Rowan Companies' drillship gets ABS' ISQM notation
ABS, the leading provider of classification services to the global offshore industry, has achieved an industry first with the completion of the Rowan Companies’ Rowan Renaissance drillship. This newbuild, which was built in the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in Ulsan, South Korea, is the first in the world to have earned ABS’ Integrated Software Quality Management (ISQM) notation, the classification society said Thursday in a press release.
Historically, Class rules have focused on steel and equipment. ISQM focuses on the software that controls the equipment. ABS’ ISQM notation provides a clear process of minimizing software related risk throughout the life of an asset. “No other class society has classed the drilling equipment and other essential marine equipment with a software notation that addresses software quality during construction, at delivery and beyond,” says Paul Walters, ABS Manager.
Rowan Companies recognized the ABS ISQM process as the best option for describing the operation of the equipment, identifying and mitigating risk and verifying the many safety critical components of its high-specification asset. In its first application on the high-specification ultra-deepwater drillship Rowan Renaissance, ISQM facilitated reliable integration of products from more than half a dozen major suppliers and more than 35 subsystems.
The ISQM process has a goal of reducing safety, environmental and productivity risks while increasing efficiency and productivity of the drillship.
According to Walters, coordination among the owner, builder and class society was the keystone for success in this industry first. “Everyone wanted this project to be a success,” he said, noting, “HHI’s willingness to move into new territory was critical to reaching that goal.”
ABS Group provided a knowledgeable person who assisted with integration quality, project management and document tracking.
About ABS
Founded in 1862, ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.