Feature 5 | SHIPBOARD MONITORING
Remote problem solving helps boost operational efficiency
Wärtsilä is promoting a shiſt from simply monitoring the performance of systems remotely to carrying out problem solving activity from specialised shore-based centres
T
he condition of equipment onboard vessels has been monitored remotely for many
years. Improvements in condition monitoring technology have indeed done much to improve overall operational efficiency. Now, one of the world’s leading marine
systems suppliers, Wärtsilä,
says it believes that these improvements are nothing compared to what can be achieved by going a step further and actually solving marine equipment and systems issues remotely. Wärtsilä Services has commissioned
a number of Expertise Centres in Europe and the US, and will shortly open another one in Singapore. Tese centres are already monitoring over 400 installations onboard ships for service agreement customers, giving advice and guidance on operational and technical issues on a daily basis. Shipowners and operators that have a service agreement with Wärtsilä, and are in need of remote guidance, can contact a designated expert at one of the centres through various devices, such as a phone or tablet, via a special app, which allows real-time information to be transferred from the vessel and viewed onshore. Staff at the Expertise Centres diagnose the operating condition of the equipment and determine the best possible course of action to maintain high levels of availability and reduce downtime risks. “We can also offer remote troubleshooting
by opening cyber-secured, remote access to the Wärtsilä Operator Interface System (WOIS), which is installed in the ship’s control room,” says Erik Ristiluoma, general manager, operation and maintenance management, Wärtsilä Services. “It takes only a few minutes to open the secure connection between our Expertise Centre and the ship, aſter which our expert and customer have the same exact view in front
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Staff at Wärtsilä Expertise Centres can remotely solve equipment problems onboard
of them. Te expert investigates the issues together with on-site personnel and uses advanced analytics tools on the operational data to diagnose the condition and then gives advice, which shipboard crew can action without the need to wait for a scheduled service visit.” One example of a typical remote
troubleshooting, and rectification, situation cited by Ristiluoma is when an LNG carrier’s dual-fuel engine trips to diesel, and the crew has problems transferring the engine back to gas operation. As operating on liquid fuel is more expensive, it is important to get the engine back to using gas as soon as possible, he says. “Together with the engine room operator, the remote support expert analyses the reasons for the trip to diesel, aſter which the expert monitors whether the transfer back to gas has been successful. When the transfer has been completed, our experts then look into
how to mitigate the risk of future trips to diesel,” adds Ristiluoma. A particularly high level of expertise is
required to remotely tune a ship’s engine to achieve improved performance, Wärtsilä suggests. A remote access is opened up to a service PC, which is then connected directly to the engine. Tis allows the expert to get a much deeper insight into real-time engine data so that he can give precise advice to crew, or even handle the adjustments himself remotely in real time. Tis method is used by Wärtsilä particularly for gas engine tuning, in order to optimise engine combustion. Ristiluoma concludes: “Continuous
monitoring of equipment onboard generates the data needed for planning future preventive and predictive maintenance work. However, the quickest way by far of handling unexpected events aboard a vessel is to utilise remote services.” SR
Shiprepair & Maintenance 4th Quarter 2018
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