By Peter Uzoho
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is developing innovative methods to facilitate smart shipping by undertaking thorough research across their multiple research centres in Geoje, Daeduk and Pangyo in Korea.
According to a statement issued by the company, the aim is not only to transform Samsung’s shipyard at Geoje into a smart shipyard, but also transfer the wealth of technological knowhow from Korea to Nigeria, cultivating smart shipping in Nigeria as well.
The statement added that the innovations currently being worked on have the potential to bring about radical changes in the shipping industry, fostering the use of ecofriendly technology, a switch to digitised management and self-reliance on inspection for offshore engineering and more.
During the construction of the Egina, the world’s largest FPSO, Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) was already able to apply many innovations from their Korean operations. This helped shorten the Egina project integration process to seven months, the fastest in Africa amongst comparable projects.
Now, rigorous research is underway at both their onshore and offshore R&D centres across Korea.
The ICT Convergence Centre in Geoje, for instance, is working on integrating an innovative ICT and production technology in up to six different categories.
The company aims to use Cloud, Big Data, and loT, among other advanced tools, to make shipbuilding and operations on the fabrication and integration yards smoother and smarter.
The technologies to be implemented will facilitate more efficient ways of working, lowering the cost of operations, increasing safety, and modernising the shipbuilding industry in Nigeria.
Sustainable method of production, based on digital modes of operations, is the need of the hour as every country makes its move towards energy transition. Samsung Heavy Industries is planning to bring into existence radical methods of working that include fully functional paperless factories, real-time transfer of manufacturing records, 3D and 4D model visualisation, and map-based navigation, which allows for an easy-to-use real-time location guide for even unskilled workers in complex offshore plants.
Samsung Heavy Industries has identified Nigeria and the West Africa region as an emerging market with an abundance of opportunity.
“Our investment in West Africa is a long term one, rooted in helping develop local human capacity by leveraging our fabrication and integration yard to the benefit of the entire West African maritime industry,” Managing Director of Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria, Mr. Jejin Jeon, said.
The new and modern ways of working will not only empower Nigerian maritime industry but is a promising opportunity for the youth of Nigeria, who will receive hands on training in these necessary tools of smart working that are soon to become the norm in every industry in the near future.
“At Samsung, we believe in having big dreams and visions for the future and following them with passion. Given our present as well the near future is digital, it is high time the shipbuilding industry too started digitising its ways of working. We are looking forward to introducing these innovations to truly transform our ways of working in a complex industry such as shipbuilding. “Finally, we remain committed to ensuring that our relationship with the Nigerian community remains strong by continuing to train local staff in technical vocational skills,” Jeon added.