DNV was approached by a major shipping company owning and operating a large and diverse fleet spanning several shipping segments. The shipping company was aiming to increase operating capabilities and to become a world class operator. In order to accomplish these goals the first step was to assess the current ship management organisation and identify opportunities for improvement.

The result of the opportunity assessment showed that there was room for improvement within a number of elements. Together with DNV, the shipping company selected the following key areas to focus on in:

• Fuel consumption (energy management)
• Maintenance management
• Procurement processes.

It was also recognized that focus on change management and ensuring management commitment were imperative in order to achieve sustainable change.

Phase two of the project focused on the selected key elements and development of tailor-made solutions to raise internal capabilities and improve bottom line results. Parallel to the solution development, a change management process was initiated in order to ensure that the solutions could be implemented in the organisation and that relevant stakeholders were identified and addressed during the execution of the project. In the change management stream changes to the organisation were implemented in order to fully benefit from the various initiatives:

• Within energy management project stream a structured program to measure, control and reduce fuel consumption were established and the program were validated on a number of pilot vessels. The validation demonstrated that 6% fuel savings were attainable. The energy management program consists of; standardization of procedures, reporting processes, software platforms, comprehensive training and competence program for onshore and onboard stakeholders etc.

• The maintenance management project stream focused on enabling standardization of maintenance management throughout the organization and benefit from synergy effects. This was established by:

  • Development of maintenance and dry-docking strategies and processes focusing on analysis, continuous improvement and to secure organizational learning
  • Utilization of risk-based maintenance approach for optimization of maintenance program on selected pilot vessels. This analysis shoved a reduction of work orders in excess of 60% per annum and identified savings of about 25% of cost base per annum.
  • Alignment of maintenance management application tailored to organisational capabilities and needs, internal and external requirements and the maintenance process.
    
• Project stream procurement process developed solutions for a streamlined and cost-efficient organisation and a clearly defined logistics process incorporating solutions like:
  • Co-operation for trading partner process and systems integration with existing suppliers,
  • incorporation of E-commerce tools accepted by suppliers and maximized use of technology (as appropriate)
  • Competitive tendering.

The solutions developed in the procurement stream were validated by proof of concept spot material cost reduction of 9%.

Following validation of phase two solutions a comprehensive fleet-wide implementation program was initiated in order to realize and benefit form the solutions developed. The initial opportunity analysis pointed to some key areas to address where tailor-made solutions were identified and tried out. Based on result of the pilot implementation a full-fleet implementation program with improvement activities tailored to suit organisational requirements could be established.