Ampelmann’s motion-compensated gangways make it possible to transfer people and cargo safely between moving vessels and offshore installations.
Operating those gangways was a different matter. Each system required its own operator, working close to the equipment on deck and exposed to the conditions around it. Moving the operator to the safety of the ship’s bridge would reduce that exposure—but also take away the direct line of sight that safe operation depends on.
Cameras could restore that view. Only if what the operator saw was what was actually happening. In an operation where timing matters, even a small delay between movement, control and image can become a safety risk.
Ampelmann set out to develop the Joint Operator System: an operating environment from which one person could oversee multiple gangway systems.
WARP developed the video wall at the heart of that environment. We brought the different camera feeds and operational screens together in one clear view, giving the operator the visual context needed to monitor and control each system from the bridge.
This was not a matter of fitting as many feeds as possible onto a large screen. We worked on the hierarchy, positioning and behaviour of every view, so the operator could immediately see what required attention and act without searching.
Latency was treated as a safety requirement, not a technical detail. The complete chain—from camera and network to processing, display and control—had to respond as close to real time as possible
The Joint Operator System gives Ampelmann a safer and more scalable way to run offshore operations. Instead of placing an operator beside every gangway, multiple systems can be brought together at one workstation on the ship’s bridge.
That reduces the number of people exposed to offshore conditions and allows one operator to maintain a clear overview across operations. Fewer people on deck, without losing sight of what is happening there.
The bridge is an important first step. The same foundation opens the door to operating gangways from an onshore control centre, removing the need for operators to travel to every location. Offshore work, with the operator increasingly out of the offshore.
