Offshore staff
North Sea-Subsea simulator company General Robotics Ltd. (GRL) won an order for its ROVolution simulator from subsea services provider DeepOcean AS.
GRL says ROVolution is a real-time, PC-based simulator which hydrodynamically models any ROV, and is used for ROV pilot and manipulator operator training, subsea task planning, and access simulation.
The simulator is used to train pilots in the North Sea and the Mediterranean for DeepOcean's KystdesignInstaller and Supporter ROVs.
DeepOcean has heavy workloads for its services, and experienced ROV pilots are difficult to find and to retain. The company reports that it takes a new pilot, with no prior ROV experience, around two years of training to gain DeepOcean's certificate of competence.
The company initially relied on recruiting experienced ROV pilots and then cross-training them on theInstallers offshore, but on-the-job training became too slow and expensive as the workload grew. To streamline the training process onshore, GRL adapted its generic ROVolution simulator for the Installer ROVs.
GRL worked with Kystdesign and DeepOcean to link command signals from theInstaller control console to the ROVolution simulator so pupils can sit at their usual control console and feel as though they are piloting the real Installer.
GRL reports that pupils using the ROVolution simulator can log training hours more quickly and cheaply than using theInstallers at sea, as a real work environment typically is not the best place to train pilots. DeepOcean plans to train 35 additional pilots with no previous ROV experience by the end of the year. In addition, DeepOcean will extend use of ROVolution to train pilots on new tasks and scenarios, such as job simulations, before they go to sea.
"With ROVolution we believe we have a simulator that soon will pay for itself ¿ more qualified pilots can be deployed more flexibly which makes our offshore operations more efficient," says Sven Storesund, superintendent ROV/Survey at DeepOcean. "We can give existing pilots refresher and scenario training onshore. A unique aspect of the simulator is that you can play with new techniques which would be prohibitively expensive, and possibly dangerous, using the ROV for real."
"DeepOcean is an innovative, agile operator looking for best-in-class technology to give a competitive edge in a technology-based industry," says Dr. Jason Tisdall, director of business development, General Robotics Ltd.
"Working with them has given us a detailed insight into the requirements of smaller operators. DeepOcean knows what we can do, and it now is considering upgrading to our tether management system, and Navipac navigation and survey software."
