ABS Nautical Systems develops fleet management software called NS5. They hold annual user conferences to gather feedback from customers on how to improve the software. The most recent conference highlighted increasing integration needs between class compliance and information management systems. NS5.5 and NS5.6, to be released later this year, will include new features like inspection forms, linking class surveys to maintenance records, barcode scanning for inventory management, and remote database access, all based on customer input. Shipowners provide suggestions that help ABS Nautical Systems continuously evolve their software to meet industry and operational needs.

1. 40 I 2010 I February/March I MEC www.marinemec.com
G
iven global economic conditions,
shipowners are under increasing
pressure to find a balance between
keeping pace with new advances in
technology and maintaining tight control of
operating costs.
As such, owners and operators are looking
outside their organisations to external fleet
management software providers to develop user-
friendly solutions, which address day-to-day
business functions, increase crew productivity
and lower operating costs.
ABS Nautical Systems, an established
provider of integrated fleet management
software, partners with its customers on
product innovation and invests 30 per cent of
revenues back into customer-driven research
and development. As a result of many years of
client research, the suite of software modules,
NS5, incorporates many customer-driven
functional enhancements.
ABS Nautical Systems holds an annual users’
conference, which serves as an open forum for
customers to provide feedback on current needs
as they relate to ABS Nautical Systems’ software.
Insights garnered from the conference guide the
product development agenda for the following
year and allow NS5 to evolve continuously to
suit industry and customer needs. The 2009
Users Conference, held in Tampa, Florida,
last October, was attended by more than 125
customers representing 47 companies from
around the world.
A key focus of the conference was the
increasing trend toward integration between
class compliancy and onboard information
management, and how the synergies between
ABS Nautical Systems and class society ABS
will help the industry move in that direction. As
an example, ABS chairman and chief executive
officer, Robert Somerville, spoke to attendees
about the Newbuild Program, which offers free
NS5 Hull Inspection and Maintenance & Repair
modules to all ABS-classed vessels built after 1
January 2009. He noted that directly linking ABS
class requirements with the maintenance and
repair of a hull structure allows for less intrusive
and less time-consuming surveys for owners.
Feedback and insights from shipowners,
such as OSG Shipmanagement, Marad and
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, are integral
to new functionalities in the upcoming releases
of NS5.5 and NS5.6 later this year.
OSG Shipmanagement, a long time customer,
challenged ABS Nautical Systems to develop
a better tool for presenting information when
co-ordinating responses to oil majors during the
vetting process. As a result, NS5.5 will include
the ability to create inspection forms within
the Vetting module, making it easier to compile
and present the required reports, maintenance
history and corrective action requests associated
with an inspection.
NS5.5willalsoincorporatenewfunctionalities
in support of the Newbuild Program, tying into
the class survey information system from ABS
to facilitate data exchange better between NS5
and the class information system. Additionally,
the Hull Inspection module will be integrated
with the Maintenance & Repair module to
provide users with a single point of entry for
managing structural maintenance and repairs,
maintenance schedules, work performed on a
vessel and complete maintenance history.
To be launched this coming September,
NS5.6 will build upon the upgrades in NS5.5
further, with new functionalities and tools
including a document management module, an
on-demand reporting module for quality and
compliance, and a new 3D structural integrity
management tool.
One of the newest technologies that will
be available in NS5.6 is barcode scanning,
an enhancement to the current Inventory
Management functionality, which ABS Nautical
Systems is developing in partnership with
Sys-Tec, a systems integrator specialising in
data collection and integration for inventory
management. The idea for this stemmed
from various clients, such as Marad, which
had expressed a need for a more streamlined
and efficient method of managing inventory.
Replicating other industries, shipmanagers will
now be able to track parts and spares in stocks,
warehouses and on ships by using a barcode
scanner which will automatically update the
system inventory.
ABS Nautical Systems will be releasing an
N-Tier platform in NS5.6, which will allow
satellite offices to manage database applications
from a single server. Companies with global
presence, such as OSG, are assisting ABS
Nautical Systems in piloting the N-Tier platform,
which will allow them to maintain one single
database for managing multiple offices and
ships, eliminating the need to duplicate their
IT infrastructure.
Other client-driven additions to NS5.6 include
enhancements to the Voyage Management
module, which was based on feedback from
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement. The Voyage
Management module monitors changes in vessel
performance and develops detailed reports on
daily fuel and lubricants consumption, ship
speed and main engine performance.
“Compared to many land-based industries,
the maritime industry has been relatively slow
in adopting IT management systems,” explained
Karen Hughey, president and chief operating
officer of ABS Nautical Systems. “However,
owners and operators are beginning to see the
increased efficiencies and benefits associated
with integrated fleet management systems. As
these become more widespread, it is imperative
that all players keep an open dialogue to ensure
that products continuously evolve to meet
customer needs, as well as increasing regulations
and industry standards.” MEC
* Fernando Lehrer is director of global product
development for ABS Nautical Systems
On-demand reporting, a 3D
structural integrity tool and
streamlined inventory maintenance
are among many forthcoming
improvements to ABS Nautical
Systems’ fleet management
software, to input from owners at
its annual user conference
by Fernando Lehrer*
fleet management
Shipowner input is essential
to reflect operational needs
Feedback from owners was integral to the
new functionalities