“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines…You make progress by implementing ideas.” Shirley Chisholm
Every new project gives a business the opportunity to grow and at OceanWise, we take that quite seriously. Having recently celebrated our 10th year in business we can happily say that we still learn and develop with each project that we undertake and we love it. Some projects we are involved with have more than their fair share of challenges, but those challenges often ignite development and progression, reinforce relationships and allow us to implement new ideas.
We were recently commissioned to supply new tidal monitoring stations as part of a project in New Zealand. Whilst the project concept itself was no different to those we undertake regularly, we had never worked in New Zealand before and the unique (and truly stunning!) marine landscape that we were dealing with, was significantly different to anything that we had worked with before and presented considerations that we had not yet faced.
What was the project? To supply 3 tidal monitoring systems with AIS at three sites, strategically located along the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand.
Customers key aim: Supply real-time tidal height data to recreational and commercial marine users in the area and to a hydrodynamic modelling company who are improving a data model of the currents and tides in the area.
Data details: The tidal data collected from each site is being sent via a cellular modem and via AIS to two end users: 1) The customer, for further dissemination 2) A modelling company who are improving a hydrodynamic model of the area using tidal slope.
Equipment Used: Valeport TideMaster & Pressure Sensor / VEGAPULS C23 / Scannex ip.buffer / SRT Carbon AIS transmitter
What new product or process developments arose from the project?
- An AIS relay enclosure developed for use when AIS needs to share a power source (ie cannot be given its own power feed)
- We developed a new current (mA) sampler for power draw tests, which will now form part of our standard Factory Acceptance Tests.
- We created a new signal processor for analogue sensors, giving us more control over sampling regimes and allowing us to integrate with more sensors
- We are now working with new 4G Modems as standard – as they will become the norm
- Adapted and developed capability modems to allow for multi antenna scenarios
Amy Thompson, Oceanographic Data Engineer at OceanWise and Project Manager stated,
“It’s been a real pleasure managing this project – there have been challenges and hurdles along the way, but these have allowed us to hone our project delivery process even further. We have been able to apply the lessons learnt from this project to other projects, and ultimately are continually improving how we deliver projects to all our customers. It’s also great to know that the systems that we built and tested in the UK are now providing the range of end-users in New Zealand with reliable and useful data!”
This project has reinforced to OceanWise that communication is key to success, particularly when you’re working in opposite hemispheres over different time zones. Additional challenges were faced by having to work and comply with different international regulations. This presented opportunities to collaborate with our suppliers (local and international) to come up with solutions to resolve the sticking points and improve our internal processes and the products we provide.
Projects on any scale are not without their challenges but through internal and external collaboration these challenges can be turned into a positive outcome not only for the client and project in hand but for wider business development.
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