W&O Supply, a leading supplier of valves, drives, piping and fittings to the global maritime industry, will launch a digital valve management service that manages critical valves on board through the innovative use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
It is understood that many ship operators lack even basic identifying information about the valves on their vessels, such as type, material, year or size, and struggle to maintain a clear database of valves in their ERP systems so that shore-based teams can automate procurement.
This lack of insight will increase the risk of delivering the wrong valve in the event of an unexpected valve failure, or mean that replacement valves may be unfit for purpose or lack the necessary entry-level testing, all of which wastes time and money. Adopting a digital approach to valve management can help ship owners avoid ad hoc ordering and last-minute part deliveries, which can introduce delays to operations.
It is understood that ship owners or ship managers often only check the condition of their critical valves when the ship is in dry dock while undergoing repairs. Pre-dry-dock inspection and identification of valves, done by a team of expert technicians, will not only save time and money in upcoming dry dockings, but will also make future inspections faster and easier by attaching RFID tags to the valves. RFID tags contain detailed information about the valve specifications and its inspection and installation history, including survey photos, any safety pressure settings, and any relevant test certificates, thus enabling the right valve to be available at the right time, anywhere in the world.
Kristof Adam, Managing Director of W&O Supply Europe, explains, "The budget spend on marine valves, while only a small part of the total operating costs of a fleet, has taught us over the years that it often takes a lot of time for technical and procurement teams to obtain the right valves. There are a large number of valves on each ship, so an effective management process is critical and can be very costly if mistakes are made. Valves can cause serious management challenges during normal operations or dry docking, and using RFID tags and digital valve management will make identifying, ordering and supplying valves much easier, reducing the risk of financial loss due to errors."
