The Naval Sea Systems Command’s chief engineer cited data analytics as key to improving ship maintenance and extending fleet lifespans, USNI News reported Monday.
Rear Adm. Lorin Selby, chief engineer and deputy commander of ship design, integration and naval engineering at NAVSEA, told attendees at an American Society of Naval Engineers symposium that “condition-based maintenance” or the use of predictive capabilities for identifying minor performance issues, will help users mitigate vulnerabilities before the event of a system failure.
Selby said he wants to hold competitions to encourage app developers to produce technologies capable of analyzing ship components and schedule maintenance operations. When it comes to implementing such technologies, Selby noted that part of the challenge includes transmitting data securely.
“You can harvest that data and you could potentially discover vulnerabilities, so you have to protect that. That’s part of my project: as I do this, we’re bringing that security aspect into the program,†he said. The Navy is working on a pilot program to test predictive maintenance technologies aboard an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer this summer.