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Sector
Marine
Location
United Kingdom – At Sea
Services
Condition Monitoring
Remote Monitoring and Data Services
Our partnership with a leading tanker company
Overview
The benefits of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) are well documented. We believe that, implemented correctly, CBM is the optimum strategy for ship maintenance. Increasing pressure on maintenance budgets, vessel availability and retention of maintenance knowledge can be addressed through the application of CBM.
Following a catastrophic failure of a shaft alternator on a 4,000-tonne clean product tanker, the owner approached BES Mimic to provide a solution that could detect and avoid similar problems from occurring in the future. Minor changes in the shaft alternator performance had gone unnoticed.
The challenge
The catastrophic failure of the shaft alternator on a 4,000-tonne clean product tanker cost over $90,000 in lost revenue and costs to repair, due to the impact of collateral damage when the alternator failed.
The owner experienced additional hidden costs, such as increased insurance deductibles and loss of reputation.
Concerned that a repeat of the defect may occur in the future across the fleet, the owner sought a cost-effective monitoring strategy that could predict failures and pre-warn the crew to take mitigating action.
The solution
Having conducted a failure modes analysis, we installed our condition monitoring software and created a monitoring programme, providing actionable insights into the health and performance of vessel machinery.
Post installation, Mimic identified noticeable changes to vibration and temperature of an additional deteriorating shaft alternator, warning a failure may occur in 24 to 48 hours.
After taking the ship out of service, the shaft alternator was inspected, and a loose diode cover was diagnosed. A replacement was installed, and the problem was rectified within seven hours, avoiding a catastrophic failure.
The result
With performance monitoring, the onset of failure could be identified early, and the risk of failure managed, allowing the ship to continue trading with minimal loss of revenue.
As a result of our service, our client experienced:
- The investment in Mimic was returned within two months.
- Ongoing performance monitoring continues to add substantial value to the fleet’s maintenance strategy.
- Costs incurred in planned repair $6,000 resulting in a saving of $84,000.
Key outcomes
Condition monitoring system prevented catastrophic failure of shaft alternator, saving $90k.
System identified onset of failure early, allowing corrective action.
Investment paid back within 2 months.
Ongoing monitoring saved additional $84k.
Contact us to find out more about Oil Analysis, Thermography Surveys and Remote Monitoring and Data Services.
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