Can Effective Predictive Maintenance Be More

Beneficial On Board Ships?

Working in the maritime industry, we all know that
planning and carrying out regular equipment
maintenance is better than no-maintenance at all. But does
that mean we would have to only rely on the planned or
the periodic maintenance system that has been followed
commonly by the whole fraternity.

Equipment and machinery especially the sea based ones

are, more often than not, susceptible to failures, defects
and the uncalled-for repairs. Maintaining them is hard work
and particularly repairing the failed ones.

Thinking proactively, how would it seem if we try and

eliminate unplanned failures and eventually the inflated
repair costs by a method of early failure detection of the
machinery while the equipment is still functioning normally.
The question is whether the industry would follow a
relatively less understood methodology called ‘Predictive
maintenance‘ for all the ship’s running critical equipment
and machinery.

Let us understand various types of maintenance programs

used on ships that differ considerably from condition based
monitoring –

1. Periodic or Planned Maintenance System: This

time based monitoring system is commonly employed
on board ships that includes periodic
inspection, overhauling, replacing components of a
particular machine. It is costly and involves
considerable man power
2. Preventive Maintenance: In preventive
maintenance, regular inspections, cleaning,
lubrication, re-assembly is carried out as per the
equipment’s maintenance schedule and conditional
analysis which helps in retaining the equipment’s
 healthy working condition so as to prevent any further
deterioration to the equipment.
3. Breakdown Maintenance: Whenever a shipboard
machinery fails or an equipment breaks down, the
repairs that follow are known as Breakdown
Maintenance. Generally a breakdown maintenance is
avoided when at sea due to limited availability of
resources unless the equipment is critical and in-use.

What is Predictive Maintenance?

Condition based maintenance or Predictive Maintenance is
a proactive approach to solving unplanned interruptions
due to equipment failure that eventually resulted in a
costly maritime “downtime” affair. This approach is rather
an abstract of predictions as compared to the preventive
maintenance system followed religiously on board ships.
The primary aspect of such maintenance is the pro active
analysis that reveal and ascertain subsequent trends of the
shipboard equipment or the machinery’s conditions,
thereby warning us of the looming failure. This ensures that
the ship’s staff understand the equipment’s current as well
as future functioning abilities.

In short, it is a technique that helps us decide or predict the

next maintenance cycle of the in-service machinery or
equipment. It is also by far the most cost friendly approach
when compared to the preventive or time based
maintenance methods.

This technique detects any deterioration or the onset of it

in a machinery that involves on board maintenance, aiding
the less resourceful ship staff to be able to address any
issues pertaining to its maintenance well beforehand.

What are the advantages of

Predictive Maintenance?
Predictive maintenance survives on trend values and
relevant analysis. It acts as a surveillance system that is
designed to detect the on-line conditions of the marine
equipment and machinery. Let us see some of the benefits
this technique is designed for –

 Ship staff would be well prepared to plan their

maintenance schedule in order to curtail or even
eliminate overheads
 Inventories for stocks and spares will be minimised as
the parts need not be asked for ‘in-advance’ that
would otherwise be called for during machinery
breakdowns
 The technique will ensure that machinery or the
equipment operates at an optimal operational level
that would in turn save energy consumption and
thereby the working costs
 Intend increasing shelf life of the components, lasting
longer and performing better
 Reduction in unexpected machinery failures
 Cut back in maintenance costs, repair costs, etc.
 Increases marine plant capability
 Prevents additional work load for the ship’s crew. Such
techniques, in fact, raise the working morale among
the crew members, as the crew becomes aware of the
equipment status and its subsequent condition in the
future
 Promotes and consequently improves safe working
culture on board due to the maintenance plan’s look
ahead technique.
 Ensures an Eco-friendly work environment with low
energy consumption and high environmental safety
Why Predictive Maintenance over
Preventive Maintenance?
Maritime Industry, today, focuses largely on having
minimal shipboard failures, defects or
breakdowns. Unplanned accidents are unavoidable but the
least can be done is to prevent them from happening by
way of predicting and analysing a future trend of the
machine.

Whether we like it or not, PMS or Preventive Maintenance

has to be carried out as per the program’s schedule even if
the condition of the equipment is such that it does not
require any frequent care. For example,
frequently greasing / lubricating mooring winches on a
large tanker that rarely berths alongside, isn’t going to
increase the efficiency of its moving parts any better than
it already is. The only thing it (lubricating the winches)
reflects is that our PMS work sheets are completed and
sent to the office for a revival of the same work order for
the next cycle.

Predictive maintenance changes this. When the equipment

is ‘in-service’, an analysis will be taken of its current or
actual condition with a goal to predict the equipment’s
future condition than having to work like robots to have the
predetermined job schedule completed.

On ships that employ a limited crew, time management,

utilizing available resources and prioritising important tasks
is imperative to the proper functioning of the vessel.
Condition Based Monitoring makes the job even simpler
since the task is carried out with minimal intervention while
the machinery is in its normal operating mode. If worked
upon, a well engineered condition based maintenance
program will without question prove successful to optimally
manage a time bound work culture on board ships.
Following the same example as above, on a large tanker
where mooring winches are rarely in use, the best
predictive maintenance one could carry out would be to
simply rotate the drums on its power every once a while
and ensure its integrity is intact (no oil leaks found, cracks
located, etc.), the bearings move freely, gears lock-in
correctly, no squeaks are audible while it rotates and
likewise. This method would then determine, whether
additionally, it may be necessary to carry out any further
preventive or be satisfied with the planned maintenance
for the upkeep of the machinery.

Changing Lube Oil in a critical machinery may sometimes

fall under condition based (predictive) monitoring or may
be at times be followed as a planned or periodic technique
depending on the machinery’s requirements.

