Improved Fleet Reliability with Acoem’s FALCON Condition Monitoring System and Remote Diagnosis

Country: Greece
Application: Maritime / Chemical Tankers

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For chemical tanker operators, machinery reliability is critical to ensuring safety, compliance, and cost control. Without real-time monitoring, unexpected failures lead to unplanned downtime, high repair costs, and regulatory risks.

This case study shows how a Greece fleet operator improved reliability across 40+ vessels with Acoem’s condition monitoring solutions, reducing maintenance costs by 12% and enhancing operational efficiency.

The Challenge

The customer operates a fleet of more than 40 vessels and tankers that transport liquid chemicals. Due to the critical nature of the cargo, maintaining reliable and efficient operation of the vessels is paramount to ensure safety, regulatory compliance, and prevent potential environmental risks. However, the customer faced challenges with tracking the condition of machinery across the fleet, resulting in unplanned downtime and high maintenance costs.

With no condition monitoring in place, the customer struggled to predict equipment failures, leading to unexpected breakdowns, maintenance delays, and increased operational risks.

The Solution

To address these challenges, the customer implemented a condition monitoring programme across all their vessels based on the ACOEM technology:

FALCON Data Collectors : Crew members on each vessel collect data with the fast and easy-to-use FALCON device. The system delivers detailed insights into machinery health, including critical motors, pumps, fans or compressors, enabling proactive maintenance and early fault detection
Remote Diagnosis and Reporting: Acoem’s partner, REA Hellas, provides remote diagnostic and periodic reporting. This setup allows for decision-making and corrective actions when required.

The Result

The implementation of Acoem’s condition monitoring programme resulted in:

Reduced Unplanned Downtime: The predictive maintenance enabled by data collection and analysis resulted in a significant reduction in unplanned downtime, improving machinery availability.
Maintenance Cost Savings: With the ability to predict potential failures before they occurred, the customer was able to reduce the cost of reactive repairs, cutting maintenance costs by 12%.
Improved Safety and Compliance: Condition monitoring ensured that equipment remained in optimal condition, enhancing safety and supporting regulatory compliance for the transportation of hazardous chemicals.

The Impact

Beyond the immediate results, Acoem’s solutions have provided long-term benefits:

Operational Efficiency: The customer has been able to maintain a more reliable fleet, ensuring smoother operations and better service to clients.
Strengthened Partnership: The success of the programme has strengthened the relationship between the customer and REA Hellas, with further discussions on expanding the use of monitoring solutions to additional vessels and assets.

Acoem’s advanced condition monitoring solutions have enabled the customer to operate more efficiently, reduce risks, and achieve cost savings across their entire fleet of chemical tankers.