The Insight Management System is a new supervisory system launched by GE Power Conversion Marine in 2012 for remote monitoring and diagnostics of its marine equipment and systems. The system improves productivity and availability through automation by taking data from multiple sources on a ship and presenting it concisely on a single touchscreen interface. It allows operators to quickly access information and status on all ship systems from anywhere. Insight provides a comprehensive yet easy to understand view of a vessel's operations and assets to help reduce costs through improved performance and decision making.

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INSIGHT Management System
 Immediate Access to GE's Global Engineering Organization
 Assists Ship Operators in Identifying and Allocating Onboard Concerns and Assets
 Provides All System Information to Users on and off Board in a Form That Is Easy
to Understand
 Improves Safety and Asset Management While Reducing Costs through improved
crew performance
The GE Power Conversion Marine business announced in 2012 the launch of a new
supervisory system designed for remote monitoring and diagnostics of its drives,
machines and control systems operating in the field. The Insight Management
System improves GE’s unique integrated marine systems solution, improving
productivity and availability through automation, dynamic positioning, drives,
electrical motors and generators, prime movers, power distribution equipment,
bridge controls, navigation systems and position measuring equipment, regardless of
the manufacturer.
The Insight Management System takes data in many different forms, from multiple
sources including third party systems in many different places on the ship and
presents it on a single screen in the form of simple text and graphics. Input signals
from vessel alarms, sensors and various subsystems appear on a deck plan of the
ship. By touching or mouse clicking on individual elements on the screen, operators
can delve through different layers to quickly find the information they need to
facilitate their task.
The system is based on the premise that the least amount of interaction with the
operator will provide the most amount of information availability. This is why Insight
uses touchscreen technology, big pictures and a simple and intuitive layout. This is a
world-class data management system that is unlike anything else on the market. It
has features that are completely unique to GE.
Billions of dollars are lost in industry every year due to incorrect management and
interpretation of alarms and since operator interfaces to alarm systems have
changed little in recent years, too much time is lost trying to understand what an
alarm is indicating and what the response should be. All the time the clock is ticking,
the situation is likely to be getting worse. What Insight brings is clarity, precision
and speed.
Insight’s user interface is highly versatile and can be adapted to the user’s needs
on-site. It also can manage multiple assets at the same time. In a fire situation, for
example, it can display a step-by-step procedure for replacing a critical piece of
equipment, it can display information from an archive showing the schematics of the
vessel, it can show a walk-through video if the crew member is unfamiliar with the
procedure and it can even indicate how much oxygen is in a scuba diver’s tank.
This information is available to the operator in the control room in front of a big
screen, as well as to a maintenance crewman moving freely around the vessel with a
robust mobile device. The mobile units can record video and audio signals, which
can be fed back into the system in real time. They also allow the user to make quick
sketches on the touch screen and make them available to all other users, some of

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whom can be connected to the system from remote destinations. It provides a
platform for writing, email, check listing- essentially replacing antiquated paper
systems, and contains an at hand library of all ships systems data including manuals,
procedures and schematics.
What separates Insight from other data management systems is the precision and
simplicity of the information it displays. Every signal that comes in can be turned into
an object—picture, a word, a color; This is all information, everywhere, all the time.
Insight is what GE terms an “eyes-on” system. It is not intended as a controller.
Even so, it also can be used as a valuable asset management tool. The user can, for
example, bring up a picture of the engine room of the vessel and by touching the
picture; they can access various levels of the vessel’s automation system all the way
through to individual control screens, which they can then operate directly from any
location. “Although it has a direct link into the control functions, it will not perform
control by itself.
The productivity tool version of Insight is called the condition monitor. In a control
room environment, operators may have dozens of screens all showing numbers,
graphs and pictures to scan and interpret. Insight is able to present the same data
in a simplified form on one screen allowing operators to quickly and easily interpret
data. This becomes extremely critical during an emergency when there is no time to
scan 15 monitors to interpret the data.
The user can touch a spot on the screen that takes them to any piece of equipment
on the vessel, and they also will see a series of green and possibly red bars. If there
is more red than there should be, the user can select a subset of relevant
information, visuals or data to help them better decide what the problem is. The
captain can, for example, choose engine performance, power generation or the
dynamic positioning system.
It gives a snapshot of the situation. The captain can drill through and look at what
the source of any deficiency is without having to pick up an intercom. It’s an
extraordinary tool for improving efficiency.
Insight also aids in managing systems better. For example, a drill ship runs on
multiple programs; for drilling, consumables, replenishment, monitoring and control;
on these ships, there may be as many as 20,000 data points being monitored,
alarms, conditions of doors and hatches, vibration sensors, temperature sensors,
level sensors, pressure sensors and cameras. All these signal need to be monitored,
but do not need to be displayed individually for the outcome of what is going on to
be successful. By using Insight, all of these programs can be filtered through and
displayed on one screen. The first set of data a person needs on the vessel is the big
picture to determine how the vessel is performing—and from there, he or she can
drill down into details. Insight provides the big picture as well as the ability to drill
down into details.
A further important advantage with Insight relates to bandwidth. This is particularly
important for users who may want to extend the network across multiple sites
connected by satellite. Whenever new information is added by any user at any
station, the whole system is immediately repopulated, but only information that has
changed is moved. This is different from traditional data distribution systems that
carry out full scans and update the entire database when they detect a change. This
means that we are not wasting what can be extremely expensive bandwidth; we are
only sending essential information.

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A new feature available on Insight this year is the “Lazy-Loader” function, which
further saves remote traffic congestion over these remote communications systems.
This new feature allows data to be transferred between a remote Rig for example
and the land-based control centre thousands of miles distant as bandwidth becomes
available over the network. Some information may be delayed by a few seconds or
minutes generally, but in the grand scheme of things effective real-time monitoring
carries little increased value compared to slightly latent data shared between
synchronized archive data historians which then provide a standard land line
connection for remote service or machine performance evaluation purposes at
hugely reduced costs in bandwidth and reliability of data.
With the advent of Insight a customer with a problem will get an immediate
response, from the right GE expert. Imagine a semisubmersible drilling rig off the
coast of Africa. An issue arises and the drilling has to stop. Today, we have no idea
what the issue is, and the customer can only give us general details. We have to
decide on the basis of limited information who the right person is to send out, what
skill set is required, what parts they need to take with them. Most of the time we get
it somewhat right, but we can’t guarantee it. With Insight we may still have to send
someone; it could be that even though we can remotely look at the problem, even
though we can remotely give advice, we may still need to install part. But we can
send the right engineer with the right equipment, sourced and dispatched before the
customer even knows it has happened and resolve the issue. It’s more efficient,
more effective and far more responsive. We are not going in blind anymore.
Our customers are faced with a wide range of responsibilities and challenges. With
Insight we want to help reduce risk by providing the highest level of service within
the industry. We have listened to our customers and what their needs are, and
Insight is our answer. They want faster service and we are doing our best to give it
to them. We get the most out of our engineers, and our engineers get to do what
they do best. Everybody wins.