project summary
- High tech icebreaker
- High profile project
- New controls system panel design
- On site (on board!) commissioning
- Sea trials
System Components
- Diesel Engines
- Gensets
- Multiple manufacturers’ controls
skills
- Remote/On Site Commissioning
- System Troubleshooting
- Customer Relations
- Systems Integration
- Panel and Circuit Design
- Lab Verification
- Vector CANalyzer
- Vector CANape
Disclaimer
What you are about to read is very vague. I am uncertain which details of this project are and are not confidential, so I am just going to give you an overview of the ship, point you to articles and video, and describe a small amount of my role in the project.
Background
My team was hired to design and install a new control system into a brand new, high tech, very large and expensive ice breaker being built by Edison Chouest Offshore. The name of the ship is Aiviq (eye-vick) and can currently be found in operation north of Alaska.
My Role
I came into the project during the design phase of the electrical panel and took over the majority of the responsibility on that front. Upon completion of the design and verification of the paper design, another group built the panel and sent it to us at which time I and a teammate verified the operation of every point in the panel.
The panel was shipped to Edison Chouest Offshore, and they mounted it and wired it as per the wiring documentation that I had written. A teammate and I then traveled to the shipyard, where the ship was still very incomplete, and verified the operation of the panel on the customer’s equipment to the furthest extent possible given the state of the ship. Unfortunately, the mechanical systems on the ship could not be run at that time.
A couple months later, as the ship was nearing completion, I returned to the ship to perform step by step commissioning of the system under partial and, later, full operation of the mechanical systems. Working with and around the schedule of the customer as well as a multitude of other vendors, the commissioning took approximately 13 weeks including 2 full weeks of sea trials in the Gulf.
I believe I played several major roles throughout the commissioning, but I feel that I must point out that the commissioning was a team effort in most cases. The Edison Chouest Offshore team members (especially R. C. and P. W.) were extremely helpful, and my closest teammate (B. B.) was absolutely crucial to our success. In case you are wondering, those are the guys’ initials. I have not gained their permission to use their names, but I wanted to give some form of credit regardless.
More Cool Info on Aiviq
Wiki Article (tells things I wasn’t sure I could say even)
Great photos – google images search
The name “Aiviq”