
Could a secret weapon from British Cycling transform your emissions reduction strategy and deliver greater wins for your fleet?
Even if you don’t follow competitive cycling, you may have heard of the philosophy of marginal gains. This simple secret transformed the fortunes of British Cycling – and it could it transform your maritime emissions reduction journey too.
Back in 2003, British Cycling wasn’t in a good place, with no Olympic gold medal wins for nearly 100 years. David Brailsford came in with the aim to improve as many things as possible by just 1%, knowing that combining these smaller improvements would bring significant advances. His approach worked: from 2007 to 2017, the British Cycling team won 178 world championships and 66 Olympic or Paralympic gold medals.
Could marginal gains be the secret weapon you need to reduce your maritime emissions? Here are just three examples of where marginal gains can be achieved.
While much of the discussion around decarbonisation leads with fuel-saving hardware and software, smaller efficiency improvement can sometimes be overlooked. But making sure engines are operating as efficiently as possible can have a significant effect on your decarbonisation journey. Lots of small improvements can add up to substantial fuel savings – and therefore a significant reduction in emissions. The starting point for identifying these improvements? Data. This begins with the simple: making sure the vessel’s powertrain is optimised to match the operating profile, with the flexibility to cover your full range of sailing speeds.
The more data you collect, the more you can do to reduce your vessel’s overall carbon emissions. Every single component has a part to play. For example, exchanging a filter or cleaning an air cooler at the right time can help to cut fuel consumption by around 2% – and data can tell us when that time is. With accurate engine data, many common operational issues – for example an engine not starting or not operating as efficiently as it could – can even be solved remotely. Even very small deviations in performance can be picked up, allowing you to take prompt action before the problem potentially develops into something more serious. Keeping components operating optimally helps to increase efficiency and minimise emissions.
Data can also show you when it’s safe to not replace a component or perform an overhaul because everything is working fine. This saves the costs and carbon emissions associated with manufacturing, shipping and fitting parts unnecessarily. It also allows you to extend equipment lifetimes without worrying about inefficient operation increasing your emissions. Keeping maintenance costs down also frees up capital to spend on other emissions reduction solutions.
Hand-picked content:
Meet your emission reduction targets – guaranteed. This infographic shows this and four other ways a Lifecycle Agreement can help you get ahead of your competition.
The easiest way to find the marginal gains that will work for you is with a trusted partner and a lifecycle service agreement. This can help you achieve much greater efficiency, typically 2-3% - but depending on the ship type, installed equipment, operating profile, the impact may be up to 20%. The benefits from Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreements are all based on solid, actionable data. Support is available on four levels:
Hand-picked content:
Current Lifecycle customers include Carnival Corporation – find out how a 12-year performance-based agreement is saving the company tens of millions of dollars a year in fuel costs.
The philosophy of marginal gains could be the secret you need to make your emissions reduction strategy look awesome, by making many small improvements that add up to one big result.
If you’re looking to reduce emissions – and want to see your marginal gains add up to significant ones – it could be time to add your vessel to the 700 ships currently supported by a Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement. With 92% of customers renewing their agreement, it’s no secret that long-term gains are there for those that know where to find them.
Now you’re in on the secret, do you want to use it to give your emissions reduction strategy a boost? Find out how the benefits of a lifecycle agreement really add up.