Kongsberg Offshore Vessel Simulator Instructor System Wins Award

Norwegian Design Council recognises design innovation with prestigious award

Kongsberg Maritime's New Offshore Vessel Simulator Instructor System has received a prestigious Award for Design Excellence from the Norwegian Design Council (NDC). The award was presented to Kongsberg Maritime during the NDC's Design Day, which took place in Oslo on Wednesday 16th March 2011.

The Award for Design Excellence is a leading award for design in Norway and is given to both manufacturers and designers that have cooperated on the development of new products. The KONGSBERG Offshore Vessel Simulator Instructor System, which was designed in conjunction with Norwegian design company Halogen, was the winner in the category for interactive design and was recognised by the jury in a statement, for its user friendly approach:

"This PC application is used to prepare, implement and evaluate computer-simulated exercises for maritime offshore operations. Simulation exercises like these require a lot of the instructor. Large quantities of information have to be displayed at once, and extensive changes must be made quickly. A new tool with industry-leading usability was required.

"The KONGSBERG training simulator creates a realistic training environment where maritime personnel can practice demanding offshore tasks. A good tool is needed to plan training events, adjust them along the way and review the events retrospectively. Instructors' needs have been the focus of the development project.

"The tool is designed around real training; it is easy to construct the main scenarios and straightforward to add a wealth of detail. The user interface utilises the familiar Windows screen components as well as customised features. The frame itself is muted and draws attention to the training content, which can be extremely complicated if required. To train crew and officers, instructors need an expert tool that renders the situation at sea realistically. This domain is extremely complex.KONGSBERG has taken up the challenge and has built a clear, powerful tool for offshore simulation."

The new KONGSBERG Offshore Vessel Simulator was developed to meet the oil & gas industry's demand for simulator training to raise skills and reduce risk during demanding operations. It enables safe and cost efficient training for a number of applications, for instance, anchor handling, where the instructor can design an intricate exercise covering all aspects of the operation from men and deck to the position and movement of chains and wires.

Instructors also have full control of the environmental conditions such as; wind, waves, current, fog, snow and even drifting ice to make the exercise as realistic as possible. To train critical operations the instructor can introduce different types of faults on equipment e.g. not working, or not working correctly, broken wire or chain, broken guide pins, propulsion problems (thruster stop), fire, etc.

"We are honoured to have won this prestigious award," says Kongsberg Maritime Product Manager for the Offshore Vessel Simulator, Geir Lilje. "The new Instructor System offers a broad range of functionalities and a user interface that is unique in the simulator world. The award reflects our commitment to modern design and innovation, whilst recognising the improved possibility for users to create and assess advanced exercises on demanding operations at sea."

 

Source: Kongsberg