Quality Management Systems News

The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) has launched a new recommendation, 177, to enhance the quality of machinery piping systems in shipbuilding.Piping systems convey different fluids at various temperatures and pressures to all parts of the ship, including to nearly every enclosed space on a vessel. As such, and because these systems are a means through which many of a ship’s control systems operate, it is crucial that these systems are designed to…

Managing infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic requires a new approach to disease control and prevention.A new infection risk management approach has been developed by DNV GL to assess, manage and mitigate infection risk in management systems, business processes and operations. My Care incorporates local regulations and guidelines – it can be applied to any vessel type, as well as terminals.My Care’s suite of independent assessment services is designed to help businesses…

Diverse Newbuild & Repair Business Buoys 2018The year 2018 is off to good start at Vigor. The Harbor Island facility welcomed a new drydock christened the Evolution. The $20 million Evolution is the third drydock at Vigor’s Seattle facility and largest in the Puget Sound region, measuring 640 x 115.5 ft. with a lift capacity of 22,000 LT.Other investments in Seattle include a buildout of a dedicated aluminum production facility which greatly expands Vigor’s fabrication capabilities and capacity for workboats…

AEGIR-Marine reports that it received an Approved Workshop statement from DNV-GL. AEGIR-Marine is the first brand-independent service provider in The Netherlands with an approved workshop for repair and maintenance of propulsion systems. For brand-independent service providers who perform repair and maintenance work on maritime propulsion systems, approval of their workshop is completely new. AEGIR-Marine approached DNV-GL for the approval process, because this agency also supported the company in obtaining the ISO 9001 certification, the international standard for quality management systems.

The last barrier to robotic shipbuilding has just fallen. What comes next will be truly exciting. It wasn’t too long ago that SSI and Wolf Robotics demonstrated some co-development which automatically drove a fully autonomous welding robot to weld several ship panels. SSI develops Autodesk based solutions for the shipbuilding and offshore industry including ShipConstructor software, an AutoCAD based CAD/CAM product line; and EnterprisePlatform, a tool for sharing product data model information. For its part, Wolf Robotics has been integrating robotic welding and cutting systems since 1978. The collaboration was part of a National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Computer Aided Robotics Welding (CAR-W) project with U.S. shipyards.

Elcome International has established a new calibration lab and electronics component repair facility at its worldwide headquarters in Dubai. The calibration and electronics repair services are operated by Navicom Calibration LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elcome. Navicom is providing a full range of calibration and certification services for critical portable instruments and fixed systems. The operation is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 by the Dubai Accreditation Center and the quality management systems are certified by DNV GL to ISO 9001:2008.

The cloud is for “device-agnostic young slashers,” said Trond Bjorseth, marketing manager, of Oslo-based cloud consultancy, Tieto. His company offers an information management tool for subsea projects and “repositories” for the shipping sector’s operations. With Tieto you can get “one big happy project room,” although he admits at least three suppliers offer something similar. For its own future “slashers,” Glasgow-based ship manager Norbulk Shipping opted instead for Google Cloud Technology Solutions…

Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf (DSO) has become the latest Damen ship repair yard to receive ISO 9001:2008 certification, demonstrating that the yard fulfils the requirements of the defined management system standards to consistently provide a high quality service that meets all customer, statutory and regulatory requirements through a process of continuous improvement. This specifically refers to the repair, maintenance, inspection and drydocking of inland vessels, seagoing vessels and other steel constructions.

Ship management company Norbulk Shipping is already seeing the benefits from embracing the move toward paperless ships. The Glasgow-based ship manager explored several options before deciding to move its IT systems to ‘the cloud,’ via the cloud migrator for Google, Cloud Technology Solutions. A need for the industry to move to the digital world has been recognized by InterManager, the international trade association for in-house and third party ship managers, which believes the burden of administrative tasks falling on seafarers in today’s shipping industry is significant. The paperless ship is a big issue facing the shipping industry with many companies trying to reduce time and paper used in form-filling, both onboard and ashore.

Damen Shipyards Group is constructing a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) 650 for Australian client Gippsland Ports. The TSHD will be the first Damen dredger to operate in the country. The client will use the dredger to maintain entry to the port of Lakes Entrance and the Gippsland Lakes system, in Victoria, which is used by recreational, fishing and supply vessels. Currently, the client contracts a dredger annually to carry out the necessary dredging to maintain port access. However, after analysing the situation it became clear that there was a case for investing in their own vessel. Having their own dredger will, over time, reduce the maintenance costs and ensure year-round availability, for example in the event of weather related shoaling events.

Bollinger Shipyards, LLC announced that it has achieved continued registration to ISO 9001 for another three years without interruption since 1996. The scope of Bollinger Shipyards certification, issued through Denver-based ISO 9001 management certification firm, Platinum Registration, Inc., includes the design, manufacture, repair and logistical support of marine vessels and their components, as well as in shop and field service repair of AC and DC motors and generators. “This is an important milestone for Bollinger Shipyards, LLC,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger President and CEO.

Drydocks World the international service providers to the shipping, offshore, oil, gas and energy sectors won the ISO 3834-2: 2005 certificate for quality requirements on fusion welding of metallic materials. This certificate validates Drydocks World’s capabilities in line with international welding standards and criteria, ensuring proper monitoring, documenting, testing and supervision of the welding process. The terms of service required in relation to welding have been met through compliance with rules, conditions and requirements. The ISO 3834-2: 2005pledges that the implementation of welding operations are being carried out correctly and accurately through the development of welding procedures.

