Ship Machinery And Equipment Maintenance

Ship Machinery And Equipment Maintenance Ship machinery maintenance is of predominant importance for accurate operation of each ship. For this purpose, the ships machinery plant should be kept well maintained and clean at all times for assuring safe and smooth operation and functionality of the ship. Furthermore, it is most significant that ample new spare parts and equipments are carried on board in order to correctly accomplish maintenance in due time under the supervision of fully competent staff according to the manufacturers instructions. Moreover, Crankshaft deflections need to be taken frequently at regular intervals. Fuel oil and Lube oil must be analyzed in order to ensure that they do not contain any debris or contamination. Main as well as auxiliary engines result in a breakdown that cause severe damage like fire that may require the ship from terminating its services until lengthy and costly repairs and maintenance measures are accomplished. Experts acknowledge the fact that maintenance requirements are not standardized. However, these requirements will differ substantially from one ship to another. Some ship owners employ a fundamental preventative maintenance policy, while others operate more sophisticated systems based on condition monitoring. This is why machinery surveys are adopted in flexible basis so as to plan according to owners existing business processes and schedules. An approach that is based on operating at schedules intervals offers a manageable and controlled maintenance program. Although, it may not be most efficient, a maintenance program is tailored to operational performance trends, and manifested by individual elements of machinery. Furthermore, by evaluating the condition monitoring data, the extent to which machinery is opened for surveys is considerably reduced. This approach may be applied to a vast variety of reciprocating and rotating shipboard machinery. For instance, Tail-shafts can be contr olled and monitored on frequent basis, thereby allowing lengthy periods between withdrawals for accurate inspection. The time interval between raising main stream turbine casings may be extended in a similar fashion. As a result of this, unproductive repair as well as dry dock downtime may be kept to a minimum level. Interestingly, based on Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), further optimization of the maintenance program can be obtained. This technique employs a structured assessment of functions for deriving the most efficient maintenance strategy. Also, operational performance can be improved by maintaining ship availability and keeping downtime minimal. For proper machinery maintenance and loss prevention, following measures must be undertaken: Lubricating Oil: Lubricating or lube oil sampling should be maintained at frequent levels and regularly recorded as a recommended practice. Also, lube oil purifiers must be operated continuously and adequately. The gravity disc should be chosen so as to achieve the desired oil-water interface at a maximal level of temperature nearing 90 deg C according to the specifications. Furthermore, the lube oil feed system applied to the purifiers must be evaluated for ensuring the optimum flow rate between the feed pump and the purifiers capacity. Old lube oil feed system designs utilize a direct drive pump that bears a large capacity as against the recommended flow through the purifiers. If the system contains heavy contamination of water, the lube oil in the sump tank should be transported to a settling tank, the sump tank must be cleaned, and new fresh oil must be filed to the minimum level as recommended by the engine manufacturer. Moreover, the contaminated lube oil is drained and circulated by the purifiers and after analysis, the future use if the oil is assessed. If solid particles are determined in the system, the piping system should be cleaned and the entire engine must be flushed. Crankshaft Safety: The engine should be stopped as soon as the oil mist detector alarm rings or overheating of engine is detected. To avoid further damage, the main cause of overheating of engine must be identified and correction measures must be taken before the engine is restarted. The lube oil must be kept clean as far as possible by continuously using the lube oil purifiers at the recommended temperature over 90 deg C. Also, lube oil filters must be maintained and placed in clean and suitable environment by frequent routines. Crankshaft deflections should be regularly taken in order to ensure that the operation of the engine is within the limit as permitted by the manufacturer. Bunkers: Bunkering processes that includes fuel-testing procedures must be carefully reviewed for ensuring accuracy in procedures while dealing with off-specification bunkers. Each precaution must taken to make sure that adequate amount of bunker supplies are made available in order to allow proper testing before any new bunkers are used. Furthermore, water, high ash and total sediment potential content also must be considered as well as high sodium