Page 58: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 1985)

SHIPBOARD COMPUTER SURVEY

The last few years have witnessed a proliferation of specialized soft- ware and hardware packages for shipboard applications. Many of these products take advantage of the new generation of small, rela- tively low-cost personal computers.

To bring our readers up to date on the latest developments in this rap- idly growing industry, Maritime Re- porter recently surveyed leading manufacturers and suppliers of shipboard computer systems. Here is a company-by-company report.

ANCHOR MARINE (INTERNATIONAL) LIMITED

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Formed into a company in 1978 from a partnership, Anchor Marine has supplied more than 150 ships with loading instruments, their orig- inal product. By using a multipur- pose marinized micro instead of a single function machine, Anchor

Marine has developed a large range of on-board/shore-ship manage- ment tolls for cost saving through efficiency improvements. There is also a range of port-based products, which range from VTMS to termi- nal planning, to hydrographic sur- vey and chart production. Under the Oceanmaster name, Anchor Ma- rine produces for shipboard use so- phisticated cargo management sys- tems, which, in addition to the nor- mal stability/stress functions, in- clude cargo lashing (LWP) and stow planning for containerships, tanker planning/reporting, safe stability for gas carriers, damage stability, tank gauging and optrim for all ships, as well as systems for oil rigs, offshore structures and semi-sub- mersibles. Apart from cargo func- tions, the Oceanmaster range also covers navigation cost savings, with the new NAVEY system, and energy efficiency, through the DECAMS and MEPS systems. On-board mon- itoring and control combinations of all of these, plus many more, have led to Oceanmaster Automation

Systems, which can cover single sys- tems (deballasting, air conditioning, tank gauging, etc.) right through to complete ship systems. Ship man- agement on board is covered by

Oceanmaster products such as stock control and planned maintenance systems, plus budget monitoring and master's/passenger accounts.

On-board data can be quickly and economically transferred ashore from Oceanmaster computer to an- other, and at the same time, receive shore data with automatic updating of databases at each end, plus trans- fer to mainframe systems.

BSRA SYSTEMS LTD.

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BSRA Systems has drawn upon the background technology skills of

British Maritime Technology to de- velop and supply innovative solu- 14 tions to vessel and fleet manage- ment computer systems. Full

Lloyd's Classification Society ap- proval has been gained for the mar- inized IBM PC-AT in consultation with existing approval for hardware from Data General and Olivetti.

Ship management software systems plus full implementation services are available. The software modules cover analytical, procedural, finan- cial and office automation tasks and are written for Unix MS-DOS and

AOS operating systems. Specific software skills with proven applied products are available within the following areas: loading computer systems, service performance moni- toring, cargo operation training aids, engineering spares stock con- trol and budgeting, planned mainte- nance, and victualling accounting.

JOHN FLUKE MFG.

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John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., has developed the ProLogger, a new software package that links an IBM

PC, XT or AT with the Fluke 2280

SERIES Advanced Data Loggers.

ProLogger software turns the IBM

PC into a high-accuracy data acqui- sition system, simplifying control and report generation.

The package enables Fluke 2280

SERIES data loggers to be operated from an IBM PC. The operator can create and edit application pro- grams on the IBM PC and download them to either the Fluke 2280B or 2285B. The data logger then han- dles all A/D conversions, lineariza- tions and control functions, freeing the PC for other tasks. Programs can be developed in BASIC, or by responding to the friendly, menu- driven prompts of the Fluke 2280

SERIES. To help simplify program- ming, the PC's screen displays a likeness of the 2280 front panel dis- play during program development.

ProLogger software facilitates re- port generation, by automatically retrieving data and storing it in a report format of the user's choice.

The new package allows an IBM PC to retrieve data from a 2280 SE-

RIES data logger and store it in a

LOTUS 1-2-3 format.

ProLogger allows an IBM PC to communicate with two versatile and reliable data loggers. A Fluke 2280

SERIES data logger will satisfy vir- tually every input requirement: DC volts, AC volts, current, thermocou- ples, RTD's, strain, resistance, fre- quency, event totalizing, BCD, bina- ry and contact closures. The 2280B and 2285B can be operated from a 12-volt DC power supply or applica- tions when line voltage is not avail- able. The 2280B is expandable to 1,500 channels using several exten- der chassis. A-to-D conversion is done at each extender chassis for faster and more reliable data acqui- sition, even in noisy environments.

