CHALLENGE

During the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately afterwards, supply chain disruptions caused significant delays in parts supply, affecting OEMs’ ability to meet parts demand. One of our distributors, Neptunus, encountered a major challenge when one of its largest tugboat operators experienced delays. This operator sought Neptunus’ support as their couple of tugboats were expected to exceed the OEM recommended running hours by over 2,400 hours which is critical

Neptunus installed the VIB360 system on these shortlisted vessels to continuously monitor these Main Engines, allowing the onboard operator to view both instantaneous and trended results at any time. Although the system was offline, customers downloaded the results weekly and shared them regularly. Based on these shared results, monthly intelligent reports were prepared to suggest necessary major or minor maintenance interventions. Follow up monthly meetings ensured alignment between the teams.

 As parts became available from the OEM, engine overhauls were scheduled based on observations from the system and the monthly reports.

Impact

The continuous monitoring provided by the VIB360 system enabled operators to proactively address maintenance needs, reducing the risk of unexpected breakdowns and operational reliability, giving the vessel operator the much needed “peace of mind” during this unprecedented situation.