and water content that indicates the presence of seawater within the bunkers. At sea, loss of structural integrity due to grounding and collision are the most significant contributors to accidental pollution. Hulls must be designed by considering two most important factors; (1) improvement in the hull strength as well as energy absorption, and (2) sufficient residual strength subsequent to damage for allowing salvage operations. So far, the major focus is on preventing pollution from tankers. Nevertheless, there is now greater concern related to the potential consequences of damage and accidents to bunker tanks and other types of ships, some which may be carrying thousand tones of fuel oil. Present R D, as far as improving hull strength and energy absorption is concerned, is focusing on the development and advancement of modified calculation methods that are to be used for measuring the ability of varying structural assemblies to withstand ground forces and collision. When the entire numerical simulations done by the finite element method is taken into accoun t, examining the experimental results have proven the significance of including the vertical motion of the ship especially for grounding simulations along with the motion of the struck object or striking ship to evaluate collision simulations. Moreover, significant amount of research has been dedicated to the evaluation of existing as well as proposed design solutions for improvement of collision and grounding strength. 2-D methods have been employed for evaluation of relatively simple post-accident strength for the anticipation of the collapse strength of a hull girder. By using these methods, the capability of the damaged ship to survive can be assessed by a skillful comparison between the measured strength and the environmental loads; the latter being calculated without considering the result of the accidental damage on the loads and motions acting on the ship. Therefore, research is on-going with the main objective on improvement of ship response calculation methods corresponding to the effects of damage for both mobile offshore units and the ships. The following are said to be the major R D requirements in these areas: Conceptions about ship subdivision in order to minimize the effect of impacts on the hull, as well as concepts for hull structure design for increasing the residual strength and the resistance to impact after damage. Particularly, further development and enhancement of energy absorbing side and double bottom shell designs and their evaluation through full-scale tests and models along with comprehensive numerical models. Integrating numerical models for external dynamics, i.e. ship motions, and internal mechanics. Developing ways of securing bunker tanks from grounding and collisions for new ship designs. Developing simplified calculation techniques and methods for prediction of energy absorption abilities of particular structural solutions. Developing design criteria for prevention of pollution as a result of collision and grounding Analysis of collected casualty information on grounding and collision with the main goal to develop environmental impact indexes and reference design scenarios able to talk for the energy absorption and varying structural configurations. Apart from grounding and collision, other major causes of loss of hull integrity are fatigue/fracture problems, excessive loading, and consequences of corrosion. Corrosion is reduced by supplying additional thickness to the plate at the design stage and employing corrosion protection systems, many of which are based on coatings requiring maintenance throughout the life of the ship. Also, corrosion problems can be dealt with by good detail design of the hull structure. A factor that provides potential is design for maintenance; for instance, by ensuring suitable access for inspecting local structures as well as for applying coatings. Thus, the main R D needs covering this area are concerned with the design and structuring of ship hulls for corrosion reduction/prevention and for easier inspection and maintenance. Planned maintenance system (PMS) deals with scheduling, planning and performance of each and every important machinery on board a ship. Furthermore, PMS software is deployed to every ship for carrying out the operations of the ship in an efficient manner. All the PMS functionalities are carried out according to their schedules. This not only ensures efficient working of the machinery but also help in avoiding any sort of mishap caused due to poor maintenance. To carry out all the maintenance works in a timely manner, PMS software is used. A PMS software is fabricated for a ship based on the type and number of machinery the ship possesses. A job card is assigned to every machine that consists of every detail about the machinery. Each job card has three main components. A PMS software gives an accurate estimation of the maintenance schedule overdue or nearing, and enables the user to plan and submit the completion report, by which the next maintenance date is automatically rescheduled (Hayman et al).

