DHI and FORCE Technology expand their collaboration

11 May 2016

Each year thousands of participants join courses on water, environment and ship simulation at THE ACADEMY BY DHI and FORCE Technology.

The two GTS institutions have many things in common. DHI focuses on the ship’s surroundings; water, environment, soil and shore while FORCE Technology focuses on the ship itself as well as the effects of wind, current and wave.

The collaboration started in the 1980’s and has developed ever since. ”We have increased our cooperation the last couple of years - in Denmark as well as internationally. Thanks to our R&D activities, we have been able to cooperate on developing completely new methods for e.g. optimising navigation channels for the maritime and port oriented industry. In this case we combined our skills to develop new tools that have already achieved great success abroad,” says Henrik Kofoed-Hansen, Vice President, Marine Water, DHI.

The institutes have included each other in projects where they could draw upon each other’s expertise to give the customer the best results. An example of this is when DHI develops accurate data for FORCE Technology’s simulators. This way the customer only needs one supplier to obtain the most qualified solution and expert knowledge from two areas. 

Combined course

FORCE Technology recently started offering courses in jack-up and dynamic positioning. When performing jack-up operations, knowledge of the seabed and metocean conditions are crucial. This is where DHI’s expertise is essential - which is why a combined course was established.

”Scour (erosion) problems are an issue costing mariners large sums of money every single year. This happens as a result of a lack of knowledge. At DHI, we have this expertise as well as metoecan knowledge on wind, waves and current. This knowledge is the foundation of jack-up operations. If you know how to avoid punch-through during jacking operations, you can save millions of kroner,” Henrik explains. 

The course is a combination of theory and practical exercises in the simulator. The simulator is a unique tool when it comes to providing the complete hands-on experience of what actually happens during these operations. ”The simulator lets the participants try out things that could be very expensive in reality. In the simulator, they can take things to the limit without it having any consequences. The participants can simply train skills that they can use in their jobs,” Cathrine Steenberg, Head of Department for simulation, training and ports at FORCE Technology explains.