Digitalizing Fleet Management
Attica is a Greece-based ferry company that specializes in ferrying passengers and rolling cargo across the Aegean Sea. The company was founded in 1995 and has since grown to become one of the largest ferry companies in the region. The company’s growth has led to a need for more efficient fleet management, prompting Attica to turn to SERTICA, a leading fleet management software.
George Anagnostou, Attica’s Chief Operations Officer, acknowledges that traditional methods of managing their rapidly growing fleet were no longer viable. He emphasizes the need to move beyond and embrace digital transformation.
“We need to do better, faster and be more effective, that’s why we have started our digital transformation,” says George Anagnostou.
To meet their requirements at a reasonable cost, Attica has chosen SERTICA, a comprehensive solution that covers all their needs. Unlike other platforms that only offer partial solutions, i.e. Planned Maintenance System (PMS) or, Safety Management Procedures or, Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM), SERTICA offers a complete solution that includes PMS, SMS, IHM, and Certificate tracking. The platform is user-friendly, and its ability to centralize maintenance data is particularly attractive.
Attica’s Favorite Features:
- Electronic Forms
- Master Data Management
- Analytics
- Dynamic Dashboards
- Certificate
- The tree structure
- Visualization of due dates
Streamlined Maintenance Operations with Master Data Management
Attica uses Master Data Management (MDM) to build a rich database of all their vessels’ equipment. This means that whenever they add a new vessel to the fleet, they can easily create a new tree structure based on the information already available in the MDM. Centralizing maintenance data enables Attica to schedule maintenance and safety inspections with ease, resulting in smoother and safer operations.
Attica invests significant resources in building their data repository in SERTICA, but the benefits of using the platform outweigh the effort. By adding all equipment and machinery to their Planned Maintenance System (PMS), they now have clear descriptions and information about running hours for all their equipment.
The crew no longer need to print and file certificates, and the PMS helps them schedule their work ahead of time. George Anagnostou says, “The power of the tool is phenomenal, and our crew members are very positive about SERTICA.”
Lessons learned:
- Take the time to build a rich database of all equipment, machinery, and critical information
- Consider external help for PMS building
- Train and refresh users regularly
- Limit the number of forms
- Create forms in SERTICA, not Excel or Word
Avoid forms in Excel and Word
Attica has over 100 forms for ISM, ISPS, ISO, SIM, SMS, and other types of forms. The intervals for the forms range from weekly to yearly, and approval flows are in place to review forms. All forms are saved electronically, streamlining the filing and approval process.
Example of forms in SERTICA:
- ISM forms
- Drills and training
- Master handovers
- Crew information
- Incident and accident reports
- Maintenance request forms
- Safety inspection checklists
- Inventory management forms
- Quality control checklists
- Risk assessments
- Cargo and container inspection forms
- Crew performance evaluations
- Certificate and license tracking forms
- Fuel consumption reports
Elia Papadopoulou, HSQE Administrator, points out that using SERTICA’s Forms module has made the process of filing and approving forms much easier, as it eliminates the need for paper. Additionally, the Forms module provides a clear picture of the vessels from the office, making it convenient to see what they are filling out without having to go there.
Elia Papadopoulou concludes, “My best advice to other companies planning to use the Forms module in SERTICA is to limit the number of forms to a minimum and build forms directly in SERTICA rather than using Excel or Word.”
Attica’s team also recommends using SERTICA’s Forum to share information.
Maximizing Performance: Attica’s Next Moves
Attica has identified several ways to leverage SERTICA’s capabilities to streamline their operations and enhance performance. Their first step is to use SERTICA’s procurement functionality to improve inventory management and ensure crew members order the correct spares by making use of the MDM database.
With SERTICA’s inventory and REQ management features, Attica can easily evaluate the value of inventory on each vessel, saving time and resources. Crew members will benefit from exclusive use of the platform, eliminating the need for multiple systems and providing precise information and ordering capabilities.
Attica also plans to use SERTICA’s analytics capabilities to gain insights into fleet performance and make data-driven decisions. By using SERTICA as their primary source of information, they can provide flag authorities with identical data, facilitating smoother and more efficient audits. They have eliminated manual files and folders and rely exclusively on SERTICA for official notifications from Port State Control (PSC) in the event of an audit or accident.
