THE AMERICAN Bureau of Shipping has moved into condition-based surveys through a two-year pilot program with the US Navy in what is a likely precursor of their future approach to vessel maintenance.
The world’s third largest classification society is collecting information from hull sensors and classed machinery sensors onboard three vessels of the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command to detect abnormalities while developing and using the vessels’ digital twins as the model for their baseline conditions.
“The project objectives are to reduce downtime, provide greater operational flexibility, allow ships to remain in service longer and meet mission demands, while also meeting class requirements,” ABS chairman, president and chief executive Christopher J. Wiernicki said.
Boasting the industry’s first “bow to stern” condition-based survey, ABS relies on data analytics and a cloud-based data platform to predict the rectifications that may be needed on the three vessels.
Condition-based surveying is among the tools classification societies tout for the improvement of vessel safety and operational efficiency.
International Association of Classification Societies chairman Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen also called on the organization to remove regulatory barriers to enable condition-based monitoring.
I’m sorry, but every time I hear the phrase “condition based maintenance” I’m reminded of how the 2nd Engineer on the Deepwater Horizon characterized Transocean’s interpretation of the phrase: “Run it until it breaks.”
Especially when the maintainers don’t know what something is or if and when it is broken, a la the LCS morons who plugged the raw water pump tell tales and flooded the engines … twice!
@Jon T shirt suggestion. On the back… Crossed ball pein hammer and shifting spanner surrounded by circular border. Allong the top of the border “PM” and along the bottom “fix it ‘till it breaks”