The increasing use of data, and the emergence of innovative solutions in the marine industry offers unique opportunities. Many of these “new” technologies have been proven in other industries, however applying those analytic tools to vessels and port facilities is challenging. Harnessing increased asset insight can have great value in driving better performance, improved safety, and lifecycle assurance. At the same time, that same data and the associated connectivity of information systems exposes a huge cyber threat.

Industry 4.0 will change the way we manage the marine industry. As with any new technology, we must understand the risks and opportunities. Imagine a world where digital twins give predictive analytics to support operational decision making, maintenance and inspection routines. Imagine autonomous systems where machine learning and robust algorithms augment to make difficult decisions routine.

Survey and regulatory regimes must move past physical, evidence based processes and transcend into the digital realm. Digital twins are becoming the ship of the future. We must develop levels of integrity and assurance to an extent where we can reliably trust the outputs of those twins. Lloyd’s Register has developed a Digital Class Framework, that is currently being applied for just this purpose. Further, in understanding how these twins are created, we are mining volumes of data to extract real value for clients, today.

Taking assurance one step further, cyber threats are real, and the impacts can be catastrophic. As connectivity of assets increases, having assurance that supply chains, vessels, and operations are protected will be paramount.

Presenter
Colin Clark, P.Eng. is the Americas Consultancy and Strategic Initiatives Manager for Lloyd’s Register and the President of Lloyd’s Register’s Applied Technology Group. A Naval Architect by training, he has been involved with major marine and offshore projects for the past 15 years. He currently leads a regional team that is innovating and applying technology for global solutions across a broad spectrum of domains. He is directly involved with developing solutions and services for clients in areas of digital data platforms and analytics, cyber, environment and sustainability, failure investigations, risk and advanced analysis.