In 2014 Wärtsilä launched its new and improved Online Services. With the Wärtsilä Online Services, customers can now manage their installation and equipment efficiently by accessing information online. The Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS Seaways decided to take advantage of this new service from the start.
On-board the passenger vessel, Pearl Seaways, we have been using the Wärtsilä Online Services intensively since the introduction of the portal and it has grown into a real time saver for us,” says Rasmus Andersen, 2nd Engineer on DFDS Seaways’ vessel Pearl Seaways.
DFDS A/S is northern Europe’s largest integrated shipping and logistics company. The DFDS Seaways division operates a network of 30 routes with 50 freight and passenger ships in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel. DFDS Logistics, in turn, provides freight and logistics services in Europe by trailer, container and rail. DFDS was founded in 1866, has its headquarters in Copenhagen, and has 6,000 employees in 20 countries.
The cruise ferry Pearl Seaways was built in 1989 and refitted in 2001. The 178.40 metre long and 33.80 metre wide vessel is powered by four Wärtsilä Sulzer 9ZAL 40S engines. She can carry 350 cars and accommodate 2,168 passengers in 704 cabins.
At the core level, the Wärtsilä Online Services includes the following features: Technical Knowledge, Parts Online, TechRequest, and Warranty Online. In all, DFDS has 15 vessels with Wärtsilä equipment, and each vessel has access to Wärtsilä Online Services.
The staff on-board the Pearl Seaways was first given access to the Wärtsilä Online Services already back in June 2014. However, since the launch of the updated version in 2015, 2nd Engineer Rasmus Andersen and the rest of his team have become real enthusiasts. We have been using the Wärtsilä Online Services intensively since the introduction of the portal. In the beginning we used it mainly as an easy way to check spare part prices before ordering through our internal purchasing system, says Rasmus Andersen, who also thinks that the Wärtsilä Online Services are very easy to use.
He adds that the option of instantly checking the price has made the whole process of ordering spare parts much more efficient. Instead of listing the items needed in an email for a quotation, this time-consuming phase can, with a few exceptions, be skipped entirely.
The spare parts section of the Wärtsilä Online Services, with its almost complete list of prices, also works as a spare parts catalogue with detailed pictures of the components. The pictures are often at an excellent resolution and regularly help to clarify exactly which spare parts number is required. Furthermore, the catalogue is very easy to navigate, since it has the same chapters and headings as in the original spare parts catalogue.
As we have grown more experienced with the spare parts catalogue, the time spent checking prices has been greatly reduced. It has thus developed into a great and reliable tool for our engineers, says Andersen.
According to Andersen, the database of service bulletins in the Technical Knowledge section of the portal is a real goldmine of knowledge. In the past, the staff kept an inventory of thick binders with previous service bulletins on-board. It was, however, virtually impossible to search and find relevant bulletins when the need arose.
With the online database, a search need not take more than a few minutes. He gives an example: During an overhaul of an auxiliary engine, the staff started to wonder about the correct order of the different piston rings. The doubt arose when they discovered that the piston rings on the old pistons had been mounted in a different order than what was assumed to be the correct one.
After doing a search in the Technical Knowledge database, we quickly found the correct order and could move on. All users of Wärtsilä Online Services have their own customer profile on the portal. By logging into the portal, customers can edit their information and fill in their preferences according to their own needs. For example, a customer can check an option to receive notifications via e-mail whenever new information and instructions are available specifically for the customer’s engines.
This is a great feature that ensures that we are constantly aware of potential safety issues and receive new information regarding the maintenance of our Wärtsilä engines. I really think that every ship should have access to Wärtsilä’s Online Services.
