GeelongPort is leading the way in sustainable asset management with its recent underwater asset trial using cutting-edge Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) technology.
Maintaining existing assets in optimal condition to support port operations is a crucial priority for all Australian ports. The challenge is that many capital-intensive assets are underwater and hard to see.
Through a recent Proof of Concept project, GeelongPort worked with ROVing Intelligence and Brightly, a Siemens Company, to create an asset investment plan for more than 80 underwater assets.
ROVing Intelligence, based in Victoria, uses remote-operated vehicles to assess underwater assets such as bridge pylons or rock walls for councils, ports, and marinas.
A finalist in the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Design Awards, the ROVing Intelligence T7 remote-operated vehicle can assess conditions, gather geospatial data, and take water samples to determine salinity or pollutant levels.
“Using ROV for underwater asset inspections is very new, with GeelongPort being one of the first in Australia to use the technology to support data capture, lifecycle modelling and strategic investment decisions,” said Renuka Ranaweera of Brightly Software.
“Condition assessment data is supported with high-definition imagery and the ROVs have an excellent ability to navigate and operate in poor visibility conditions.”
The data collected is based on recommendations from the Wharf Structures Condition Assessment Manual (WSCAM) by Ports Australia.
WSCAM, which is becoming a best-practice tool worldwide, is widely used in Australia to conduct consistent inspections of various port assets to gather dependable and precise condition data. This tool is also helpful in collecting comprehensive defect data, which can be transformed into strategic condition data for better decision-making.
Once ROVing Intelligence completed the data capture, Brightly provided full life-cycle analysis of the assets, including scenario modelling up to 100 years into the future.
According to Sinead Redmond, GeelongPort’s Head of Infrastructure Delivery, the ROV trial has enabled the port to adopt best-practice asset management principles and move away from ad hoc reactive maintenance practices.
“GeelongPort now has condition data for every inspected asset up to WSACM standard, and the trial has enabled GeelongPort to carry out immediate reactive maintenance activities to address critical defects,” she said.
“Now that we have a risk profile for each ‘what-if’ scenario, our infrastructure delivery team can understand the funding requirements to manage the assets, and we can use it to drive long-term strategic decision-making.”
“Future inspection data can be transformed seamlessly into condition data and used in life-cycle modelling, enabling efficiencies in future assessments.”
As part of our aspiration to become Australia’s most sustainable port, GeelongPort recognises the importance of good asset management practices and sustainable development. We can now plan for a more sustainable future with data-backed evidence.
Click here to learn about Brightly software and ROVing Intelligence.
Pictures by ROVing Intelligence and Brightly.