Wärtsilä introduces its Smart Marine Ecosystem vision
The smart technology group Wärtsilä is at the forefront of harnessing the changes taking place in the shipping industry to deliver value and optimisation for its customers. By orchestrating these developments through the use of high levels of connectivity and digitalisation, Wärtsilä intends to lead the industry’s transformation towards a Smart Marine Ecosystem, the company said in its press release.
Marine industry players are faced with major sources of inefficiency that impose a significant negative impact on business operations and profitability. These inefficiencies can be considered as ‘waste’; the three most notable sources of such waste being overcapacity, inadequate port-to-port fuel efficiency, and time wasted waiting when entering ports and other high traffic areas. Eliminating this waste forms the basis of Wärtsilä’s strategy towards ecosystem thinking.
Wärtsilä sees four primary forces that will re-shape the industry. Shared capacity will improve fill rates and reduce unit costs; Big Data analytics will optimise both operations and energy management; Intelligent Vessels will enable automated and optimised processes; and Smart ports will result in smoother and faster port operations.
One of many examples of important steps being made towards the future was taken when Wärtsilä, in collaboration with the vessel owner, successfully tested the remote controlling of a ship’s operations by satellite from a distance of 8000 kilometres. The test was carried out using standard bandwidth, and no land-based technology was used for communications between the vessel and the remote operator work station. Other notable examples include the Wärtsilä HY, a fully integrated hybrid power module combining engines, an energy storage system, and power electronics optimised to work together through a newly developed energy management system, and Wärtsilä’s wireless charging innovation for battery powered vessels.
Wärtsilä has already opened one Digital Acceleration Centre (DAC), located in Helsinki, to speed up innovation and to co-create with customers a range of new business models and solutions. These include the industry’s most advanced intelligent vessel and other ground-breaking projects. A second DAC is scheduled to open in Singapore in December, and during 2018 two more will be opened in Central Europe and North America.
By applying smart technology to serve customers in a more sophisticated way, Wärtsilä aims to deliver greater efficiencies that lead to increased revenues and profitability for owners and operators around the world. The ultimate goal is to enable sustainable societies with smart technologies.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2016, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.8 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
