The sensors that Rijkswaterstaat places in the North Sea must work for at least 30 years. This is quite a challenge in an environment where sensitive equipment is continuously exposed to salt, water, and strong winds. Sensors with moving parts, such as nautical radars and bird radars, are particularly vulnerable. With smart maintenance, we can extend the lifespan of our assets at sea while keeping costs under control.
Offshore Maintenance: Logistically Complex and Expensive
Maintenance at sea is a complicated logistical operation. Locations are often difficult to reach. You depend on the weather and water conditions. Additionally, arranging a maintenance crew, parts, and transport is not straightforward. Moreover, working offshore is ten times more expensive than on land. You only want to go to the sea if it is really necessary. The timing of maintenance is essential. If you go too early, you might replace parts unnecessarily and waste useful lifespan. If you go too late, you face outages and high repair costs.
Searching for the Best Maintenance Strategy
But what is the best maintenance strategy? We are investigating this in a pilot with Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) of nautical radars. Our general approach is as follows:
- We equip the radar with sensors that measure vibrations, temperature, and power consumption. This allows us to continuously monitor the radar's condition.
- We analyze the sensor information and display trends on a dashboard. We receive an alert when a component behaves strangely or approaches a critical value.
- Using artificial intelligence, statistical software, and digital twins, we simulate wear over a longer period. This allows us to predict when maintenance is needed.
- We experiment with virtual and augmented reality techniques to facilitate on-site maintenance and possibly enable remote maintenance.
The first phase of the pilot is conducted at the Offshore Expertise Center in Stellendam. Here, we can perform initial tests in the most realistic setup possible. The second phase will take place in one of the wind farms in the North Sea. If the pilot is successful, we can also apply CBM to other sensors in the future.
Exploring alternatives
Meanwhile, we are also exploring the market for less vulnerable and more widely usable systems. These require less maintenance, saving costs and reducing the frequency with which maintenance personnel are exposed to safety risks.