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INTERVIEW DIGITIZATION DRIVES EFFICIENCIES OFFSHORE volved with is the digitization of what we call asset integ- man being climbs into a confned space, that’s a risk. If rity management,” he explained. “Having it in a digital I can put a drone in that cargo tank instead of a human, format allows me to access it and query it and utilize it a that’s a win.” lot more effciently and a lot faster.” Beyond inspections, remote operations centers have the

For an industry that once relied on blueprints and potential to monitor and support multiple offshore assets three-ring binders, the shift to digital records and online from shore, reducing offshore staffng while improving op- databases is transforming how operators monitor off- erational effciency.

shore structures and critical machinery. ABS is working

ENABLING INNOVATION to combine inspection records with operational data gen- erated by onboard equipment, enabling more informed As one of the world’s leading classifcation societies, ABS maintenance decisions and laying the groundwork for sees its role extending beyond compliance into enabling predictive maintenance. innovation safely.

The organization is also investing in natural language Rather than relying solely on prescriptive rules, Trem- processing tools capable of ingesting handwritten main- blay said ABS is increasingly adopting performance-based tenance logs from decades past and converting them into standards that can accommodate emerging technologies searchable digital datasets. without stifing development.

“That’s one of the places that ABS has spent a lot of “The hardest thing to legislate or create prescriptive time,” Tremblay said, “trying to gain insights into predic- rules for is innovation because I don’t know how it’s go- tive maintenance and asset condition management from ing to break yet,” he said. “Instead of writing prescriptive that old data we have.” standards, we’re writing goal-based standards.”

Artifcial intelligence is another area where ABS is in- vesting heavily. One application under development uses

OFFSHORE DIGITALIZATION large language models to help engineers navigate the or-

REACHES ADOLESCENCE

Asked to characterize the maturity of digitalization ganization’s roughly 30,000 pages of technical rules and in offshore energy, Tremblay offered an analogy. “I statutory requirements.

Finally, as offshore assets become more connected, cy- wouldn’t say we’re in the infancy anymore. I’d say we’re in the adolescence,” he said. “We at least know what we bersecurity has emerged as a critical component of op- erational safety. Tremblay emphasized that ABS’s exper- don’t know.”

The next challenge, he noted, is improving data quality tise spans both information technology and operational technology, helping operators secure not just data but and consistency so operators can extract meaningful in- sights. Dirty or fragmented datasets have long limited the the systems controlling vessels, drilling rigs and produc- value of digital initiatives, but advances in AI and machine tion facilities.

“The connectivity that continues to grow creates learning are helping clean and organize legacy information more and more touchpoints for the internet,” he said. for future use.

Remote technologies are also becoming mainstream. “ABS is very well positioned… both from a writing

ABS is increasingly supporting remote inspections using rules perspective, but as well from providing consulta- drones, cameras and equipment-generated data rather tive advice.”

For Tremblay, the future of offshore energy will be than requiring surveyors to physically board offshore shaped as much by intelligent use of data as by steel and assets.

subsea infrastructure. And for ABS, helping the industry “The best thing that we’re doing from a safety perspec- tive on that remote front is we’re removing people from navigate that digital transition safely may be one of its most important missions yet.

dangerous situations,” Tremblay said. “Every time a hu- 38 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM