Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), a shipbuilding giant, has received an official certificate of approval from the international certification body American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the development of an intelligent ship maintenance system. This is basically like the safety approval of a new car, but applied to artificial intelligence software for ships.
How does the SHI system work?
The Condition Based Maintenance (CBMS) system, instead of doing overhauls of the ship’s machinery every few years (preventive maintenance), constantly monitors its health. To do this, it uses sensors that collect real-time data from the ship’s machinery, such as engines, propellers, etc., and analyzes them with artificial intelligence.
About certification
The certification obtained by the SCBM system is the SMART (MHM) Tier 2 Product Design Assessment (PDA), where:
- SMART (MHM): ABS’s program for smart technologies. smart technologies and MHM stands for Machinery Health Monitoring.
- Tier 2 (Level 2): Tier 2 means that the system not only detects problems (Tier 1), it is also able to help identify the cause of the problem.
- PDA (Product Design Assessment): Means that ABS has reviewed and certified the design of SHI’s own SCBM system, confirming that it meets all functional and safety requirements before it is mass installed on ships.
Why is this news important?
The system will help prevent catastrophic failures in ship machinery, allowing ship owners to perform maintenance only when necessary, avoiding unnecessary shutdowns and costly repairs due to major damage. It moves from maintenance by time to maintenance by need.
In addition, by predicting failures, routes and port calls for repairs can be better planned. Having this ABS certification gives SHI a seal of quality that positions it as a leader in the building of intelligent shipbuildingmaking it more attractive to its customers.
Source: ABS