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Digital is disrupting every industry and the processes that run those. As detailed in our previous blog “Digital transformation and value creation for Oil and Gas at the IT/OT market convergence”, oil and gas industry, also shipyards, are not immune to these developments. Digitalization enables better project design and execution with further benefits over the full asset lifecycle.
A large portion of global oil and gas reserves are found offshore. To exploit these reserves, fixed platforms, semi-submersibles or floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) are employed. Shipyards have been for a long time the main contributor to the development of offshore oil and gas facilities, from vessels to transport hydrocarbons across the oceans to offshore rigs, FPSOs, platforms and other facilities.
As oil and gas production moves towards deep-sea regions, harsher offshore environments and difficult-to-recover hydrocarbons, shipyards play a crucial role for providing cost-effective infrastructure for recovery from such regions.
However, oil and gas shipyard operators are facing several challenges:
- Enhanced safety performance: operational hazards due to equipment failures or personnel fatigued are critical areas of improvement
- Greater operational complexity: businesses in today’s world must be agile and be able to respond in real-time to changing market conditions. The companies which don’t adopt newer technologies to manage these changes will face challenging times ahead
- Ability to stay profitable: only when an oil and gas shipyard operator can maximize asset utilization while maintaining safety and shortening turnaround times, operations will maintain profitability
- Doing more with less space: a shipyard will be able to manufacture more vessels with the same infrastructure by optimizing design and manufacturing through the digital twin, having digital infrastructure for integrated operations or improving asset utilization. All these are aspects that decrease downtime and improve safety and reliability, with a direct impact on the oil and gas shipyard operator that can achieve more with less space.
By adopting digitalization, shipyard operators can optimize design, improve safety, maximize productivity and sustain competitiveness. Such solutions can improve savings in capital investment as the design ensures elimination of material wastage and decreases operational expenditure due to reduced equipment breakdowns, resulting in improved profitability.
Start with Digital Twin
Design and engineering of a major project like shipyard involves many contractors and vendors. A mistake from one of them can have a cascading impact on many deliverables. The Digital Twin replicates all assets in the model with a common digital database infrastructure. A common digital platform simplifies the interfaces within engineering departments and between contractors. A change in one deliverable can be traced across all dependent packages ensuring design change is captured across the project, eliminating wasteful mistakes and reworks. The same common digital platform integrates procurement and construction management.
Up to 10% in CapEx savings can be achieved with the Digital Twin, standardized modular solutions and optimized electrical distribution.
Schneider Electric’s strategic partner AVEVA provides our customers complete control over design, engineering and construction activities of shipyards and vessels through AVEVA’s Marine solutions suite.
Standard and modular design decrease project TotEx
Foot print or space utilization in a shipyard is always a concern, as it is in offshore installations. It is critical to engage with customers early during the design phase and work with them to suggest the most optimum design for electrical equipment. One single kilowatt energy saved with proper design, can save hundreds of thousands per year in operations. Schneider Electric Power Consulting is an initiative which helps our customers implement fit-for-purpose electrical equipment across all facilities of a shipyard providing savings across lifecycle of assets.
Prefabricated electrical enclosures have gained good acceptance in recent years. The enclosures are designed based on the electrical equipment housed in them along with other equipment such as HVAC, fire suppressant, etc . At this phase it´s critical to meet specific environmental requirements for a proper uninterrupted operation. It is not uncommon to design such enclosures in a standard container footprint for ease of installation and transportation.
ShoreBoX is a solution for divergent power requirements for ships docked at shipyard. The standard and modular box which is powered through grid connection helps achieve sustainable shipyard operations and saves cost.
There are several advantages of modular design including lower design cost due to repetition, consistent quality and performance, portability of equipment, ease of maintenance.
IIoT-based asset performance management to avoid costly plant shutdowns
Every equipment these days has several sensors which provide information about the measured parameters along with equipment data such as environment, health status and number of hours in operation. Process industries are embracing an asset performance management approach to harness the power of IIoT and unlock the value of the data. In shipyards, where electrical equipment and other rotating equipment like compressors or motors play a critical role, an electrical distribution system failure could lead to major disruptions – in the worst case, complete shutdown.
Predictive maintenance, based on an IoT-configured solution, can help avoid disruption and related losses.
Centralized monitoring, integrated operations
Operational silos and lack of alignment cost shipyard operations tens of millions of dollars annually. By using a cloud-based approach to implement a unified platform for operations, maintenance and supply chain management, shipyards businesses can build a collaborative digital environment that supports reliable decisions, manages risks, and increases profitability. Visualization dashboards make accurate, up-to-date information available.
Visual security and access control are also crucial for a large geographic facility such as shipyards. A centralized cloud based solution with intelligent camera analytics, exception notifications and easy management can make the facility safe and secure.
Schneider Electric’s Access Expert Enterprise Security Solution and VideoXpert Enterprise Video Management System are proven solutions in the fields of facility and video security.
Are you ready to transform your shipyard business?
Oil & Gas Offshore business is already embracing this new technology path where IIoT will transform the construction and operation of shipyards. Digitalization enables transformation by unlocking data value – from Digital Twin to centralized operations, asset management, predictive maintenance or event 3d virtual technology training, modernization is driving an increased profitability.
