Improving remote maintenance possibilities and lowering equipment life-cycle costs
Nor-Shipping 2013, Norway - Imtech Marine and Cobham SATCOM
announce at Nor-Shipping 2013 the introduction of a sophisticated
remote access service. Delivered by the Imtech Marine 24/7 Global
Control Rooms (GTAC, Global Technical Assistance Centres) in
Rotterdam, Houston and Singapore, the new service allows direct
access to a vessel's Cobham SATCOM communications systems,
including current generation SAILOR GMDSS products and satellite
antennas. As a result, both companies' work in this remote access
innovation seamlessly connects with the goal of reducing equipment
life-cycle costs and maximizing uptime.
"Experience shows that remote equipment monitoring and direct
access provides significant operational and financial benefits for
ship owners," comments Dennis Mol, Director Technology &
Competence Development, Imtech Marine. "Through our partnership and
subsequent technology integration with Cobham SATCOM we can now
conduct regular health checks on SAILOR systems from shore,
enabling us to conduct preventative maintenance and reduce the time
and cost of visiting a vessel for manual servicing. We can also
prepare SAILOR products for annual servicing from shore, reducing
the time needed on board by up to 75%."
The Imtech Marine GTAC is now able to view in real-time the
status of SAILOR systems that are running the Thrane Management
Application (TMA); which today includes SAILOR 6000 GMDSS Series
products, such as the SAILOR 6222 VHF DSC Class A, SAILOR 6300
MF/HF and SAILOR 6110 Mini-C GMDSS. The TMA is
a software service made possible by Cobham SATCOM's ThraneLINK
network protocol. It is already widely in use as the
single-point-of-entry for SAILOR products. GTAC can also carry out
health checks on Cobham SATCOM's SAILOR 900 VSAT and the SAILOR
FleetBroadband family.
Significant time and cost savings
"Through the development of the TMA we offered significant time
and cost savings for on board maintenance of SAILOR products,"
comments Casper Jensen, VP Maritime Business Unit, Cobham SATCOM.
"By integrating the TMA with Imtech Marine's GTAC to allow for
remote shore access, we are securing even more uptime for a
vessel's communication systems as remote health checks by experts
on land increases the opportunities for preventative
maintenance."
The integration of SAILOR products and the TMA with GTAC is a
joint project between Cobham SATCOM and Imtech Marine, whose
iShare@Sea philosophy generates optimal network topology to support
ship-shore data management through GTAC. This philosophy, initiated
by Imtech Marine and supported by the Dutch maritime industry,
gives guidance on how to collect data from different devices and
components with the minimal use of hardware and cabling, taking
airtime costs, coverage and compliance rules into
consideration.
"Our focus is on providing the best technical solution by
integrating state of the art components and applications," adds
Dennis Mol.
Live demos at Nor-Shipping
Demonstrations of TMA enabled SAILOR products via a live and
operational GTAC setup are running on the Imtech Marine stand
(E03-25) three times a day; 11:00, 13:00 and 15.00, throughout
Nor-Shipping 2013. Visitors can also find out more about TMA,
ThraneLINK and SAILOR radio and satellite communications systems on
Cobham SATCOM's Nor-Shipping stand (T02-20).
About Cobham
Cobham protects lives and livelihoods with its differentiated
technology and know-how, operating with a deep insight to customer
needs and agility. The Group offers an innovative range of
technologies and services to solve challenging problems across
commercial, defence and security markets, from deep space to the
depths of the ocean. It has market leading positions in air-to-air
refuelling; aviation services; audio, video and data
communications, including satellite communications; defence
electronics; life support and mission equipment. The most important
thing Cobham builds is trust.
About Cobham SATCOM
Cobham SATCOM develops, manufactures, sells and supports
satellite and radio communication terminals and earth stations for
land, marine and airborne applications. With the ever increasing
demand for communication, our products and services are used to
satisfy the needs of a wide variety of commercial, governmental and
recreational applications.
Cobham SATCOM uses state-of-the-art technologies to design
affordable, highly reliable high performance systems that have
decreased over time in terms of size, weight and power consumption.
Our products enable people to stay in touch under the most
challenging and demanding conditions. When traditional
communication technologies fail, Cobham SATCOM's products will keep
providing our customers with high quality voice, data, and
multimedia communications.
About Imtech Marine
Imtech Marine (headquarters in Rotterdam) is a leading company
in the global maritime market, operating as a full-service provider
and system integrator of tailor-made, innovative and sustainable
technology solutions covering the whole ship. Imtech Marine
specialises in automation (platform and bridge), navigation &
communication including connectivity, energy and drive solutions,
HVAC (heating, ventilation and airconditioning) solutions and fire
protection technology, entertainment, lighting and maritime
services. Imtech Marine provides innovative systems and reliable
services during the full lifetime of the ship. , Imtech Marine ,
employs over 2,600 staff at 94 offices in 30 countries, based along
shipping routes and close to shipbuilding centres.
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