Use of expert systems for optimum maintenance of marine power plants

The reliability and economical operation of marine power plants depend upon the design quality, capability and skill of the technical staff that operate the plant. The normal breakdowns of marine machinery and the frequency of planned maintenance are based mainly on the operators who ensure that such breakdowns are minimized. To achieve such objectives an optimum maintenance goal must be adopted using various types of computer software for expert systems with high processing speed which have been developed to aid fault or failure diagnosis. Such systems are at different stages of application. In this paper, a typical expert system for condition monitoring, budgeting, and spare part management to enhance the optimum management of a marine power plant is presented. The use of this technique with known models will substantially reduce downtime and fully utilize the technical crew onboard and ashore. From the author's experience in the management of ferries, there is an optimum amount of maintenance effort for any given condition.