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OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 6:10 am
by JK
Posted by Eric HaunThursday, February 25, 2016

Rimouski-based company OpDAQ Systems has been awarded a contract to equip 34 Canadian Coast Guard vessels with fuel management marine systems.
The embedded systems will provide onboard staff and managers with real-time data on fuel consumption, engine power and ship speed. This approach has advantages both economically and environmentally by facilitating continuous and measurable improvement of operations, according to the developer.
Since its creation in 2008, OpDAQ Systems has exported its products to more than 24 countries through its network of distributors.
Commenting on the latest project, company president, Charles Massicotte, said, “This is an important step in achieving our goal of being the Canadian benchmark for performance measurement systems in the maritime sector.”
Innovation and dynamism of OpDAQ’s systems also allows the company to apply its expertise in other industries. “The technologies we develop are easily transferable to all industrial sectors including railways, mines and power plants diesel, as these are all areas where energy consumption is an issue,” explained François Levesque, Vice President of the SME.

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:23 pm
by The Dieselduck
I never understood this obsession with these systems. Unless you are planning on tweakin the whole propulsion plant, and using the system temporarily to establish norms, it usually just end up being a waste of money. It all depends on the speed of the vessel, the rest is known. If you have the time, slow down, saves fuel. But then again its Coast Guard, like fire trucks, fuel is not really an issue.

BC Ferries uses a the only system I though was good idea from a Nanaimo company, I forget the name now, but they would program the arrival time, and the fuel management system would dictate the main engine speed. Having display of how much fuel is consumed, and pretty little lights and fancy pipework, is consistently ignored by the navigator.

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 5:09 pm
by JK
I was to a fuel conference last month where they had a presentation by Aalborg University about a study they are doing on these systems. Unless the company gives an incentive, a target and a person who will manage it, it will be ignored, just as you say. SNAFU.

There is a huge amount of information that can be trended off of one of these systems.
You know how the individual engine is performing, how the plant is running and it will indicate if the hull is dirty. It will trend how the ship is being operated over a period of time. It is how the company uses the information that makes the difference.
As well, IMO has the ship efficiency program coming in to force in 2020. Emissions are going have to be monitored closely. Less fuel burnt, less emissions.

I was looking at an OpDaq system at Maritech last year here in Vancouver. They had the computer programmed with data from an actual ship. As you adjusted the telegraphs, you could watch the fuel consumption change. Change the draft settings and change the telegraphs, different fuel consumption. Sometimes optimal fuel savings is merely half a knot faster. Dead slow steaming is not necessarily the correct speed for fuel savings.

I have been researching this and some companies have seen a 25% reduction in fuel consumption. CG may not see that big a cut, but it would be interesting to see in a year after these are installed, if there is a reduction.
I think CG would differ with you on fuel costs. It must be a PITA to go back to Treasury Board and ask for more budget for fuel in a bad ice year.

There was a ship management company there at the conference, that managed bulkers. The ships were CP propellers with shaft generators. They looked at the system and the shaft generator was operating at 80% and the diesel at 40% efficiency because the system was not at an optimal setting. They took out the AC generator and replaced it with DC generator and DC switchgear through a converter to the AC board. They installed a combinator mode on the propulsion control system and changed the philosophy of how the plant was operated. They paid for the project in one year in saved fuel.

A good metering system gives you definitive justification on such engineering changes for management. A beancounter needs definitive.

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:06 pm
by The Dieselduck
You bring up good points, but not many companies seem to have the will power / trust in the tech dept to see the later points in your post. But I can certainly see...
IMO has the ship efficiency program coming in to force in 2020. Emissions are going have to be monitored closely. Less fuel burnt, less emissions.
being driving factor.

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:15 am
by JK
It's a big investment to get past management.
The same presentation talked about painting 2 bulkers with silicon based paint. Followed all requirements by paint manufacturer, 2 different yards, 2 different project managers, same hulls. The paint fell off both ships.
So here's a guy who put his neck on the line to reduce fuel consumption by applying a very expensive coating after a great deal of work convincing management it will pay off. Instead he end up with a legal wrangle with the paint manufacturer to recoup losses. It made me wonder just how often this is happening. One of the reasons I'm at the NACE conference.

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 3:57 am
by Big Pete
Interesting to read about the Bulker having its AC shaft Generator replaced with a DC one. The next generation of Diesel Electric Ships is going to be DC so that the generator engines will adjust there speed according to the load and maintain optimum torque at all conditions. This will minimise frictional losses and wear and tear on the engine, by minimising the number of revolutions the engine turns, and give lower fuel consumption and longer service intervals. Only possible with DC, with AC you run at constant speed and vary the torque according to the load.
There is also an efficiency saving because instead of rectifying the AC power to DC in order to put it through an inverter to produce variable frequency AC, all the inverters can be fed from a DC ring Main and separate fixed output frequency inverters can be used to feed the switchboards.
This saves the energy loss and initial cost of the rectifiers.
BP

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 6:15 am
by Merlyn
When I started out one of my first jobs as an apprentice was to remove loads of DC equipment and replace it with all this new fangled AC stuff from gensets to auxiliaries and I can still remember doing this, in particular being taught how to remove seized Gib keys and feather keys in shafting when seized solid on the coupling and keyway with no working room to spare. Gib keys in particular using fox type wedges were difficult to remove when they had remained untouched for possibly 35 years plus. Quite a knack to be learnt here and, like riding a bike once you had it never to be forgotten. First introduction to a lifetime of working upside down. Now it would appear this is being reversed back round the other way and back to DC , well perhaps the old saying is true after all," what goes round comes round "

Re: OpDAQ Systems Wins Canadian Coast Guard Contract

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2016 12:34 pm
by JK
we're running 30-50 year old DC propulsion generators. Compared to the AC propulsion generators, they are holding up very good. The biggest problem is megger readings. In the old days they'd be corn blasted, now it's CO2 cleaning. The AC generators of 25-30 years age are having exciter and crowbar issues to contend with. The AC engines are set at 900 RPM while the DC ramp up and down.
It will be interesting to see the difference in the ships fuel consumption.
There is AC/AC, AC/DC and DC/DC propulsion in the mix of ships.