Impact of Social Classes Essay

The world that we live in is so immense, that the people who live in it is so diverse in culture, lifestyle, language and even skin color. We live in different environments and countries yet with all these dissimilarities, we share something in common. That is what we call social classes, which was practiced primarily during the beginning of world civilization. Our world began with this system and thereby influenced the generations after them. People were then identified simply as slaves or kings yet very unjust. People eventually awakened from a lengthy stupor and learned to fight for their human rights to exterminate these social strata and discriminations that exist in the society even until today. It is sad but factual and real. Even in the most democratic country, social classes still exist in modern times and manifest in terms of financial, cultural ethnicity and even racial aspects. We still have what we call as upper, middle and lower classes basing on their financial capacity. It is really part of our world but we have grown to be more considerate and tolerant to each other. In the story A&P, the setting of the story happened in a store in a small town five miles away from the beach. People here are generally conservative thus concerned about propriety. The story began when Sammy, who worked as a cashier in this grocery store called A&P saw three young girls who came in the store barefoot, wearing swimming suits. This of course does not occur everyday in this town, so naturally, Sammy and his co-worker Stokesie were stunned. Even the other grocery shoppers were surprised to these girls confidently walking along the aisles looking for something they need to buy. When the girls were on the counter being manned by Sammy, they caught the eye of Mr. Lengel, who manages the store. Mr. Lengel who also teaches Sunday school could not help but approach the girls and told them â€Å"Girls, this isn’t the beach. † This embarrassed the girls and one of them said, â€Å"We are decent†. The girls then paid and hurried to go back to their car outside and leave. Before the girls left, Sammy suddenly told Mr. Lengel that he is quitting his job, deliberately saying it while the girls were of hearing range to present himself as their hero but when he left the store, the girls left already, putting his efforts to nothing. Sammy then realized that his impulsiveness led his to lose his job which can greatly affect his life and his family. Living in different areas in the same country also means having diverse cultures. Urban areas especially the big cities have displays of a more liberated lifestyle compared to the rural ones. The contrasts of these two societies are very apparent in this story. These girls didn’t think they did anything wrong by walking in a store wearing swimming suits but for residents of that community, it was very improper and offensive. Sammy seemed in awe of these girls and impulsively quit his job just to become a momentary hero for them. Seeing this trio of girls who have been used to a different upbringing due to a social class they grew in opened Sammy’s eyes to something different from the one he is used to. The second story was entitled â€Å"Barn Burning† which happened in the 1930’s. It was about an impoverished family led by the father called Abner Snopes, who works for farmers in way of rental contracts. This family has been moving from one farm to another for several years because Abner always gets in trouble. Abner is so full of bitterness and insecurities that pushed him to do ludicrous deeds to the farm owners he works in. His temper heats up even with the slightest provocation and gets consumed with hatred which impels him to burn the barns of the farms who worked for. All these were done witnessed by his two sons, twin daughters, sister-in-law and his wife who tags along with him every time he needed to move. He was put in question in Peace’s courts several times because of his arsonist tendencies. One time, he burned a barn to get back at his neighbor named Mr. Harris because his hog strayed to his neighbor’s property and defiantly refused to return it if he would not pay the fine of a dollar. He then sent a black man whom he calls rudely as a nigger and asks him to pay the dollar to claim his hog and tell the neighbor, â€Å"Wood and hay kin burn. † Later the barn of that neighbor was burned. After the inquest the Snopes family had to move to another farm outside that county. When they arrived at another farm, he immediately paid a visit to the owner of the farm and insisted on going inside the white carpeted house with his filthy shoes and smeared dung on it from his shoes. He was later told in court to pay the farm owner ten bushels of corn which he obviously could not afford since they can barely put food on their table. He then later decided to burn the barn of that farm owner for revenge. The only person in the Snopes’ family, who truly asserted himself to correct the misdeeds of his father, was Abner’s youngest son who was a little boy named Colonel Sartoris Snopes. He wanted his father’s habitual barn burning to be stopped and so told the farm owner of what was happening. Colonerl Sartoris was righteous and did what he believed was the right thing to do even if his father’s barn burning is revealed. I am not trying to defend but understand Abner for the things he did in the story. What he did was wrong and there was no just compelling for his actions but Abner’s behavior was in some ways a result of what society laid as basis for a person’s worth. He became irrational and resorted to violence when he thought he was unfairly treated instead of trying to do things