FEATURE PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE & CONDITION MONITORING


SHORING UP marine reliability


W


hen equipment breaks down at sea, ship’s engineers have to fix


it there and then, or do without it until they reach a port where the right spare parts and technical support are available. In an industry operating on tight schedules and razor thin margins, and with safety a key priority, ship owners are always looking for ways to reduce breakdowns and maximise the lifespan of critical equipment like engines, pumps and generators. To help, an increasing number are turning to digital techniques. Condition- based maintenance techniques have already transformed reliability and cut maintenance costs in other sectors – notably manufacturing – now, however, they are showing they have sea legs too.


SMART DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES The concept is a straightforward one: before it breaks down, equipment often provides subtle tell-tale signs that something is wrong, like changes in temperature, noise and vibration levels. Spot these trends early enough, and operators can intervene to fix the problem before a failure occurs. A major barrier to the application of these techniques in the marine environment, however, has always been access to expertise. Measuring and recording equipment operating parameters is now simple and relatively inexpensive, but analysing the resulting data to identify and diagnose emerging problems requires considerable skill. Even if a factory doesn’t have enough machines to justify employing a full time analyst, it can usually call in outside support when required. That’s harder to do hundreds of miles from land. The latest generations of condition


monitoring systems overcome the expertise issue in two ways: by


18 OCTOBER 2016 | INSTRUMENTATION


Condition-based maintenance techniques have already transformed reliability and cut maintenance costs in other sectors – notably manufacturing – now, however, they are showing they have sea legs too


A new generation of vessel monitoring systems is giving crews seamless access to land-based expertise. The result should be a safer, cleaner and more reliable shipping industry, says Gavin Coull, key account manager at SKF


automating an increasing amount of the tricky analysis with smart data processing techniques; and by sharing critical data remotely via satellite communications. An example is the SKF Marine Condition


Monitoring Route Kit. This includes all the tools needed to implement condition monitoring techniques aboard ship – including the SKF Microlog handheld monitoring device and dedicated marine software that contains a database of typical equipment types and models. Crews use the device to take regular


vibration level measurements from critical equipment. The unit’s software will then analyse that data to identify possible issues, such as imbalance, misalignment, wear, mechanical looseness, and bearing and gear faults. The measurement data is securely transferred from the unit via satellite to the SKF One Global Cloud. A vessel’s chief engineer can retrieve and analyse this data at will, helping to track long-term performance and identify reoccurring issues. Ship owners, meanwhile, can use the service to build a compressive picture of equipment reliability across their fleet. The really smart part of the system


SKF’s BlueMon service helps crews cope with fast-changing environmental regulations


is the extra layer of human expertise that comes with it. SKF’s condition monitoring expert remote diagnostic team can retrieve and analyse the asset’s data as part of its maintenance consulting services. The output of their work is a set of maintenance recommendations which are sent to the chief engineer, allowing them to take the appropriate actions to keep


the assets running smooth and efficiently. The most advanced marine condition


monitoring systems on the market today make use of permanently installed,


networked sensors to provide continual, automated monitoring and analysis. This approach is already widespread in industries such as wind power, where operators can track the performance of dozens or hundreds of remote turbines from a central control centre. Recent advances in data filtering and


compression mean the same approach can now be applied in the maritime environment, where the use of satellite network connections means the available data bandwidth is inevitably smaller than with the fixed lines used on land.


REMOTE MONITORING Marine transportation specialist Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), for example, has selected SKF to provide a remote monitoring solution for its worldwide fleet of over 200 vessels. The system provides continuous monitoring of a range of on-board equipment, including thrusters, diesel generators, electric motors, main drive shaft and auxiliary equipment. This data is analysed in detail at SKF’s remote diagnostics centre by certified machine reliability experts and then fed back via customised reports to the technical team at ECO. Remote monitoring systems are also


being used to support other aspects of vessel operations beyond maintenance. Continual online tracking of fuel consumption can help operators identify the most economical routes and regimes for their vessels. SKF’s BlueMon service, meanwhile, helps crews cope with fast- changing environmental regulations. The BlueMon system overlays a GPS map of the world with details of the latest local regulations – and can be integrated directly into the ship’s systems, for example to disable bilge water output valves in areas where such discharges are not permitted.


SKF T: 01582 490049 www.skf.com


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