Tech-Enabled Surveys
The technologies reducing risk and advancing Digital Classification
New technologies are now enabling to enhance the safety of ships surveyors, while saving time and costs for ship owners and offshore unit operators.
To facilitate safer, cost-optimized surveys, Bureau Veritas has developed new surveys, operating modes. As part of our Digital Classification offer, Bureau Veritas is proposing:
- Remote surveys with live-streaming solutions enabling to decide remotely with no surveyor on-board and providing more flexibility to ship owners and operators
- Remote inspection technologies with remotely controlled drones and robots to see remotely and reduce exposure to significant risks while accessing confined spaces and hazardous areas and performing close-up survey of hull structure.
- Augmented surveys, leveraging our collective intelligence powered by AI Augmented Reality (AR) to support our surveyors in collecting and analysing data.
- Data enabled surveys, connecting to client information systems to capture data in digital manner and avoid visits to collect data and automating reviews.
Remote surveys: deciding remotely
Bureau Veritas has been performing remote surveys, with no BV surveyor on board, since 2020. Remote surveys provide more flexibility to ship owners and managers, with reduced travel time, faster response to queries on occasional surveys. They reduce safety risks to which surveyors are exposed and lower carbon footprint.
Bureau Veritas has established 8 remote survey centers: Middle East (Istanbul & Dubai), Singapore, Shanghai, Paris, Miami, Rotterdam, Piraeus, to offer 24*7 coverage. Those centers include more than 125 surveyors trained and qualified for remote surveys. Remote surveys can be conducted fully on-line (the surveyor is connected to the ship real time) or partly on-line (data is collected by the client in a first step, then the surveyor and the client connect to review data collected). Offline taken pictures or videos may also be used.
To manage the live connection, visualization and recording of the call, we selected a leading live-streaming solution, Sight Call, which enables BV surveyor located in the BV office to connect to the client on board and visualize the ship. Sight Call does not require the client to implement any application nor subscribe to a license. The bandwidth requirement remains compatible with ships specifics. Bureau Veritas also digitized the end-to-end process, from on-line request for remote survey to the delivery of the electronic certificate.
Remote inspection techniques: seeing remotely
Bureau Veritas has been developing and applying the use of Remote Inspection Technologies. While a surveyor is still on board, Bureau Veritas leverage aerial drones or other remotely operated platforms (remote operated vehicle, under water vehicle) to survey parts of the ship that are risky or costly to access (ballast, tanks…). This enhances the safety of the surveyor, by minimizing the exposure to hazardous area and/or limiting the need to enter confined space. saves time and costs to the ship owners or offshore operator, making the survey preparation simpler and avoiding costs that would come on top of the maintenance costs.
Bureau Veritas has performed many Surveys leveraging on such technology's links to a more recent example. In addition, Bureau Veritas has now developed a network of centers with drones directly operated by Bureau Veritas surveyors. 
Augmented surveys
Bureau Veritas is developing applications to leverage its collective intelligence, latest remote inspection technologies and AI, machine Learning latest technologies to support ship owners and offshore operators in automating the recognition of structural defects such as corrosion.
Especially, Bureau Veritas has developed the Augmented Surveyor 3D application to provide additional services to its clients beyond classification.
This advanced tool uses AI and machine learning to detect defects through an aerial drone for ship and offshore structure inspection enabling real time or post-inspection visualization of automatically detected defects.
Moreover, leveraging latest drones and 3D modelling technologies, the Augmented Surveyor 3D application enables the localization and analysis of defects on a rebuilt digital twin of the structure (Cloud Point). Using 3D model from design and construction phase and Augmented surveyor 3D model enables ship owners and offshore units' operators to save time and costs for their survey preparation and execution, and moreover to simplify and facilitate the maintenance operations of the asset.
Data Enabled Surveys
Bureau Veritas is connecting to ship owners and ship managers approved digital systems (eg machinery maintenance CMMS system, fuel consumption measurement system) to capture data in digital manner and avoid visits to collect data and enable to automate the reviews of schemes such as environmental regulations or machinery Maintenace.
