Enhancing Offshore Maintenance: A Novel Approach with Smart-Glasses

In 2019, a leading ship operator in the oil and gas industry sought the expertise of eyllo to enhance asset reliability and streamline maintenance efficiency for their offshore operations. This collaborative project involved working closely with their operation and maintenance team to understand requirements and strategically plan the implementation of a pioneering software solution, leveraging smart-glasses for offshore maintenance.

Background

The unique challenge in offshore maintenance lies in the tight schedule of support vessels. With only a brief stop at port every two weeks, maintenance operations need to be swift and effective. The support vessels stay offshore for two weeks. At the end of the 2-week period, the vessels docks at a port in the morning and the crew onboard goes home. A new crew boards the ship, loads supplies, gets the ship ready to sail and moves the ship off the port, all this in less than 3 hours.

Contract personnel perform maintenance tasks during this short period, facing limitations such as limited space, restricted drilling capabilities, and Wi-Fi interference due to the presence of metal onboard. Contract maintenance personnel start performing light maintenance as soon as the ship docks. They remain onboard as the vessel leaves port and anchors, still in shallow water. As the sun sets, all contractors are transported off the ship and the ship starts sailing towards the oil basin, offshore.

Requirements and Limitations

Deploying a communication solution that works off-shore, on a ship, has some limitations beyond the ones commonly encountered when deploying the same solutions on-shore:

• Space is limited, even for a simple network or power cable. Moreover, one can’t just drill holes to pass cables.
• The amount of metal interferes with wi-fi, reducing the range. The satellite link adds lag.

Implementation

Together with the maintenance managers and reliability engineers, we decided to focus the project on improving the processes in the engine bay and propulsion systems. The engine bay lacked connectivity, so we installed an Access Point and connected this area with the satellite antennas.

We used our software solution eyllo Field Service installed on smart-glasses and connected via satellite link to allow communication between on-board personnel and the maintenance support center onshore. Two different smart-glasses were tested: Epson’s Moverio BT-300 and RealWear’s hmt-1.

During the project, assisted maintenance was executed both during the day and at night, in order to validate the usefulness of the solution and processes. During theses operations, both smart-glasses were used in order to assess the suitability of user one or the other.

Results

The implementation proved highly successful, empowering the maintenance team to enhance troubleshooting and preparation during the brief port stops. This approach enabled onshore engineers to gain a comprehensive understanding of issues, manage backlogs efficiently, order necessary supplies, and coordinate work seamlessly with contractors in advance. The smart-glasses not only improved communication but also transformed offshore maintenance into a more strategic and coordinated process.

This groundbreaking proof of concept sets a new standard for offshore maintenance, demonstrating how innovative solutions, such as smart-glasses and real-time communication, can overcome unique challenges and revolutionize operational efficiency in the maritime industry.