Offshore Plant Technology
On September 30, Hyundai reported it successfully applied a “3D Smart Precision Management System” to the floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit for more accurate error measurements.
This cutting-edge IT system uses light wave distance measurement with a 3D scanner to make a stereoscopic image which it then automatically compares to a 3D blueprint for error detection.
3D scanning technology develops stereoscopic images using digital information collected by projecting a laser on objects with a 3D scanner. Recently, this technology has been used for surveying cultural properties, and played a crucial role in the latest restoration of Sungnyemun.
The system developed by Hyundai will project about a million laser beams per second in 3mm terms to the offshore plant for its stereoscopic image. Through this, Hyundai can receive a complete image of the plant more quickly and more accurately than through the original light wave measuring system, and use that to find any errors. The error measuring time will be reduced from ten hours to two hours per plant, which greatly improves productivity as well. Another benefit is that problems can be prevented prior to assembling the two structures by running a simulation and spotting any possible errors.
Hyundai applied the newest IT technology to offshore plant construction because recently, offshore plant construction has moved further into the open oceans and extreme locations where higher safety and quality requirements are required.