Shipboard monitoring, sensing and control systems are in a transitional phase in 2002. Many of the newest vessels being launched today are using traditional monitoring systems with large alarm panels using banks of warning lights hard wired to 64 or more critical points on the vessel. These systems give warning if the system being monitoring falls or rises outside of the set point. "The problem is this method of monitoring doesn't give us the parameters the operator needs to diagnose the problem," said Jack Rowley, general manager of Engine Monitor, Inc., (EMI) St. Rose, La., a leading manufacturer of electronic ship monitoring equipment.