Fluke 2280 SERIES Advanced Data

Loggers feature high total instru- ment accuracy, with 16-bit A-to-D conversion and 0.005 % DC volts accuracy.

INFORMATION

MARKETING

INTERNATIONAL

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A large portion of the govern- ment's spare parts procurement problem is the staggering amount of data, documentation and paperwork involved.

Anyone who wishes to do business with the government must cope with a bewildering array of specifi- cations, standards, commercial and federal part numbers and various types of vendor and pricing infor- mation that is necessary for the pro- curement of spare parts. The result can be ridiculously high costs for parts and/or long delays in procure- ment.

For example, the USS Yellow- stone, a Navy tender, was spending over $30,000 per year gathering and processing data required for the procurement of spare parts. Instal- lation of an advanced, computer- based product-information sys- tem—aptly called "Haystack"— doubled the amount of information available to logistics personnel and cut their research time in half. The

Yellowstone saves $14,130 annually in costs of just its logistics informa- tion. Additional savings in procure- ment activities are accruing every day.

The Haystack system was devel- oped by Information Marketing In- ternational (IMI)—a Ziff-Davis in- formation company. Louis B.

Nelsen, president of IMI, explains, "Haystack provides a complete cross-reference system that stocks vital government and industrial in- formation in an integrated electron- ic database. Users, working with computer terminals or personal computers, can quickly identify parts, search out sources of supply, find names and addresses of manu- facturers, and check prices and product descriptions. Haystack also locates full text vendor catalogs and military/federal specifications and standards on microfiche or micro- film."

IRD MECHANALYSIS

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IRD Mechanalysis, Inc. has re- cently developed a computer-based shipboard machinery predictive maintenance program which pro- vides benefits of increased machin- ery life, reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, earlier detection of machine defects and elimination of many ABS Special Survey open- and-inspect requirements. The pro- gram includes three components: (1) software suitable for operation with shipboard personal computers, (2) a handheld portable data collec- tor and (3) a vibration analyzer.

The data collector is automatically programmed by the computer to gather vibration, temperature, pres- sure, load and other operating pa- rameter information from the ship's critical machines. It then guides the operator by LCD prompting mes- sages as to what measurements to take. After taking the measure- ments, the data collector is off- loaded to the computer, which auto- matically analyzes the results and advises shipboard personnel as to the condition of each machine by means of printed or CRT display reports. Should a report indicate that a machine has a problem, the vibration analyzer is used to pin- point the cause (e.g., unbalance, misalignment, defective bearings) and indicate its severity.

KEEL MARINE LIMITED

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In response to the requirements for the provision of Ship Loading

Calculators on many types of ships,

Keel Marine offers their on-board type-approved Keel Mariner 2. This is a rugged and entirely self-con- tained unit, with a customized key- board, display screen and printer, all housed within a "briefcase" unit, which can be either portable or fixed in position. The normal calcu- lation functions of draft, trim, sta- bility and longitudinal strength can be extended to cover grain cargo, containers and RO/RO, as well liq- uid, dry bulk cargo and most addi- tional customer requirements. Ex- ternal communication links are pro- vided to enable direct input from tank level gauges or direct output to

SatCom or printer as required. Be- ing a dedicated instrument, Keel

Mariner 2 is extremely fast and easy to use and requires no special train- ing. For the multi-ship require- ments of the shipowner's office or the Nautical Training College, Keel

Marine also offers a Ship Loading

Calculator software package, called

Keel Mariner 1, which can be sup- plied to run on most commonly available microcomputers. Founded in 1962, Keel Marine's staff of naval architects, designers, marine engi- neers and surveyors carry out work on a worldwide basis, and clients include government agencies, ship- builders, shipowners, oil companies, civil engineering companies and others. The company's services are supported by full drawing office and in-house computer facilities.

MARINE COMPUTER

MANAGEMENT, INC.

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In August 1985, Marine Comput- er Management, Inc. (MCM) re- (continued)

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News