‘Give me an example’ … ‘How is that done?’ … Learning from others is a vital part of business life. The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has just published ‘Example Redundancy Concept and Annual DP Trials for a DP Class 3 Construction Vessel’ (IMCA M 225) as a companion volume to ‘Guidance for developing and conducting annual DP trials programmes for DP vessels’ (IMCA M 190 – published in 2011), which described the method for creating an annual DP trials programme.
“The new IMCA M 225 has been developed to provide an example of how the guidance in IMCA M 190 could be used to create a trials programme that ensures that all the essential parts of the dynamic positioning (DP) equipment class 3 redundancy concepts are intact, and fully functional, ” explains Jane Bugler, Technical Director of IMCA.
“Although this particular example uses a DP equipment class 3 vessel, the method described is applicable to any vessel, regardless of DP equipment class. Trials programmes developed using the guidance in this new document and that in IMCA M 190 should, if competently executed, provide benefits in terms of reduced trials time and improved verification of the redundancy concept when compared to traditional annual DP trials processes.”
The new document is divided into two parts. The first describes the DP redundancy concept for a fictitious project and construction (P&C) vessel, the ‘Norske Kommander’, with sections which are devoted to vessel overview; engines and auxiliary services; power generation; power distribution; power management system; vessel management system; thrusters; DP control system; safety systems; and an overview of tests created by analysis of redundancy concept.
The second part, the 67-page example of an Annual DP Trials Report, aims to meet the requirements set out in IMCA M 190, and has been developed to demonstrate the range of tests and planned maintenance activities that are required to ensure the redundancy concept is intact and that the vessel remains fully fault tolerant in respect of the defined failure criteria for its DP class notation and equipment class.
The document can be downloaded free of charge from the IMCA website at www.imca-int.com by members and non-members alike, or purchased in printed form at £10.00 for members and £20.00 for non-members from publications@imca-int.com
Further information
Further information on IMCA and its work on behalf of its 1000+ member companies in over 60 countries is available fromwww.imca-int.com and imca@imca-int.com. The association has LinkedIn and Facebook groups and its Twitter handle is @IMCAint
About IMCA
- IMCA is an international association with well over a thousand members in more than 60 countries representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies. IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & North America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and South America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training, IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.
- IMCA Vision & Strategy. As a result of work and collective input in 2013, IMCA has redefined its stated core purpose to be “Improving performance in the marine contracting industry”. To achieve this goal, IMCA’s Vision & Strategy has been devised with two elements in mind: Core activities and ways of working.
- IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports – many are available for free downloading by members and non-members alike. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as eCMID, safety recommendations, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.
About the industry IMCA serves
The marine contracting industry plays a vital global role. Its vessels account for 4% of the world’s maritime fleet. Collectively IMCA members employ some 350, 000 people and have an annual turnover of around $150bn. They work in all the world’s major offshore areas, delivering large offshore oil and gas and marine renewables projects around the globe that quite literally fuel the global economy.
