KONGSBERG HMS 300 Helicopter Deck Monitoring System

KONGSBERG HMS 300 Helicopter Deck Monitoring System

HMS 300 Helicopter Deck Monitoring System: The Core Guarantee for Safety in Offshore Operations

In modern offshore oil and gas extraction and transportation operations, helicopters are key tools for personnel and material transportation. However, the deck of offshore platforms and ships will experience continuous movement in complex sea conditions such as waves and winds, posing a serious challenge to the safety of helicopter takeoff and landing. The HMS 300 helicopter deck monitoring system was developed by Kongsberg Discovery AS (formerly Kongsberg Seatex) and is specifically designed to monitor helicopter deck movements and meteorological conditions, providing real-time and accurate safety decision support for offshore helicopter operations.

System Overview

HMS 300 is a complete helicopter deck monitoring solution that measures the acceleration, heave speed, roll, pitch, and tilt angle of the deck in real-time, and combines meteorological data to determine whether the current deck status meets the conditions for safe helicopter takeoff and landing. This system is widely used in various mobile or fixed offshore facilities such as offshore drilling platforms, floating production storage and unloading devices, offshore wind power installation ships, shuttle oil tankers, etc.

1. System design philosophy

HMS 300 adopts a modular architecture, consisting of a processing unit and a human-machine interface unit, which are connected via Ethernet. The processing unit is responsible for core motion calculation and data processing, running independently of the user interface to ensure high reliability and continuity of the system. The human-machine interface unit displays deck motion data, meteorological information, and status indicators through an intuitive graphical interface, making it easy for operators to quickly grasp the on-site situation.

2. Compliance standards

HMS 300 strictly follows the international mainstream standards for offshore helicopter operations, including:

CAP 437: The latest version of the "Marine Helicopter Landing Area Standards" released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority is the September 2018 edition

NORMAM-27: Helicopter Offshore Operations Standards Issued by the Brazilian Navy

NOROG: Norwegian Continental Shelf Helicopter Operation Standards released by the Norwegian Petroleum Industry Association

The system also meets the requirements of the helicopter certification agency's relevant documents (revised 9b), ensuring its applicability in major offshore oil and gas production areas worldwide.

System architecture and core components

1. System components

The HMS 300 system consists of the following core components:

Component Function Description

The inertial measurement unit adopts MRU (E, H, 5, 5+models) or MGC (R2, R3 models), installed at the center of the deck, to measure the motion and acceleration of the deck

Meteorological sensors are usually the Vaisala WXT520/530 series, which measure wind speed, direction, pressure, temperature, and humidity

The core computing unit of the processing unit runs motion algorithms and state judgment logic

Edge unit human-computer interaction terminal, providing graphical operation interface

Independent high-frequency wind sensor (4 Hz output) is required under the CAP 437 standard for wind sensors

Optional component of wave level system, measuring wave height and period

The deck repeating lights are connected to the external relay box through the control unit, and display different color indicator lights such as red, green, and blue according to the system status

2. Network and Data Flow

The system connects various units through Ethernet and supports real-time transmission of on-site data. Kognifai cloud platform can be optionally selected to achieve shore based remote monitoring, allowing onshore personnel and offshore operators to share the same real-time images and enhance collaborative work capabilities.

System operation process

1. System startup and shutdown

Startup steps:

Ensure normal power supply for IMU and weather sensors

Turn on the monitor power

Press the power switch on the left side of the front panel of the processing unit

Press the power switch on the front panel of the human-machine interface unit

Wait for the operating system to start, enter the default password 'operator user'

Closing steps:

Select "Settings" ->"Processing Unit Control" ->"PU Shutdown" on the main interface

After confirmation, wait for the processing unit to safely shut down

Select "Settings" → "Human Machine Interface Unit Control" → "HMI Shutdown"

After confirmation, wait for the human-machine interface unit to close

Turn off the power of the monitor

The system usually does not need to shut down frequently and should maintain continuous operation to respond to helicopter operation needs at any time.

2. Selection of operating standards

Users can choose one of three operating standards in the system:

CAP 437: Suitable for the UK continental shelf and international common scenarios, supporting two modes of "pre landing" and "deck landing"

NORMAM-27: Suitable for operations in Brazilian waters

NOROG: Suitable for operations on the Norwegian continental shelf

3. Helicopter types and day night restrictions

The operator needs to choose according to the actual situation:

Helicopter type: Class A or Class B (based on the evaluation of the helicopter's handling characteristics during landing and ship contact phases)

Deck Category: Divided by Ship Type and Day/Night Conditions

Day and night restrictions: daytime or nighttime operations

4. Mode switching

Under the CAP 437 standard, the system has two working modes:

Pre landing mode: The helicopter approaches the deck but has not yet landed

Deck Landing Mode: Helicopter has landed and come to a complete stop

Switch to deck landing mode:

Pilot reports helicopter magnetic heading

Enter the helicopter heading in the 'User Input' view

Click on 'Enter heading'

Confirm switching to deck landing mode

Switch back to pre landing mode:

After the helicopter leaves the deck, click on "Helicopter Departure"

Confirm switching back to pre landing mode

5. Deck repetitive light control

The operator can manually turn off or turn on the deck repeating lights through the system settings. After shutdown, the system interface will display a red warning message "Helicopter deck duplicate lights have been turned off", and the status view will also show a cross symbol to ensure that the operator is aware of the current status.

6. Generate deck report

Before each helicopter operation, the system can generate a deck report for use in flight planning and safety assessment. Report generation is divided into three steps:

Edit email: Fill in recipient address and other information

Create report and screenshot: Fill in general data, meteorological observation data, deck motion data, etc

Preview and send: Check the attachment and send an email

The reports under CAP 437 and NORMAM-27 standards are "meteorological reports", while under NOROG standards they are "deck reports", with the former containing richer data fields.

