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Competitive advantage through digital transformation WRIT TEN BY
HARRY MENE AR PRODUCED BY
MIK E SADR
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We sit down with OSM Maritime CTO Chakib Abi-Saab to find out how the company is using AI, machine learning, IoT, drones, augmented reality, blockchain and automation to empower its 11,000-strong workforce
F
ounded in 1989, OSM Maritime has grown from a single crew-management contract to a fleet of over 500
vessels managed from 26 offices around the 04
globe. Business Chief sat down with OSM’s Chief Technology Officer, Chakib Abi-Saab to find out how one of the world’s largest maritime management companies is using breakthrough technologies to empower and unite its 11,000 employees. “Technology is not the solution to everything,” says Abi-Saab, “but it is a very important toolset that enables us to provide better and more reliable services, and facilitate greater transparency with our clients.” He explains that “as a whole, the industry has not adopted technology on a large scale. I think at OSM we have been very aggressive. We believe that business gains, transparencies and improvements in relationships, and efficiencies that we gain from technology
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Empowering tomorrow’s digital winners
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equal a competitive advantage”. At the
access to correlations that we, as
heart of the company’s technological
humans, might not be able to see. We’re
transformation is its Maritime Opera-
expecting to move to the next level with
tions Centre, located in Singapore.
machine learning, so that we can perform
Abi-Saab presided over the Centre’s
predictive analytics and predictive main-
creation in 2018 and will oversee the
tenance which will become a cost
construction of a second facility in
savings to us and to our customers.”
Arendal, Norway in 2020. The Centre
As Chief Technology Officer, Abi-
enables OSM to monitor and manage
Saab is currently overseeing the adop-
the company’s global fleet 24 hours
tion of several new technologies to
a day. Abi-Saab explains that, with the
further enable OSM’s technical manag-
Centre in operation, “We not only have
ers to perform their roles. At the core
information that used to take weeks to
of each new technology, he empha-
gather, but the computer also gives us
sises, is the ethos that “technology is
E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E
Chakib Abi-Saab Chakib is a business leader and technologist with 20+ years of experience aligning technology with operational goals. Chakib has led significant global projects in multinational environments and has played several key roles in global organizations like Baker Hughes Inc. and Bumi Armada Berhad. Chakib is now the Chief Technology Officer of OSM Maritime Group. Chakib’s main focus is always on the utilization of technology as a driver to optimize costs, improve productivity, increase returns, reduce risks, and create new revenue streams. His technology expertise is in connected assets, analytics, automation, and predictive environments. He is also experienced leading complex multinational digital transformations.
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a way to give people the right informa-
best possible people to manage our
tion so that they can make decisions
ships. But the reality is that you cannot
based on what’s happening at that
have experts for everything on every
particular time, operationally and fin-
ship.” This is where one of OSM’s latest
ancially”. New initiatives that OSM is
pieces of technology comes into play:
aggressively testing or already using
augmented reality goggles. Allowing
include machine learning and AI, edge
on-ship staff to display in real time the
computing, augmented reality, drones
repair process enables OSM to “take
and blockchain.
advantage of the 11,000 people in the
“Imagine you are managing a ship
company for expertise that can walk
and one part of the engine breaks,”
our engineers through the solution,
says Abi-Saab. “Well, we in OSM do
because we can see what they see
the best possible job we can to hire the
and we can send diagrams that they
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘#TRENDSPOTTING WITH OSM & OUR AMAZING PARTNERS’ 09 see through the augmentative reality goggles,” explains Abi-Saab. “We expect that having these augmentative reality goggles on our ships will mean that challenges that could, today, disable a ship would be dramatically reduced. We will have people with the right expertise helping us resolve those problems. So, the efficiency gains will be dramatic.” OSM also operates a number of offshore oil & gas facilities. In the past, an operational event that required an underwater inspection would result in halted production for prolonged periods of time, while trained divers w w w. os m . n o
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“ Simplifai has proven to have deep understanding of processes combined with RPA, among other skills” — Chakib Abi-Saab, CTO OSM Maritime
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“We believe that IoT is going to be the key to preventive maintenance” — Chakib Abi-Saab, CTO OSM Maritime 13
would be deployed for surveillance and
“Part of the immediate efforts to build
repairs. Now, Abi-Saab says, that
efficiencies through digitalization
could change. “When you stop a rig
includes working very closely with our
operation, you’re talking about hun-
partners of Simplifai to completely
dreds of thousands of dollars lost on
evaluate and re-engineer processes
an hourly basis. If you have a drone in
with the objective of then using Robotics
the water that can do the same job, you
Process Automation (RPA) to speed
do not have to stop the operations.
up the execution of repetitive tasks and
So, it not only increases safety but it
reduce manual intervention,” adds
increases profitability.” OSM is consid-
Abi-Saab. Simplifai is a holistic artificial
ering the adoption of drones for both
intelligence solutions company head-
underwater and aerial inspections in
quartered in Oslo, Norway. By using
combination with video analytics on its
Simplifai’s technology to automate
rigs and ships under management.