Connector technology developer First Subsea has received APL 17LI certification for its bend stiffener connectors from the American Petroleum Institute, the company announced today. The bend stiffener connectors are used for flexible riser and umbilicals and offshore wind cable connections and are now certified as Load Transfer Devices under the API's specification for flexible pipe ancillary equipment. First Subsea’s bend stiffener connectors use ball and taper technology to provide a powerful grip for connections to I/J tubes, and for offshore wind.

The Certification Board of ASQ announced that Dennis Fanguy has completed the requirements to be named an ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, or ASQ CMQ/OE. Fanguy is Bollinger’s Vice President of Quality Management Systems. As such, Fanguy has reached a significant level of professional recognition, indicating a proficiency in and a comprehension of quality management principles and practices. Individuals who earn this certification are allowed to use “ASQ CMQ/OE” on their business cards and professional correspondence.

Asset integrity management specialist XPD8 Solutions said it has continued its recent success in West Africa for work off the coast of Ghana. Over an 18-month period, the company will develop the maintenance program and inventory data for MODEC’s TEN MV25 floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, operated on behalf of Tullow Oil. XPD8 is a company in maintenance engineering, condition monitoring and integrity services for the oil and gas sector. The company’s international reach has grown over the past 12 months to cover Europe, South East Asia and Africa.

Drydocks World and Maritime World, a provider of maritime and offshore services to the shipping, oil, gas and energy sectors, has announced that it has reached an agreement with DNV GL and appointed the Classification Society to provide recertification services for its Quality Management Systems. DNV GL will be reviewing and auditing Drydocks World & Maritime World Quality Management Systems as per the agreed plans to verify compliance with the ISO 9001:2008 standard and to identify potential process improvement opportunities. The contract was signed by Eng.

Solace Global, one of the  world's most trusted provider of security in maritime, offshore and land-based environments, has announces its successful certification to ISO PAS 28007, Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs). Following its position on the working group, the company is one of the first to achieve the certification, which was developed in response to the demand for increased regulation of the security sector. Since its establishment in 2010, Solace Global has been leading the way in all aspects of compliance…

Signet Maritime Corporation announced delivery of its newest vessel, a Robert Allan designed AZ 25/60 Class towing and escort tug, M/V Signet Magic, on July 26, 2013 from Signet Shipbuilding & Repair, Pascagoula, Mississippi. This Signet owned state-of-the-art ASD will be used at multiple Gulf of Mexico locations for harbor assist, and ship and rig escort, designed specifically to work under limited maneuvering conditions. M/V Signet Magic was christened Friday, July 26, 2013 in the Port of Pascagoula. Mrs. Brenda Dahl, wife of Mr.

The year 2013 has been designated as the Year of Nationalization by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. In keeping with the theme that has been laid out by our wise leadership, Drydocks World and Maritime World, an international marine and maritime services provider has put in place a number of initiatives to implement this vision. All of these initiatives which are in place in all business units of DDWMW including at Jadaf, Platinum Yachts abd Dubai Maritime City are geared towards bringing qualified and competent nationals into the organization, identifying competent nationals within the existing workforce and putting in place plans to provide growth opportunities for nationals.

Makai Ocean Engineering received ISO 9001:2008 certification which is the internationally recognized quality management standard that helps monitor and optimize an organization’s overall performance. The certification standards published by the International Organization for Standardization provide a rigorous system for measuring and evaluating quality management systems (QMS) by an accredited, independent agency with periodic audits to ensure ongoing compliance to the QMS standards. ISO 9001 certified organizations are distinguished by the quality of their products, services and processes.

Mr Dilip Kumar will take up the role of Country Manager for GL Garrad Hassan in India. India is the world's third largest market for wind, with annual installations doubling over the last several years. The reintroduction of a government subsidy wind farms and low coast loans for clean energy production should help to ensure that India's importance continues to grow as a center for the design, development and manufacture of wind turbines. Mathias Steck, Asia-Pacific Vice President for GL Garrad Hassan, announced the appointment, saying "Mr Kumar's breadth and diversity of experience will be invaluable to GL Garrad Hassan in helping our customers in dealing with the wide range of projects and geographical diversity they face.

GAC Bunker Fuels Ltd. awarded ISO 9001:2008 Management System Standard certification by DNV. The ISO 9001:2008 certificate awarded by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) recognises GAC Bunker Fuels’ best management practices in the trading and brokerage of marine fuels and lubricants across its global operational sites. It demonstrates the company’s full compliance with the requirements of this international best practice standard, which considers a range of measures, including management responsibility, resource management, product quality and the improvement of quality management systems across the organisation. Nicholas Browne, Global Director of GAC Bunker Fuels Limited, says: “Quality assurance has been the guiding principle behind GAC Bunker Fuels’ growth.

Solace Global Maritime, a leading private maritime security company (PMSC), has confirmed its commitment to implementing international standards by training internal auditors. Already certified to ISO 9001, 18001 and 14001, the company is one of the first PMSCs to have conducted such training in preparation for the new ISO PAS 28007 accreditation, Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies. The two day course was attended by four employees and hosted internally at Solace’s head office by the company’s QSHE Manager, Tony Hanson, a qualified lead assessor.