LiMain: Changing the way you think about maintenance

Accelerated by the global pandemic, there is a growing desire among platform operators for new approaches to regular maintenance. Previously, maintenance processes for offshore platform equipment were time-consuming, costly and required many resources. Additionally, platform owners face many obstacles that are difficult to manage, such as availability of personnel, weather conditions and need for professional expertise. To solve the tension between increased crane availability at lower OPEX in combination with a higher degree of independence from these conditions, Liebherr has launched a highly demanded product called LiMain. It is short for Liebherr Intelligent Maintenance, performing maintenance processes without having to operate the crane on site. The achievable savings are outstanding: LiMain offers up to 75% less mobilisation on unmanned platforms and up to 50 fewer service days on manned platforms per year

“We commit ourselves to shape the future of maintenance for our customers. LiMain will change the way they think about maintenance”, said Stefan Schneider, Global Application Manager for General Purpose Offshore Cranes, “the result of our commitment is an intelligent maintenance system, which solves challenges that platform operators have grappled with all around the world for years.”

Into the new age at customers’ pace

A customer-orientated key element of LiMain is its modular system architecture, which consists of four different modules: “Automatic Greasing”, “Condition Monitoring”, “Predictive Maintenance” and “Remote Maintenance Cycle”. Whereas “Automatic Greasing” speaks for itself, meaning that core components of the crane are continuously checked and automatically lubricated, the other modules set a new standard on different levels of maintenance. With modern sensor technology as a part of the “Condition Monitoring” module, detailed data about the crane and its components are monitored in real time, which delivers an unprecedented level of transparency. With “Predictive Maintenance”, Liebherr raises the bar even further: it puts ad-hoc data into context, building on decades of experience from the construction of more than 1,000 offshore cranes and sharing this knowledge with the customers. “Remote Maintenance Cycle” represents the all-inclusive-approach, which combines all LiMain modules and enables semiautomatic maintenance as well as self-diagnosis of the crane.

“In addition to high-quality cranes made in Germany, Liebherr is well known for its comprehensive customer service, which we have taken to the next level with Liebherr Intelligent Maintenance”, said Gregor Levold, Sales Director Offshore, Ship and Port Cranes, “due to the modular architecture, our customers have the freedom to choose how automated their processes should be, meeting the specific needs of each client. In the near future, LiMain will also be available for further products in our Liebherr maritime crane portfolio.”

Besides the usual maintenance processes, LiMain also has a positive effect on general logistics. The ability to pinpoint the optimal time to exchange spare parts eliminates unnecessary service intervals and results in more storage space for other equipment – keeping costs down and availability high.