From three months to one month
Class society Bureau Veritas reports that it has managed to slash the reporting time for a condition assessment programme (CAP) report from three months to one month, while improving its accessibility and usability.
The significantly shorter timescale is expected to reduce costs for tanker owners and to make BV’s CAP a useful tool for risk assessment of vessels and offshore units for life extension or conversion. The cut in reporting time is made possible by completely renewing the reporting software used by the surveyor and by the UTM (ultrasonic thickness measurement) service provider. At the same time BV has revised the report to make it deliverable by web to the client and, if required, the client’s own clients, such as charterers, banks and other stakeholders.
The new software was designed in liaison with clients and ship vetting entities. Using a web-based interface, the tool is installed on surveyors’ lap tops. The database of the tanks and important machinery equipment is automatically downloaded from BV’s ‘Neptune’ class database if the unit is BV class, or uploaded for next-time use if the vessel is not BV class. Reporting time is reduced by use of drop down menus and eliminating duplication of data.
Drop down menus ensure that CAP survey reports use common language and common phraseology throughout the BV network. Automatic calculation of scores and award of ratings reduces the possibility of calculation errors. There is an easy interface for uploading and compressing photographs and easy integration of structural strength and fatigue assessment report findings, hot spots and areas critical for fatigue into the report.
The CAP software works alongside the UTM software and reduces the time needed by the surveyor to assess the findings from days to hours. During the survey period the reporting tool allows for a provisional report on items requiring repair or upgrade to be provided to the client for their repair specification needs. The final report is designed to be easy to read and is downloadable in pdf format or can be accessed directly on line using magazine style page turning software. The client has the option of making it available on line to charters, banks, potential buyers and others.
Vincent Lefebvre, head of CAP section, Bureau Veritas, says, “CAP used to be something forced on tanker owners by charterers. Not anymore. Today it is a useful risk assessment tool for every form of offshore structure and vessel. We are seeing increased demand as owners realise they can get a really good picture of their asset in a very reasonable time. Only this month we have been contracted by an owner to perform CAP assessments on two VLCCs, which are candidates for conversion to FPSO.
And we are also using CAP as a building block in life extension programmes for gas carriers, FSUs, a dredger and a containership. The oil majors allow three months for the CAP report production, which is the norm in this area, so our new system has dramatically shortened the time between survey and being able to use the data. Even tanker owners who were reluctant to use CAP change their view when they get such a useful report so quickly.”
Source: Bureau Veritas
