Star Information Systems (SIS) has completed the installation of its Star Information & Planning System (Star IPS) across Solstad Offshore’s fleet of 50 high-specification vessels.
Solstad, which operates platform supply vessels (PSV), anchor handling vessels (AHTS) and construction service vessels (CSV) to service the offshore petroleum industry, looked to SIS for an integrated, centralized fleet management system. The company will now use key elements of Star IPS functionality to cover planned maintenance, guarantee claims, asset management, projects and document management. Hans Ole Bergtun, Solstad’s Technical Superintendent, says that the firm was won over by SIS’ tradition of product development, user-driven innovation and market-leading pedigree: “We required a centralized system that could provide us with a full technical overview of our fleet,” he explains.
“SIS has been in the market for a long time; they’ve taken part in ‘computerizing’ the industry and have long traditions for system development and innovation. We were looking for a dynamic supplier and found that SIS actually offers more functionality than we require at the time being; so it’s good to know that we have the option to expand and that there’s always new and improved solutions being developed.” SIS, led by senior consultant and advisor Ronny Hammern, completed the system implementation in two phases. Phase one saw servers pre-installed with Star software shipped out to each vessel by Solstad’s own IT-support, while phase two focused on system setup and configuration, handled remotely by SIS. The seamless project management of this process was, Bergtun imparts, further testament to SIS’ abilities. “We could not have done this without the support provided by SIS,” he states. “Our experience is that SIS’ personnel are both professional and credible; every step of the project has been well organized and we’ve received very good feedback from the involved parties, both at Solstad and at our IT-partner.”
With the software now in place, Solstad has cleaned and restructured the data from its old management systems and imported it onto the Star IPS. Bergtun says this was important for a firm that is always working to improve fleet performance:
“Our previous system was not centralized, hence technical data and work instructions varied from ship to ship. However, with the clean data and the new system we have a uniform and highly efficient system across the fleet. This will help us as we continue to strive for operational excellence.” SIS CEO Per Ander Koien is equally as satisfied with the successful completion of the contract. He refers to Solstad as “a champion within their segment”, adding: “Since our very first days in business, we have developed our systems in close co-operation with our customers - that Solstad recognizes this tradition and would like to take part in it is of great value to us.” Koien concludes: “As Solstad gains experience with the Star systems, we of course expect that they too will contribute to future developments. We look forward to welcoming them into our established user groups where we focus on maintenance, safety and fleet supply. Our annual user conference and on-going feedback are also important channels for knowledge sharing and continuous product refinement and innovation.” SIS signed the initial business contract with Solstad in July 2008. During that time Solstad’s fleet has grown from 25 to 50 vessels, resulting in an extension of the original agreement. Full system training for the ship crews has been undertaken at the Star Academy training facilities in Trondheim, Norway.