Detailed explanation of user interface

1. Interface organization

The user interface is divided into three main areas:

Top bar: Display current standard and mode, ship name, location, UTC time, service quality indicator, user configuration, application menu, settings menu

Sidebar: Provides mode switching and report generation entry

Main display area: dynamically display different views based on the selected standards and modes

2. Core View

User Input View

Used to select helicopter type, deck category, day and night conditions, and input helicopter heading. In deck landing mode, display the 'Helicopter Departure' button.

Status View

Display the current system status indicator:

Green: Sensor data is stable and effective

Red: Invalid or missing data

Yellow: unreliable data

Blue: Using simulated input data

Deck wind direction and heading view

Display deck orientation, vessel heading, wind direction, and wind speed in compass form. Users can choose between a 2-minute or 10 minute average statistical value.

Meteorological data view

Display data such as air pressure, temperature, dew point, visibility, cloud cover, wave height and period. Simultaneously display QNH and QFE correction values for air pressure.

Operation Status View

Display the access status and signal quality of each sensor (motion, wind direction, navigation).

3. CAP 437 Exclusive View

Relative wind direction restriction view: graphically displays the relationship between relative wind direction and wind speed, with red and amber warning areas indicated

View of changes after touching the ship: displays the trend of changes in heading and wind direction within 30 minutes after touching the ship

Deck Landing Stability Limitation View: Displaying Deck Stability with MSI/WSI Coordinate Diagram

Touch ship restriction view: displays the maximum and limit values for roll, pitch, heave rate, and tilt

4. NOROG and NORMAM-27 exclusive views

Deck restriction view: displays limit values for roll, pitch, tilt, and heave rates

Sports summary view: displays the maximum roll, pitch, tilt, and significant heave/heave rates in the past 20 minutes

Sports history view: selectable time range of 2 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 3 hours, displaying real-time trends of roll, pitch, heave rate, heave cycle, and maximum heave

Data Management and Logging

1. Data recording

The system records sensor data and operational events as binary IB files, with each file corresponding to a 10 minute data fragment. These files are stored in the processor unit and can be copied to a USB storage device through the "Data Export" function under the "Tools" menu.

2. Data Conversion and Analysis

The IBReader program is used to convert binary log files into CSV format for easy analysis in tools such as Excel. The converted CSV file contains:

sports data

meteorological data

Marine environmental data

Operation Change Record

Navigation data

Configuration files corresponding to each operational variable

When exporting, the IBReader program should be copied along with the log file to ensure file format compatibility.

Maintenance and troubleshooting

1. Regular maintenance

Maintenance project cycle description

The air filter of the processor unit should be cleaned at least every 6 months to prevent overheating

Meteorological sensor PTU module replacement every 3 years to ensure temperature and humidity measurement accuracy

MRU H/E/5 and MGC R2 calibration compensate for sensor characteristic drift every 5 years

MRU 5+and MGC R3 calibration compensate for sensor characteristic drift every 10 years

MRU 3 calibration compensates for sensor characteristic drift every 2 years

2. Common troubleshooting

Possible causes and solutions for the fault phenomenon

No power supply, poor power connection or blown fuse. Check the power connection and the fuse inside the power connector of the processor unit

Mouse idle without cursor timeout. Move the mouse to restore display

No wind information. The wind speed sensor is not outputting true wind data. Restart the system to enable relative wind data

IMU data invalid communication interruption or IMU fault inspection port monitor, cable connection, junction box fuse, shielding layer grounding

3. Return to factory for repair

The internal components of IMU (MRU or MGC) are precise and users are not allowed to disassemble them on their own. When calibration is required, the sensor body (excluding the installation bracket) should be returned to Kangshibo for repair or calibration using the original factory transport box. Before repairing, please contact customer support to obtain an RMA number.

Principles and definitions of computation

1. Significant heave rate

The significant heave rate is the average amplitude of the highest one-third heave rate in the past 20 minutes, calculated according to ATKINS Technical Specification No. 5077366-000-TN-1.

2. Maximum average heave rate

The system supports two calculation methods:

Norwegian method 1: Vavg=Hmax/(Tmax/2), where Hmax is the maximum total heave and Tmax is the corresponding heave cycle

Norwegian Method 4: Calculate the slope between each peak and valley using the actual time difference

Method 4 is more conservative and secure, and is the default setting of the system.

3. Tilt angle

The formula for calculating the maximum deck tilt angle is:

MaxInclination

=arccos(cos(MaxRoll)×cos(MaxPitch))

MaxInclination=arccos(cos(MaxRoll)×cos(MaxPitch))

4. Wind speed statistics

2-minute statistics: Output the maximum value that is more than 10 knots higher than the 2-minute average

10 minute statistics: Output the maximum value that exceeds the 10 minute average by more than 10 segments and lasts for more than 3 seconds

5. Deck report output variables

Maximum roll

Maximum pitch

Maximum tilt

Maximum uplift and subsidence

Maximum average heave rate

Significant heave rate

Product Limitations and Precautions

1. Export restrictions

The export of MRU and MGC products must comply with the export control regulations of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Export Administration Regulations, and may be subject to re export restrictions in the destination country.

2. Usage restrictions

The system is only used for ships with linear acceleration less than ± 30 m/s ² (± 3 g) and angular velocity less than ± 75 °/s

Relative dynamic heave measurement is limited to a motion cycle range of 1 to 25 seconds

The system, as an auxiliary tool for helicopter takeoff and landing, shall not be used as the sole navigation basis for helicopter operations

3. Network security

The system does not have antivirus or network security software installed. When connecting to external networks, the end user needs to develop their own security policies and take corresponding protective measures.