By Ron Chen, Correspondent ASEAN Region
Ericsson is partnering with Taiwanese bulk carrier, U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation (U-MING), to digitize its fleet performance management through intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.
Resulting benefits will include increased efficiency, greater safety, reduced costs, and lower environmental risks.
The new fleet performance management platform (FPM) will enable professionals at U-MING’s Operations Center to monitor the fleet’s operations while at sea in near real-time. This will enable actions to be taken faster to promote fleet efficiency and achieve key performance indicator targets, such as carbon footprint reduction.
The FPM implementation is already underway and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
It is estimated that the new system could help achieve fuel savings of two percent across the fleet. It will also facilitate speedier reaction times to maritime risks. Port clearance operations will also be digitized – again boosting speed, efficiency and safety.
Ericsson has partnered with U-MING since 2015 on fleet management, including fleet satellite managed services. Ericsson is supporting the latest Fleet Performance Management (FPM) implementation through digital transformation consulting, project management, and application development.
Intelligent IoT-driven data visualization
The U-MING FPM platform covers the operational status of ship equipment, such as engines and generators via an intelligent IoT digital data and data dashboard. This supports U-MING in its operations and efficiency measures such as the preventive maintenance of mission critical equipment. It also facilitates the streamlining of logistics and planning operations. The speedier collection and process of data also enables crews to focus on safe navigation.
Enhancing safety with automation
In the past, a vessel’s speed deviation alert was raised from the operations center. With the speed monitoring automation feature, the system will automatically raise a trouble ticket to record the reason for the speed deviation and provide a statistical report to summarize the results. This will boost fleet safety and save fuel. It also provides valuable information to assist U-MING with operations.
Executive Vice President, U-MING Marine Transport Corporation, Jeff Hsu says: “U-MING continues to be a leader in using digital technology to achieve a greener and safer marine operations model. This includes using our resources more efficiently and responsibly, thus minimizing the impact on the marine ecosystem. FPM solutions like the one we developed with Ericsson help us to improve operations and safety and are the backbone of U-MING’s overall Green House Gases strategy to reduce our CO2 emissions by 40 percent by 2030.”
President, Ericsson Taiwan, Chafic Nassif says: “Not long ago, even simple Internet access on a vessel was a thing of the future. Today, our work shows that digitalization in the marine transport industry can bring enormous benefits, with solutions like the FPM platform leading to increased efficiency, greater safety, reduced costs and lower environmental risks. We believe this solution will not only bring benefits to U-MING but also become a model for the future of the entire shipping industry.”
