Stay sharp

Imagine how much you’d know about an engine if you’d spent over 4,500 years monitoring it? How to get the most out of it, protect it, and know when it’s time for repairs… With 40 million hours of marine engine data, Caterpillar Marine’s Asset Intelligence draws on vast knowledge and experience to help you stay on top of your engine performance and maintenance. And, most importantly, lets you stay focused on your real job – the voyage ahead.

YOU’VE GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO

When you’re operating a vessel – especially a fleet – the pressure is on to deliver. The last thing you need is unplanned downtime that disrupts your operation and, in the worst case, jeopardizes the safety of a crew at sea. Both the sea and the commercial environment are hard enough without having to deal with that. Or even have to worry about what might happen

PROTECT YOUR VESSELS

The worst-case scenario is failure, both in terms of the cost of repairs and unplanned downtime but also the crew safety aspect. Through Asset Intelligence you can predict and avoid failures, and even solve problems remotely with expert troubleshooting. Visualize the safety of your operation, and make sure equipment is performing in compliance with the regulations – including emissions levels.

ALWAYS BE IN CONTROL

Asset Intelligence puts you fully in charge of your equipment and your operation. You and your colleagues stay sharp and focused on the real job thanks to easily customized dashboards for all levels of management. What’s more, you can integrate it with your existing enterprise systems, including CMMS. What’s not to like?

WE DON’T

Let Caterpillar and our Asset Intelligence worry about that. Our package of software and services gives you the security and confidence to plan your operation. It’ll also help you improve performance and optimize maintenance to lower running and repair costs. At its heart, Cat Asset Intelligence is analytic software based on almost 40 million hours of marine engine data supported by expert advice from experienced operators, maintenance and repair technicians, and data analysts. Put simply, you get a clear, real-time view of where you are with your onboard equipment plus advice on the steps you can take. Wherever you are, on land or at sea.

IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AND OPTIMIZE MAINTENANCE

For your operation, Asset Intelligence for marine applications can help you improve equipment performance, increase fuel efficiency and reduce total vessel fuel burn, which could transform your bottom line. It even gives you fuel accountability and helps you avoid fuel theft. Cat Asset Intelligence also helps you shift to Condition Based Monitoring. With up-to-date understanding of equipment condition, you don’t just protect against failure but can also avoid unnecessary maintenance and extend overhaul intervals.

FINDING THE FUEL-EFFICIENCY SWEET SPOT

A container ship operating between the US and South America has a large refrigerated cargo requirement, and thus a highly variable electrical load to support. Cat Asset Intelligence analytics helped identify the optimal auxiliary engine/generator combinations for each electrical load level – based on actual performance, not just the manufacturer’s technical documentation. As a result, the vessel could save up to $100 per hour in fuel costs, which means hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for this ship alone.

EXPERTS KNOW ABOUT FAILURE

A Cat Asset Intelligence team analyzed the equipment onboard a U.S. Navy destroyer as it prepared for a long tour of duty – and identified a generator with a similar start-up issue as the recently failed generator on a sister ship. This was resolved thanks to the team’s analytics and expert review, plus an in-person follow-up. Preventing a catastrophic failure on their mission, not to mention the cost of repairs on the other side of the world.

SAVING FUEL. AND THE OPERATION

Cat Asset Intelligence helped identify a faulty fuel injector on an OSV’s main engine through a difference in exhaust temperatures between cylinder banks at different operating modes. A simple repair saved nearly 5% in fuel consumption at idle speed. What’s more, it prevented potential failure that could have cost $750,000 in downtime and repairs.

In an ever-changing harbor and terminal tug industry, increasing demands are driving investment into better, more efficient vessels. With high-speed solutions to the fore. High-speed engines are particularly suitable for vessels that have variable power needs in terms of acceleration time, bollard pull and maneuverability.

That’s life on a tugboat in a nutshell. What’s more, tugboats operate an average of 1,000 – 3,000 hours per year, but 80% of that time is spent running at less than 20% of engine load. Increasingly, we’re seeing high-speed power and propulsion systems fully tailored to this load profile. The result? Better performance, lower fuel consumption and longer maintenance intervals.