Page 31: of Marine News Magazine (July 2015)

30 32

PROPULSION & TECHNOLOGY

Looking ahead, Caterpillar is hoping to get together tors over 300,000 assets. We are one of the largest moni- with the classi? cation societies to earn their stamp of ap- toring and data collectors beyond automotive and the air- proval so that when a CMAI ? eet advisor issues a recom- lines, and we are growing at an exponential rate between mendation, it will come with a classi? cation society stamp new equipment with sensors and retro? tting thousands of of approval. older engines,” he adds, noting, “We invest heavily in data

For example, CMAI’s data analytics can enable clients management and security.” to move from scheduled, pre-programmed maintenance He also wants to automate regulatory compliance to en- to predictive maintenance, ensuring that equipment gets able customers to take corrective action prior to exceeding attention only when it needs it – not at some arti? cial in- tolerance limits, and to build interfaces to customer sys- terval. The bene? ts are clear - less down time, potentially tems, OEMs and classi? cation societies. fewer (or timelier) overall repairs, fewer emergency repairs, Over time, Caterpillar Marine says it will introduce a etc. But that doesn’t mean the classi? cation society will “full suite of analytic solutions” targeting what it sees as support it. the four top customer priorities: Increasing reliability of

Tetrault expects it could take ? ve years to bring the clas- machinery operations, optimizing vessel productivity, en- si? cation societies on board – in the meantime – the com- suring safety; and operating more sustainably.

pany will be working to build up its customer base and collection of success stories.

Patricia Keefe is a veteran journalist,

Yet a third level of trust involves data storage. “When editor and commentator who writes about you are a small company, data storage suddenly becomes technology, business and maritime topics. one of your biggest problems,” says Tetrault. Outsourcing storage is an expensive option. “Caterpillar already moni- 31 www.marinelink.com MN