CPN Systems
CPN Fixes Yacht Remotely
A site visit wasn’t an option!
CPN Systems has a strong reputation for fixing problems in automation systems quickly and efficiently, even when the company wasn’t the original supplier. Nevertheless, despite its wide experience, responding to a plea for help on a Sunday afternoon from an engineer with fieldbus problem on a luxury yacht 2,000 miles away was definitely a first!
One Sunday afternoon, Carl Nash, Managing Director of CPN Systems was finishing up a project in his office. His phone kept ringing but whenever he tried to answer, he couldn’t hear the person at the other end. However, after several failed attempts, the connection finally improved and Carl learned that an engineer working on a luxury yacht off the coast of Greece was in urgent need of help to diagnose and fix a malfunctioning Profibus system on a luxury yacht.
Steven Clarsen, the engineer, was working on the luxury charter vessel S/Y Koo. He had made many calls in an attempt to contact someone with the necessary expertise to help him solve the problem but, as it was a Sunday evening, hardly any of his calls were answered.
“I tried CPN Systems on a whim, as it was a Sunday and most businesses were closed”, recalls Steven. “I was actually in Corfu, Greece at the time but needed urgent specialist help. I had just started a new job in charge of engineering on the 140ft sailing yacht with some very complicated electrically controlled hydraulic sailing control gear. I’d only been working on the yacht three days, so I’d had no time to become familiar with the equipment, and the whole system went down!”
Steven managed to narrow down the potential issues, and came to the tentative conclusion that the problem lay with the vessel’s Profibus-based remote I/O system. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if his diagnosis was correct and, even if it was, he didn’t know where he could quickly source the spare parts that would be needed to fix it.
“My new boss, whom I was meeting for the first time, was arriving in less than a day and we were not even able to raise the anchors, let alone go sailing. That was a huge problem for the millionaire who was chartering the yacht”, he said.
“Luckily, Carl at CPN Systems answered his phone and was immediately helpful even though he was sitting in an office more than 2,000 miles away! Because of his extensive experience with Profibus systems, he was able to diagnose the problem – which turned out to be unreliable connectors on bus coupler units – without even seeing the boat. He also explained how I could test the system to confirm the diagnosis and even told me where I could get the parts I needed in the shortest possible time. To say I was relieved would be a massive understatement!”
“The whole experience with CPN Systems was very positive and I would not hesitate to recommend the company’s services. I will certainly be calling on CPN again – it’s a friendly, technically astute company with people who are passionate about problem solving. And it’s a company that genuinely cares about its customers. Impressive!”
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