in a proper way. Social classification then was so vividly observable. The owners of a farm are far more affluent compared to the families in the likes of the Snopes’ who does the hard, laborious work of tilling the land, growing the crops then harvesting it yet earning so little for it. The unfairness of that era was evident and created a huge gap between these social classes which affects the lives of those considered as inferior like Abner’s family. They deserved equal opportunity to live a more comfortable and easy life. Sammy and Abner has the same impulsiveness to do what they think could put justice into a situation without thinking of the consequences of their action. Sammy quit his job to show that he dissented the way Mr. Lengel embarrassed the girls which was implied to be a decision that would affect his family. On the other hand, Abner resorted to violence to solve his predicament which apparently worsens his family’s situation. Social stratification affects the lives of the people. It may enrich their lives or curtail their opportunities. These days it is a relief to see that the lines between these classes are not as vivid as during the time of our forefathers and are now slowly fading into progression. There are still destitute men and women on the streets in most communities. There are still discriminations among races and gender. There are still people oppressed by their leaders. But it is evident that in our society today people are more aware of their rights and would definitely fight for it in whatever way they can. These stories showed the development in how people treated each other during these two eras and the history of social classes.

The Power of Social Media and Its Impact on the Current Business Environment

The number of internet users has increased over the last decade due to the development of new technologies, internet availability and improved connectivity. Various online communications platforms have been invented and are widely used for both personal and business purposes world wide and social networking is the latest communication platform helping people connect to each other across different places. Its introduction has changed the way groups of people are connecting and communicating in business via online communities and professional networks. In business, many multi-national companies are currently moving beyond traditional media channels and using social network sites as a medium to reach their targets consumers instead. There is no argument that social networking is the key player driving new media communications in the digital era and its benefits and functions are impacting business considerably. There are hundreds of social networking platforms that have been introduced to the market but currently there are only two major sites recognised as the world's most powerful platforms attracting millions of users to participate. Firstly there is Facebook, a social network service that allows users to create their own profile, status, interest and preferences and also share information with friends and contacts. According to Trimpe (2011), reported that Facebook's active user base is 519 million which equates approximately to 1 in 13 of every person on earth. In the Facebook world millions of pieces of content, links and event invitations are shared every 20 minutes indicating the enormous power of Facebook as a social media tool. Secondly there is Twitter, a social network platform that allows users to generate and share messages, or â€Å"Tweets†, up to a maximum of 140 characters. According to Chiang (2011), claimed that there are nearly 200 million Twitter's users worldwide. The most common use is to promote business information about products and services or sometimes to educate industry on a business products or services. Due to the fact that these two social networking services possess millions of people's profiles, demographics and personal interests, thousands of multinational companies have turned their focus on new social media strategy to reach their target online. The term ‘social media’ has become the most recent area focused on by marketers, advertisers and public relations professionals in various business sectors and many experts have studied and tried to understand the benefits and functions of the term social media. According to Turner (2011), the Chief Content Officer of the 60 Second marketer reported that social media is about creating and having conversations among networks in online forums, blogs, and social networking sites. The key fundamental function is to use them as a medium for contacting, sharing and promoting data and contents. But when it comes to business, the main objective of operating social media is far beyond that. In business, social media is currently claimed to be the best tool in helping a company gain larger numbers of their target consumers just by providing a digital experience related to their products and services. Social media is also playing an important role in driving consumers brand engagement. According to Schmitt (2009), studied about digital brand experience and the result indicated that consumers who have a chance to engage with a brand in social networking sites can evolve from passive reactors to support the brand almost instantaneously. Creating a brand presence in social media can create not only opportunities for a company to gain more customers but also help marketers to understand more deeply what their potential target customers think towards their products and services thanks, for example, to Facebook that first invented the â€Å"Like† application that allows users to express their interest towards other websites, links or