Wärtsilä’s service engineer utilising advanced augmented reality technology on board of a vessel.
Digitalisation is fundamentally changing the way marine and power plant maintenance services are conducted. It enables new kind of services that utilise Big Data and advanced data analysis to help companies increase the efficiency of their operations and optimise the performance of their assets.
Wärtsilä’s asset performance optimisation concepts are designed to optimise, for example, an installation’s energy efficiency, or even the management of an entire fleet. This can be done by integrating advanced dynamic voyage planning, ship efficiency advisory services and energy analysis as well as extensive condition monitoring of the main equipment into one consolidated solution.
An important characteristic of this solution is the extensive utilisation of interactive and real-time data. Sophisticated data analysis helps predict maintenance needs well in advance, thus enabling better planning and support services.
Virtual engineering and augmented reality will take remote support services to the next level
In Wärtsilä’s remote support services, the customers receive real-time advice and support for their assets, for example, theoperation, troubleshooting or maintenance of the customer’s equipment on board of a vessel or in a power plant.
An increasingly important part of the support consists of Wärtsilä’s virtual engineering concept in which the service engineer uses specially-designed goggles that utilise advanced augmented reality technology. By using both audio and visual communication, the service engineer is able to remotely and in real time interact with experts in Wärtsilä’s remote service centres that can be located even on the other side of the world. These experts have access to Wärtsilä’s all relevant data and know-how and can guide the person on site in real time to solve the issue at hand.
“For ship owners and power plant operators, uptime is the most crucial factor affecting quality and profitability. Wärtsilä’s virtual engineering concept makes it possible to help the service engineer on site through complex troubleshooting and repair operations, without having to halt the vessel’s or power plant’s operations. This maximizes the uptime and efficiency of the customer’s operations, ” says Magnus Miemois, Director of Field Services at Wärtsilä.
When developing the virtual engineering concept, Wärtsilä integrated different components to create one system. This combines innovative software and mobile communication technology with robust augmented reality solutions, enabling users to get audio-visual guidance from a remote expert.
Digitalisation enhances customer support
Virtual engineering is an important part of Wärtsilä’s strategy of enhancing customer support over the whole customer journey. “Digitalisation makes it possible to provide logistics and technical support via online services and enables real-time asset performance management. Virtual engineering can drastically reduce the amount of time required to perform complex troubleshooting and repair activities. It can be used to bring all the knowledge and know-how together that Wärtsilä has collected over the years and put it directly at our customer’s disposal, ” concludes Guido Barbazza, Vice president, Emerging Businesses of Wärtsilä.
Additional information:
Wärtsilä Remote Support video in YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Wärtsilä Services in brief
Wärtsilä Services creates lifecycle services for its customers, enhancing their business – whenever, wherever. We provide industry’s broadest range of services for both shipping and power generation. Our solutions range from spare parts and basic support to ensuring maximised lifetime, increased efficiency and guaranteed performance of customer’s equipment or installation – in a safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable way.
Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximizes the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2014, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 4.8 billion with approximately 17, 700 employees. The company has operations in more than 200 locations in nearly 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
Wärtsilä Newsroom
