ABB upgrades its Remote Diagnostic Service
ABB says it is deepening its analytical and predictive approach to vessel maintenance with the latest upgrade of its Remote Diagnostic Service (RDS). ABB is one of the leading advocates of the digitalization of shipping and has already launched Integrated Operation Centers in Asia, Europe and the USA where data produced by ships is received and monitored.
The upgraded software functionalities will give more power and transparency to the shore side operations of ship owners whilst ABB has stepped up its proactive monitoring of the data and predictive analytics. The enhancement of ABB’s digital services comes after an internal study found existing remote monitoring of machinery reduced maintenance costs by 50%.
ABB is aiding the development of the shore side operations of shipping companies by giving the opportunity to replicate ABB’s Integrated Operations Centers in their own Operational Centers. The latest version of RDS software allows shipping companies to deploy their own analytics, or those from a third party where applicable, with greater ease. ABB has further developed its dedicated hardware for the monitoring of large and small rotating machinery with tight integration to the RDS software. The graphical user interface has also been improved to increase user experience and to give identical views of the detailed data both onboard and onshore.
To further leverage the data received from vessels, the ABB Digital Service team has been strengthened with more data scientists and architects to promote the search for insight into the health of the monitored assets. The ABB software used as part of the Remote Diagnostic Services combines the capabilities of a dedicated onboard software with a full analytic engine onshore. Due to this modularity and capability, the software can now run the same analytics onboard as onshore.
For shipping companies with limited bandwidth availability or a high number of data points, ABB is deploying leading edge analytics to seamlessly customize the solution and optimize the data transfer.
An internal study found that by taking a proactive approach to the monitoring of equipment through the use of RDS and its software, customers were able to save up to 50% on maintenance costs. There has also been up to a 70% reduction in visits by ABB engineers to vessels bringing a significant decrease in the cost for customers.
“Through our Integrated Operations Solutions and Centers we aim to be connected to 3,000 vessels by 2020,” said Kenneth Nakken, Vice President Digital Services, at ABB’s Marine & Ports business. “We develop all our digital solutions with the customer in mind and we believe our new Predict service will strengthen the shore side operations of all involved.”
ABB is also launching the new mobile application that will allow the user to monitor the health status of connected marine machinery, starting with Azipod® propulsion.
ABB is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 132,000 employees.
