD/CAM, page 28), owners need to consider factors such as vessel size, ballast dependency, power consumption and life-cycle costs before committing to specific BWTS, pre-installation or pre-retrofit. Typically a painstaking procedure, the installation of BWTS has been made somewhat easier by the incorporation of laser-enabled 3D scanning into such procedures, granting users a higher degree of accuracy when determining precise measurements within the installation area. Tis is particularly important, as being
just a few centimetres ‘out’ while piecing together a BWTS package, pre-installation, can lead to cash and time being squandered, as well as possible vessel downtime, as installation crews are forced to disassemble their attempted BWTS set-ups and return to the drawing board.
Digital reproductions A scanning system of this nature was recently introduced by Germany-based BWTS manufacturer RWO, which produces the CleanBallast system. Although the CleanBallast units, which vary in size, can be installed across a fairly broad range of vessel
types, RWO has experienced Ship & Boat International March/April 2012
particular demand from the smaller end of the marine sector, with the product family spanning to suit boats with ballast capacities ranging between 150m3
/hour and 3500m3 /
hour. The system relies on electrolysis- based separation to eliminate invasive alien species within ballast tanks, using its inbuilt EctoSys unit to produce temporary bursts of
interior space and the layout of structures and objects within this zone. “Using the 3D scanner explicitly
saves a lot of time during the planning and installation of the BWTS,” the spokesperson comments. “It is estimated that
the use of this technology could
reduce the time of typical surveying work by 60%. With conventional measuring methods, mistakes can happen quickly, with considerable consequences. “The worst case scenarios would
necessitate a complete redesign of the BWTS and peripheral components – but with the 3D scanner, we are able to take precise measurements from the captured pictures.”
RWO estimates that use of 3D laser scanning could cut survey times by 60%.
mixed oxidants directly from the water, as a chemical-free alternative to chlorine. In addition, February 2012 saw RWO
announce that it has purchased its own high-speed 3D scanner, featuring 360deg coverage, to assist CleanBallast customers during the system retrofitting and installation process. The scanner, produced by Faro Technologies, has been developed to create 3D images of a vessel’s engine room, granting owners and shipyards an exact digital reproduction of the conditions within this installation area, plus a measurement accuracy of up to 1mm. A spokesperson for RWO tells Ship & Boat International that, as part of the combined BWTS/scanner service package, the group will send its technicians aboard the vessel to digitally map, and provide measurements for, the engine room’s
Data transfer Data collected on board by the RWO tech team can be collated and saved on a secure digital card (SD-card), which can then be transferred to and incorporated into the relevant CAD system. The 3D scans of the engine room
environment can subsequently be produced with a digital model of the installed CleanBallast unit clearly displayed, for more detailed positioning evaluation. Users also have the option of accessing the data in full colour format, for presentational purposes. At present, the RWO spokesperson says, deployment of the 3D scanner service is restricted to part of the overall CleanBallast purchasing package, although this may be provided as a stand-alone service in future. RWO estimates that it currently has
more than 50 CleanBallast BWTS on its order books, and the spokesperson adds: “We expect that retrofitting will still be low on most shipowners’ lists of priorities in 2012, but will rise as soon as the convention is fully ratified – keeping in mind that there will be a severe bottleneck soon, in terms of production capacity and demand.” SBI
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