routine tasks, Abi-Saab estimates OSM w w w. os m . n o
C OMPA N Y FA C T S
• OSM: 11,000 employees, 25 office locations, a fleet of 500 vessels, and a 90% customer retention rate • Simplifai: OSM’s new partner, experts in AI solutions, particularly Robotics Process Automation
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will be able to increase efficiency in
of machine learning, AI, IoT and edge
those areas by up to 50%. The adoption
computing to record the most relevant
of RPA will also bring scalability and
information from its fleet and parse it for
improved data quality due to the error
insights into operational solutions. “We
reductions inherent to automation.
believe that IoT is going to be the key to
“We are now an organization that takes
preventive maintenance,” Abi-Saab
advantage of data and business
says. “But we need to approach it very
intelligence to make better decisions,
smartly. You can find sensors for every-
and having error-free data means better
thing, but not everything that can be
decisions, and having only one version
measured should be measured and not
of the truth,” says Abi-Saab, adding
everything that should be measured
that “Simplifai has proven to have deep
can be measured. So we’re currently
understanding of processes combined
working to identify what are those areas
with RPA, among other skills.”
that, if we measure, would give us the
As well as tools for gathering and
efficiency gains that we are looking for.”
redistributing knowledge and raw data,
Uniting information from every indi-
OSM is dedicating itself to the adoption
vidual system OSM has in operation
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within a centralised database, the
functions as a single harmonious
Operations Centre helps to prevent
ecosystem. “Having all the information
the company’s solutions from becom-
in a centralized database will give us
ing siloed. “We have experienced the
several advantages,” notes Abi-Saab.
same challenges as everybody else
“First is the ability to properly monitor
in the industry,” admits Abi-Saab. “Part
security. Second is the ability to properly
of the creation of the Operation Center
back up our data and restore it in the
comes in a second phase where we
event of an emergency or disaster so
will create a fully centralized database,
that we have proper business continu-
which holds information from every
ity. And third, it will give us the ability
system we have in the organization,”
to have smart algorithms of artificial
helping to ensure company’s tech
intelligence from our machine learning
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software going through the data, so
edge computing, and machine learning
that we can get correlations that would
as part of a centralised database will,
possibly not be imagined by humans‌
Abi-Saab believes, lead to significant
Similarly, we are looking at edge comp-
efficiencies for OSM, as the company
uting technology so that, not only
gains insights into preventative main-
will we have analytics onshore in the
tenance strategies. “Imagine that you
operation center, but the people who
have a fleet of ships around the world.
manage the ships also have access
Normally, the way maritime companies
to real-time analytics so they can
work is you have Vessel Managers
make better decisions.�
onshore and you have the Captains in
Identifying trends in ship maintenance using this combination of IoT,
the ships who are the people responsible for the operations of the ship. Now, w w w. os m . n o
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“ Pursuing technology solutions will help us create technical ability, security, reliance and efficiency gains in everything we do” — Chakib Abi-Saab, CTO OSM Maritime
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if a ship breaks in Brazil and then another breaks in Africa and another stops working in Europe, under normal circumstances each incident might be seen as an isolated case. But, if you have all the information in one centralized database, artificial intelligence can detect a trend, ships that are similar, or parts that are similar that are breaking. Then it starts telling you, based on the past history of Ships A, B and C that we should change a particular part of this type of ship because it’s about to break. That’s when you truly create value.” 20
OSM Maritime’s exploration and adoption of digitally transformative technologies is comprehensive and happening at speed. A large part of Abi-Saab’s role is to ensure the company’s slogan, “It’s all about people,” is respected and adhered to. “We believe that technology, without the support and knowledge of the people, would not be as efficient and would not give you the value that you need,” he explains. “We are focusing on aggressive change management plans that not only choose the proper technologies but also communicate to everyone in the organization that will be affected what is happening, why that is happening, and how that will affect them. Because the better people understand
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the positive impact the adoption of technologies has on their job, the more their resistance to it is reduced.� For example, OSM is currently examining the possibility of a partnership with a company specialising in blockchain technology. The digital ledger technology would address a challenge faced by OSM crew members: paper certificates and documentation. “If those certificates are lost, it’s going to take them weeks, potentially months, depw w w. os m . n o
$100mn Approximate revenue
1989
Year founded
11,000+
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Approximate number of employees
ending on where in the world they are, to get them back. Without those certificates, they cannot board a ship,” explains Abi-Saab. “If we have a blockchain solution that enables them to produce real time information about their training and certificates to ship owners anywhere in the world, then it would become quite an interesting solution.” 2019 and 2020 promise to be exciting years for OSM Maritime. Abi-Saab predicts that the next year will see a tipping point for the company, where “pursuing technology solu-
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tions will help us create technical ability, security, reliance and efficiency gains in everything we do today, with the aim to become a highly-predictive analytical, artificial intelligence and machinelearning-based organization in 2020.”
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Svinoddveien 12 Arendal, Norway N-4836 T +47 41492000 www.osm.no