Further enhancing its Sperry Sphere digital platform, Sperry Marine has recently introduced a digital navigation ‘system twin’ to ensure equipment and lifecycle status can be digitally managed. Ralf Magner, business unit director, product and systems, explains: “In using the digital twin, we are taking a proactive approach to strengthening maintenance agreements with fleet owners, particularly to ensure we can continue to manage upgrades, installations and defects, as well as carry out regular maintenance activities, during times of supply chain interruptions. We can also now ensure navigation system maintenance activities come with no surprises during vessel operations, by keeping systems up to date, compliant and available.”
A relatively new addition to its portfolio, launched in 2019, SperrySphere is a digital voyage planning and management platform that is being marketed as an integrated addition to its well-known navigation systems. Magner says: “The digital twin capability within SperrySphere enables remote service and maintenance and thereby gives us an enhanced service capability aimed at meeting industry demand for reduced supply chain interruptions and lower environmental impact for parts transport and service engineer travel.”
He adds: “We have spent the past year enhancing our digital capabilities and product offering to provide vessel owners the best and most effective service experience. This will continue over the coming years, for example making more cloud-based data and connectivity concepts and cyber security services available as onboard solutions.”
For Sperry Marine the main technical challenge relates to the assessment of the integration requirements of the navigation equipment to be upgraded or exchanged. “Digital remote capabilities for onboard survey are therefore key for our back-office application engineering and project management teams to prepare the projects for execution on time and to budget, according to agreed schedules,” says Magner. “With worldwide restrictions on attending or riding with vessels and material availability shortages due to the pandemic, Sperry Marine has been able to leverage our worldwide service network, incorporating product and spares logistic hubs and depots, to manage upgrades and retrofit projects worldwide in an uninterrupted manner.”
Every year sees Sperry Marine complete a significant number of major upgrade and retrofit projects for customers and 2021 was no different. Projects included upgrades and refits of complete bridges to single pieces of equipment across customers’ fleets. “We ensure the right upgrade solutions are available worldwide during the voyage, in port or during drydock periods, supported by our global service network,” according to Magner.
In recent years Sperry Marine has renewed its product offering with an eye to the refit market, including the CompassNet heading management and VisionMasterNet radar. “These offer backwards compatible system integrations to renew and upgrade navigation system capabilities and offer the digital solutions the shipping market requires to meet the latest regulations and efficiency demands,” states Magner. “Our many decades of proven experience in navigation system retrofits across the entire vessel lifecycle provides vessel managers with a unique and reliable service offering at fixed prices.”
The latest addition to its portfolio of networked systems is the highly accurate Fibre Optic Gyros. These work in concert with Sperry Marine’s autopilot and steering systems to generate fuel saving capabilities which can managed onboard and from shore via SperrySphere.