Purging oil pumps before putting them in service is again a

good example of condition based maintenance.

Nonetheless, we can conclude that a well organised

maintenance program (predictive maintenance used in
tandem to preventive maintenance) can prove to be
substantially beneficial to the shipping company as well as
the vessel’s staff. One should also understand that
although predictive upkeep is a derivative of preventive
maintenance and that it has a different role within the
system itself.

The aim should be to provide effective tools and

instruments that are capable to analyse trends and help us
in making early and better decisions for the well being of
the machinery or equipment when out there, at sea.

Condition Monitoring Of On-Board Ships

Numerous industries are in the process of adopting proactive maintenance, predictive
maintenance, and condition monitoring in business operations as they gradually evolve.

These have also extended to influence the maritime maintenance processes with the
maintenance models that have progressed to preventive maintenance, all way long from
reactive and predictive maintenance techniques.
One of the most cumbersome tasks in the maintenance of vessels for ships is to avoid
unnecessary downtime and the marine-specific risks involved.

Also, machine breakdown in the ship vessels causes a high-end risk while considering the
safety of people onboard.

This blog post delves deep into the condition monitoring of on-board ships, how they work
and the benefits in detail.

Why Is Condition Monitoring Of On-Board

Essential In The Marine Industry?
In everyday ship operations, structural or mechanical defects can result in severe accidents.
This could leave passengers and the entire crew onboard in danger, which causes a threat to
the ecosystem.

Ship damage can cause severe financial losses, hence it needs a cost-effective and efficient
maintenance strategy to save ships from danger.

Using condition monitoring for onboard ships facilitates continuous monitoring of the
following components: thrusters, main engines, compressors, generators, pumps, and so on.

Benefits Of Condition Monitoring Of On-

Board Ships
 Less inventory required: The ship crew should be well aware of the arrangement of
maintenance schedules to minimize or even get rid of the overhead expenses. The
parts usually required in case of machine failures need not be demanded in advance,
hence the inventories for spare parts and stocks will be less.
 Low operational costs & energy consumption: The timely monitoring makes sure
the equipment exhibits high-end efficiency, thereby helping you with low energy
consumption and low operational costs involved. It extends the shelf life of the
components, making them function well and last longer. Thus, the unexpected
breakdown of equipment is least likely to happen.
 Fewer expenses involved: With condition monitoring, you get timely alerts and can
quickly analyze the possible faults or concerns of onboard ships. This way, you can
reduce the amount you spend on repairs, maintenance, and other particular expenses.
 Improves staff morale: The monitoring services help the ship’s crew prevent the
situation of overworking. In this way, it helps the team to remain well aware of the
condition of equipment, and its future.
 Environment-friendly working ecosystem: The proactive approach cultivates a
secure work culture on the onboard ships. It also makes sure that the eco-friendly
working system is maintained with low energy usage.
How Does Condition Monitoring Of
Onboard Ships Works?
Operating vessels successfully needs time management, efficient crew management,
maximization of the resources available, and scheduling of crucial activities.

Due to this, many fleet managers, ship owners, and ship engineers have been utilizing
condition monitoring techniques to identify defects, wear, etc. to eliminate unwanted repairs.

Condition monitoring eases the task and lets it be implemented through the least intervention
while the machinery works with normal operation.

It involves looking for any structural or mechanical defects and the changes in the lubricating
oil, which is essential for vital gears.

The most reliable method is to examine and map the vital machinery of the ship, setting the
measuring stations and plotting the data patterns.

Furthermore, the analysts conduct data validation and data interpretation in detail.

The customized reports which highlight the concerns finally help you with suggestions on
how to move forward with the maintenance measures and repairs.

The Increasing Influence Of Condition

Monitoring Of On-Board Ships In
Maintenance Strategy
A ship is a future-oriented investment. The vessels that undergo service nowadays are likely
to possess an operational lifespan.

The operator who has an ad hoc maintenance approach cannot realize the entire value of the
asset. Having a proactive approach to tracking the health of vital machinery and equipment
can let experts adopt high-risk control, minimize downtime and implement vessel repair
within the cash flow cycle for profit maximization.

Based on the stringent regulations and compliance standards the shipowners would be
worried about the timely adoption of maintenance strategies.

But, condition monitoring tools also need to be considered right from the earliest phases of
design to the outset of the vessel operation functions.

This helps to manage the costs, identify the issues of critical equipment and machinery, etc.
Moreover, the technique helps operators to manage and eliminate potentially expensive
problems.

Condition Monitoring In Root Cause

Analysis- Case Study
Leveraging the Condition monitoring technique as a part of predictive maintenance is the
need of the hour to enhance efficiency and fleet availability.
A shipping company with the aforementioned expertise faced challenges in taking its
maintenance strategies to the next level, to implement a proactive approach.

Through a proactive maintenance approach, the condition monitoring technique was

introduced to analyze the deterioration in the machine condition with a corrective solution
that understands the root cause of failures.

The objective of this technique was to scale the operations of machinery and improve ship
reliability, to identify and prevent repetitive problems.

Partnering with a provider specializing in timely data analysis, application engineering, and
machinery expertise, the company was able to trigger the current fleet machinery condition
monitoring system while augmenting the fleet maintenance technique.

With the help of standard work procedures, the data on vessels are collected. This data is
further transmitted along the communication system of the ship and the certified specialists
conduct offshore analysis.

The results were further turned into customized reports to let vessel engineers emphasize
particular machines which required the most maintenance.

Hence condition monitoring is effective in deploying root cause failure analysis to eradicate
the persistent issues concerning reliability.