even competitors brands and share across networks. Thanks considerably to the advantages of social media, and its large numbers of potential target consumers, it is no surprise that many global companies have selected social networking as a key medium to start launching their campaign. According to Parsons (2011), reported that recently, Kellogg’s, the cereal manufacturer, launched a new range of Krave cereal and used Facebook as a medium to communicate and offer free sample packs to around 80,000 consumers on their Facebook fan page. The brand also developed video content to engage their 16-24 year old target age group to create interaction in Facebook. Additional examples show that Dell also gained a major success generating $3 million in sales after it launched its online outlet through Twitter and Starbucks has achieved the top ranking of Facebook brand pages, with nearly 4 million friends, by just offering fans coupons for free pastries and ice cream. Additionally, Whole Foods has topped Twitter with 1. million followers by broadcasting weekly specials and shopping tips (Schmitt 2009, p. 26). Companies in the FMCG industry are not the only sector that is involved in social media. Currently Honda, the Japanese automotive manufacture, is implementing their new marketing initiative from budget-led to customer-led by moving beyond traditional advertising and using social media as a tool to understand, manage and encourage open communication and conversation among their customers (Fisher 2011). In this point, the decision to buy a durable good like a car is a lengthy process, so to ensure that their brand will be in front of mind of consumers, Honda then focuses through a combination of data analytics using, and social influence methodologies, to engage and change consumer perception and increase brand awareness at the same time. In other words the role of social media, in this case, is to help maximise the goodwill and favourable mentions of company and brands. Moreover, not only can a platform of social networking provide a benefit to communicate with customers but it also enhances the capability of internal communications amongst staff as it has benefits of real-time discussion, response and speed to spread out information or opinions internally and reduce the time spent in meetings and it is enormously useful for companies with teams/staff members who working in different locations or time zones. For instance, according to Willson (2011) reported that AT&T, a US telecommunications company, launched a new tool aimed at providing their staff the opportunity to have discussions, brainstorm and refine ideas through its own internal social media platform. Employees have opportunities to be involved by voting their opinion on the company's ideas and strategies. As a result of this implementation, and in just 6 months, there are more than 200 topics that have been discussed with great outcomes and many fresh ideas generated without wasting time in meetings. Undoubtedly, social media platforms help a company communicate to both customers and staff faster and easier, however, the easy access of shared data can be a risk to a company’s confidential products and information. Many companies to date have suffered from the secret leaking of their products before its launch to market and it is not only bloggers or online journalists who cannot keep the information secret but also staff who are caught, sometimes by mistake, sharing confidential information. As recent examples, Coggan (2011), reported that Renault has suspended three senior executives allegedly for passing on blueprints for electric cars, Facebook’s corporate privacy settings went wrong when some of the social network’s finances were published and a strategy document from AOL came to light revealing that the internet and media firm’s journalists were expected to write five to ten articles a day. As a result of this type of leak information many companies, especially in the USA, do not allow employees to use their own computers or use memory sticks for certain online services. Accordingly Robert Half Technology also found in 2009 that more than half of chief information officers in America blocked the use of networking sites such as Facebook at work to prevent leaking of information. In the digital era, today's business is borderless with mobile devices, smartphone and computers helping the world connect with the internet. Social networking is a new communications platform that enhances this borderless world providing users with an ability to contact one another and spread information. Many companies use these social networks as a key strategic media to reach their target consumers or adapt its platforms for internal communications purposes to enhance the productivity of its members. However, with its easy access and ability to disperse information rapidly, social networking is becoming a big challenge for todays businesses on how to control data leaking and to protect information assets whilst, at the same time, sharing data without affecting the company's competitiveness. Ultimately, the challenge of gaining benefit from social media is to operate it in a balanced way and in the same way a company has always managed its confidential information. A company must know what it wants to achieve from spreading information about its products and services and also what information it needs to protect . A businesses staff who are involved in the management, operation and control of these platforms should be trained to know how to add accurate data in an online social context and be able to understand what information is acceptable to share.

Using Clouds to Predict the Weather