April 26, 2019

Remote operations mean better efficiency and better safety

The conference was hosted by the Norwegian Society Of Lifting Technology, and is an annual 3-day event gathering industry players within the offshore crane and lifting industry.

Joined on stage with Engedal was also Svein Harald Hetland, Principal Engineer, Crane and Lifting in Aker BP. He spoke about the close cooperation between Aker BP and Optilift the last few years.

– Aker BP have installed the Optilift Motion Reporter hardware on all of our company cranes. By doing so, we are able to lift heavier lifts in a safer way, he explained.

The Optilift Motion Reporter helps avoid offshore lifting operations in unsafe conditions, and enables less waiting for safe weather, as the relative heave-movement is accurately measured onsite.

Work towards remote lifting operations

Hetland also said that Aker BP «want to move towards unmanned platforms», which he argued would reduce risk and lead to fewer human errors, as well as reduced costs, better efficiency and less complicated logistics.

A key part of such a journey is to enable remote crane operations, with automatic connection between crane and containers. Hetland mentioned some critical challenges such operations would pose.

– I think we need new ISO standards for the interface between container and crane. So there are a few challenges, but the work is ongoing and we will prioritize this field in the future, he explained.

Positive feedback

Engedal, on his side, ensured Optilift was not in the business of removing people from their jobs, even though working towards unmanned remote lifting operations.

– We still need people to administer remote crane operations, but of course, under different circumstances than what we see today, he told the audience.

After the joint presentation Engedal received a lot of positive feedback from other industry players, where some stated that the company gave an «impressive presentation».

– Our focus in the near future is to further develop our close collaborations with Aker BP, and to proceed with developing anti-pendulum and anti-collision technology.