Every day on his way to work Arie Leeuwenburg passes the Dutch river Nieuwe Maas running through Rotterdam. Home of the largest seaport in both the Netherlands and Europe, Rotterdam is a symbol for the marine industry.
With more than 40 years of experience, On Site Alignment has made a living on extending the lifespan of large vessels carrying sizeable cargo to an international market. Today the marine industry makes up 80 percent of the total workload for On Site Alignment with much of the daily tasks focused on aligning rotating machinery in order to reduce vibration, resolve high temperature issues and prolong the lifespan.
“Investing in ship maintenance in particular is often kept at a low level but can also be decisive in terms of economical survival for most marine companies”, Arie explains. Compared to a factory or an onshore operation a ship spends, by definition, most of its time out at sea. This is why a ship that suffers a breakdown out at sea can find itself in deep trouble.
“When something starts to vibrate, it affects the entire construction and not just the individual installation, which can cause further damage to other machinery. And since there are few service stations in the Atlantic, realignment of machinery out there can be challenging.”
Correct installation of machinery is vital for a reliable operation.
Arie explains that if a vessel breaks down offshore, you will most likely need to arrange transport via tugboats to the nearest port. You will need new spare parts and hire the expertise to do the repair and installation. At the same time you will need to store your cargo while the delivery can be expected to be delayed. All of this will cost you. Depending on the size of the vessels it can add up to tens of thousands of dollars per day.
And that's disregarding all the unnecessary waste of resources and energy used in order to sustain the process.
Even if the industry could save money and resources with proactive maintenance, Arie says that maintenance of vessels is often either minimal or non-existent.
“I think the problem is awareness. Today, many ship owners just keep running their boats and hope for the best. I have been thinking and breathing reliability for the last 40 years. For me it's not an issue. But we need to address these questions on a daily basis and educate the people who make the decisions.”
Bore alignment of propulsion drivelines is one of On Site Alignment's assignments.
In his career he has come across several ways in which companies have been chasing higher profits by cutting corners.
“During the last decades the amount of crew members with knowledge within maintenance has decreased significantly. Because it's cheaper. This means that ships are even more vulnerable to failure. Recently we had a vessel that was sailing with a damaged propulsion system and just kept on sailing until it was completely ruined.”
There is also a growing trend with slow steaming, where the ship travels at a reduced speed which can have short term benefits but frequently results in more contamination inside the engines.
“Like many other industries the marine sector is conservative,“ Arie says. However, as awareness for maintenance in general grow he hopes the shipowners will follow. Especially now when the technology becomes more accessible.
“It's really nice to see the development and that the equipment and processes are becoming quicker and more efficient. The first Easy-Laser XT770 we bought was really something and mind-blowing compared to other equipment. This is equipment that should be on every ship. So once you do proper maintenance the machine can run for many years. Our philosophy and ultimate goal is to align machinery to last forever”.
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Name: Arie Leeuwenburg Lives: Dordrecht, Netherlands Does: CEO of On Site Alignment. Offices in countries such as Singapore, USA and United Arab Emirates. Mainly focused on the marine sector. |
