Corona as game changer

No doubt, the world would be better off without this pandemic outbreak. What impresses me, is how DNV GL employees turn such a crisis into an opportunity, developing and implementing our tools of tomorrow.

TEXST: MARIANNE VALDERHAUG

The corona virus outbreak has changed the world as we know it. Things we took for granted a few months ago are suddenly prohibited, and this is seriously affecting both our professional and private life. Continued world trade is essential during crisis, to secure supply of food, medical equipment etc., and Technical Support have been heavily involved helping customers finding ways to secure continued trading.

When surveyors are unable to attend vessels, surveys go overdue and certificates expire, our traditional solution would have been to postpone surveys and issue short term certificates. But postponements are merely short-term solutions, and that’s why we have started to explore whether our scope of remote surveys can be expanded, to also include bigger and more demanding surveys.

FIRST MAIN CLASS ANNUAL SURVEY COMPLETED REMOTELY

A main class annual survey includes testing of various equipment, as well as a survey of the whole vessel. To cover the full scope, a DNV GL surveyor will normally spend up to a day on board the vessel. Is it possible to cover such a huge survey remotely?

To find out, we asked Morten Østby, who has been instrumental in digitalizing our FIS activity, to run a pilot. With the help from Haakon Dehn, Head of Planning Region North Europe, we identified a suitable vessel and established contact with the Owner, who was eager to join the pilot. Two weeks after the pilot kick-off, we had successfully completed the first remote main class survey in DNV GL’s history. Kamlesd Kumar work

Two smartphones, Teams and live communication with the crew gave us enough information to complete the main class annual survey remotely.

ing in the Operational center at Høvik was lead surveyor, and Håkon Vikse, surveyor and KAM from Haugesund, assisted during the survey. The Owner was very satisfied with our survey and the only remark was that the crew had to spend quite a lot of time on preparing the document review.

Completing this survey remotely would not have been possible without good planning, connectivity during the complete survey, great support from the crew and teamwork within DNV GL. Involving a surveyor knowing the vessel was also very valuable.

This is one example of how the pandemic has challenged our way of working and thinking. Another example is piloting of remote COW initial survey, successfully completed by our team in Singapore in April. Remote Class Entry survey of younger vessels and remote Dynamic Positioning surveys are soon to be piloted. Being able to perform surveys remotely does not mean that we will stop attending vessels. Our ambition is still to visit all DNV GL class vessels once a year, and remote survey will be a supplement to our onboard survey.

INCREASED WORKLOAD AND NEW WAYS OF WORKING

Because of the pandemic, we see a rapid uptake of remote survey. Comparing the numbers from January and April, we find that number of remote jobs per week has increased by roughly 50 %. Number of customer requests through DATE® is also increasing.

Thanks to dedicated employees and a very good IT system, we have managed to keep up business as usual, assisting customers in a professional way and further developed our digital deliveries. The way we have managed to change and adapt is fantastic, and it’s inspiring to see that we are exploring ideas we didn’t even dream of at the beginning of this year.