Japanese shipping line Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and MTI have collaborated to develop a diagnostic tool to record, visualise, and analyse the operational sounds of a vessel’s engine plant.
The tool, known as Kirari MUSE, has been developed as part of NYK’s series of big data programmes in order to encourage greater safety within the shipping sector.
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It is expected to undergo onboard testing in the near future.
Kirari MUSE uses a variety of electronic listening devices to record, accumulate and share sounds, which can then be visualised as data on a tablet.
The tool’s software is able to analyse the sounds to detect anomalies in the engine.
NYK noted that the sound of machinery during operation is often considered to be an important factor in helping diagnose its overall condition.
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By GlobalDataHowever, an unfamiliar sound is difficult to convey to others. Kirari MUSE is designed to address this issue by sharing sounds with others on-board ships and onshore.
In addition, accumulated sound data is able to help detect small changes on a day-to-day basis.
NYK said in a statement: “Determining the normality of operational sounds often depends on the experience and judgement of crew members.
“Utilising an application that accumulates the know-how of many years of vessel operational experience will allow NYK to perform highly accurate diagnoses and detect abnormal conditions and breakdowns of machinery at an early stage.
“This will help the NYK Group shift from conventional time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance.”
NYK intends to use Kirari MUSE to diagnose all kinds of machinery and equipment that produce operational sounds.
NYK, MTI, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) and NTT DATA have also recently conducted a joint proof-of-concept test for a next-generation, onboard IoT platform.
The trial was held aboard a domestic coastal vessel named Hidaka, which is owned and operated by NYK Group subsidiary Kinkai Yusen Kaisha.
