Demanding control room work requires proper conditions

Control room work demands attentiveness and concentration. A well-implemented working environment as well as systems and devices that support the activities enable efficient work and reduce the possibility of errors occurring.

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Shallow water offshore structures – foundation stability: an essential part of design work

When evaluating the feasibility of shallow water offshore concepts attention has to be paid to foundation stability from the very beginning. If the designers involved are naval architecture orientated and used to working mainly with floating structures and not soil properties, they may not pay sufficient attention the latter area. As a consequence, civil engineers are often called on to provide the solutions. Civil engineers, however, commonly do not fully understand the “offshore” features of the concepts. Both the aforementioned cases may lead to end results that are not satisfactory.

This article mainly concentrates on Gravity Base Structures (GBS) for two reasons. Firstly, the problematic for other structures such as Jackets and jack-ups is very much different from Gravity Base structures and should be the topic of a separate article. Secondly, Wellquip Ltd is actively involved with shallow water GBS concepts and the topic is very current.

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In search of power network reliability

It is of utmost importance for owners and operators of electrical networks to always have up-to-date and accurate knowledge regarding the status and safety of their networks. According to new directives and standards they are required to ensure that basic safety standards are met already in the design phase of projects. When implementing projects abroad unfamiliar standards place additional demands on design. In all cases comprehensive documentation is of crucial importance. New power network calculation software tools on the market significantly ease the design and management of power networks.

The owners and operators of electrical networks have to ensure that their networks are safe to use and that human life and property is protected in all network connection situations and possible failure situations.

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Bottlenecks and challenges in processing energy efficiency data

There is currently much talk about machine learning and artificial intelligence but unfortunately, at industrial plant floor level, things seem to have remained in another decade. The further we move from the core process, the less data is available for different inspections. When checking energy efficiency, for example, these challenges come strongly to the fore.

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The risk of assuming – upgrading product design to meet customer needs

Product development often entails facelifts of previous projects and occasionally the design of completely new products from nothing. What are the key decisions that the design is based on? When a deadline is breathing down a designer’s neck, the most important thing is often forgotten: the user. Why?

In product development there are always decisions that need to be made. These include decisions about mechanical design such as the thickness of a wall to the location of a button, or software decisions such as how the user interface should look or where and how information should be placed.

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Radiative cooling from the sky – ongoing research points to significant energy savings

The sky should not only be seen as a potential source of energy in the form of sunlight, but also as a low-temperature reservoir for cooling. This cooling can be obtained through a longwave radiative heat exchange between a radiator, located on the surface of the earth, and the cold air masses above it. Passive cooling methods such as radiative cooling can significantly reduce dependence on carbon-based fuels.

Air-conditioning produced by a traditional vapor compression cycle is an energy demanding operation. Today 10–15% of the world’s electricity is used for cooling and this percentage is increasing; for instance, air-conditioning energy needs in Finland are expected to grow tenfold by 2050.

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How to prepare for production malfunctions

Process malfunctions are unavoidable, during which time machinery is inoperable.

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Innovation: an interdisciplinary team effort – case: urban farming

Elomatic FEI team members Mika Patrakka (right) and Jukka Mikkonen in their workshop.

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