Operating station for controlling vessels and operations

Company strategy

Kongsberg Maritime is among the world leaders in integrated electronic solutions for professional vessels. It supplies proprietary
integrated control systems to merchant marine and off-shore vessels in addition to platforms and rigs. The company maintains its position through continuous product development and a focus on good design as a basis for the effective and safe vessel operation. Performing difficult operations on Offshore Service Vessels in a challenging environment such as the North Sea, presents constant challenges for operators. The working situation for operators is becoming increasingly more complex, and the huge amount of information and systems that require attention and control creates a need for simplification and structure.

Kongsberg Maritime therefore decided to develop a completely new workstation, aimed at aft-bridge operators on Offshore Service Vessels. K -Master is the result of this project. It is a unique solution that harmonises the critical systems required by the aft-bridge operator for safe and efficient operation, demonstrating Kongsberg Maritime’s excellence in the field of navigation, manoeuvring and automation in a single workstation. It combines a strong industrial design ethic and an innovative user interface to create a brand new and groundbreaking Offshore Service Vessel workplace.

Gathering information

Close collaboration between the company and customers for over 50 years has given Kongsberg Maritime exceptional insight into the operational challenges inherent in the maritime and offshore industries. K ongsberg Maritime has systematically gathered such knowledge from the market through active dialogue with experienced operators and regular visits aboard vessels and platforms and to the customer offices worldwide. The company combines the skills of the operator with its technological skills and the development of it products and solutions always takes place in close contact with the users, enabling solutions that meet the exact market and operational requirements.

Conceptualisation

The K -Master project was started in early 2009 and given extremely tight and fixed deadlines for its planned Nor-shipping exhibition launch in June 2009. Top management was engaged in the project, which was provided with the necessary prerequisites to allow its goals to be achieved. In keeping with the company’s philosophy, dedicated resources were gathered in one location so that the construction of a prototype could be combined with multidisciplinary collaboration, in isolation from day-to-day operations. K -Master was located in the middle of the premises so that everyone could see it every day. When a lot of previously independent products are integrated into a single solution, professional skills in different competencies also need to be integrated. This unique structuring in all aspects of the project made a major contribution to creating team spirit and a sense of shared responsibility for the end product among everyone involved.

Testing and choice of direction

K-Master places everything within reach of a sitting operator so that they have all the functions required to carry out a demanding, precise operation in a stressful and highly demanding situation from a single work station. The control components are in the armrests and the most used functions from all systems are easily accessible and integrated into one solution. The idea behind K -Master is to move the focus away from separate consoles, systems and equipment towards function, information and operation. The foundations for the visual and functional framework were laid in a pilot project in the autumn of 2008, but from the point at which the decision to develop K -Master was made, there was no doubt about the goal: To build a unique, revolutionary integrated workstation with feature-rich, user friendly functionality.

Design specification

Hareide Designmill was selected as a design partner for K -Master following collaboration with K ongsberg Maritime on a number of successful projects. In addition, specialist experts in user interface graphic design were also brought onboard for the K -Master design project. The product’s appearance should be seen as innovative, but the new functional features are even more important; panels and displays for several sub-systems were combined on a separate display area and operation changed from hard buttons to touch-screens.

Development

During the rapid development phase in spring 2009, frequent meetings were held with the external designers. The project group’s collective localisation made the exchange of knowledge very productive. K ongsberg Maritime developers with operational experience could brainstorm with the designers and come up with the solutions that they knew would work in operation. This was subsequently confirmed through demonstrations and market testing. Kongsberg Maritime’s identity was taken into consideration during the process. K-Master represents something completely different, but has still been created in the spirit of and built following long-standing traditions. The product is in many ways a continuation and consolidation of Kongsberg Maritime’s DNA.

Commercialisation

K-Master is now in a formal qualification phase and is being prepared for its first installation. The targets set by Kongsberg Maritime have all been met so far and the external design has created the attention the company wants for the product and user environment. In addition, this attention has contributed to an interest in the product from other markets than the one originally intended, such as for example, cruise ships, yachts and passenger ferries. The internal reaction has also been extremely positive. Both skills and morale have been strengthened, stimulating the professional environment throughout the company.

Company: Kongsberg Maritime AS

Project group company: Prosjektansvarlig, Thor Hukkelås, Kongsberg Maritime - Prosjektleder, Knut Olaf Hoftun Knudsen, Kongsberg Maritime - Ingeniør, Jan Runar Karlsen, Kongsberg Maritime


Design: Hareide Designmill AS

Project group design company: Designer, Magne Ekerum Høiby, Hareide Designmill AS

Award / year: Honours Award for Design Excellence - 2010

Category: Nominees