18 October 2007

BMEA Conference Report

Acting Chairman, Tim Christie, addressed the delegates at the start of the 2007 Conference. He welcomed all who had made the effort to attend and thanked the Executive Committee for all the voluntary work they put in during the year.

Our first speaker was Chris Merrell from Garmin talked about the history of innovation, the background to the company’s development, its huge growth, specifically in the vehicle satnav field.

Chris was followed by Dr Sally Basker, Trinity House, talking about the GLA’s Radionavigation activity. Sally told us that she is responsible for the research and radio navigation for all three authorities. Explaining the make up of the GLA, the three authorities responsible for maritime navigation facilities, Sally said that the GLA is not a government agency and is paid for by its users. She also emphasised that the buoyage and lighthouses will always be retained. The GLA’s users ranged from the surfboarders to super-tankers. AIS(Automatic Identification System) class B she considered was the most important recent development enabling commercial vessels to see small craft. Talking about GPS, she said there would be 3 civil GPS signals by 2017 and that the time scale for Galileo, the European equivalent of GPS is expected to be 2014 - 2016. EGNOS, the European augmentation system would be linked to both GPS and Galileo but expressed the view that the 300 kHz beacons providing differential position fixing are much better and less prone to interference. For the benefit of pilots boarding commercial vessels, there would be a standard mode of display on bridges so that the pilots would be automatically familiar with the navigational displays. More reliance will be placed on electronic systems. Finally, Sally provided details of the eLORAN system being developed to provide a land-based and alternative to GPS and other satellite systems. With the huge difference in radio power and frequencies involved, eLORAN could take over when the satellite systems failed or suffered interference, either man-made or natural.

Following a coffee break, Paul James from DHL presented an insight of the WEEE Directive, the legal disposal of electrical and electronic equipment of all types. DHL had been in this business for some 10 years but it now had a new name! The company has around 700 WEEE customers and Paul explained the somewhat complicated systems required to comply with the law. He went though these in great detail and while not an exciting subject, it is one that all manufacturers and retailers must understand and comply with, especially as he expects enforcement to become much more severe in 2008. By 2009, it is expected that there will be a full review of the Directive. Paul finished with a Q/A session including the disposal of non-WEEE products that occur in the marine industry.

After an excellent buffet lunch, David Lamb from St James’s Place Capital plc gave a very informative and perhaps worrying presentation of how increased life expectancy will affect our wealth or lack of it! He showed a series of fascinating statistics, pointing out that each 30 year period has resulted in an increase in average life span of around 10 years. In addition, one’s life span was very much determined by where one lives with as much as 30 years difference between the shortest and longest life expectancies.

Following David’s presentation, Peter Bradley from the RNLI talked about today’s communication for SAR in use by the RNLI. Peter showed us some very early pictures of lifeboats, the days of cork lifejackets and pulling lifeboats; then the early SSB radio equipment in use before we had VHF, mobile phones etc. He referred to the RNLI’s “Rapid Response Units” that had been around for several years and that were called in to use during non-maritime incidents such as flooding, including their use abroad when requested to help. Now the RNLI can respond up to 100 miles out and for an incident within 10 miles, they can arrive at the scene within 30 minutes. Today the latest design, the Tamar class uses “SIMS” a Systems and Information Management System. Integrated bridge systems are in use and despite these, Peter pointed out that the traditional method of navigation and the “mark 1″ eyeball were still taught. With their own college, in-house training has made huge financial savings. Hovercraft are also employed when the situation is such that conventional draft cannot be used. Finally he emphasised that communication was king and the key to successful rescue work.

Rob Stevens, BMF ceo talked about his ideas of the future. He showed some predictions for 2017 and expressed the view that we must drive the industry forward. Rob referred to the matter of fuel usage and the fact that the generation of electricity would become mainly nuclear sourced. He quoted Halyard as a company who had made a major contribution to the reduction of noise, one of today’s major pollutants. The superyacht industry was booming and provides a demonstration of wealth. Rob also said there was a great need for more access to water. Following a very interesting talk, he called for questions to which there was a considerable response concerning the London Boat Show at ExCel.

Finally, Reg Suter and Julian Coleman talked about the BMET certification, its progress and the future. The Advanced level will be split into separate electrical and electronic sections. Julian pointed out that there had been a misunderstanding of the requirements for practical tasks which he clarified. A meeting with NMEA members during the METS exhibition in November is planned. Reg asked the question ‘do we need the BMET qualification?’. He feels it will lead to better installations and thus better reliability and he hopes that dealers will publicise the fact that they employ BMET certificated engineers.

Following this, Ian Lockyer of Icom (www.icomuk.co.uk) showed the totally re-designed BMEA website that has been his responsibility over the last 6 months. Right up to date and far more comprehensive that previously, he wants to see the BMEA as an authority on marine electrical and electronic matters and requested any relevant information from members for inclusion on the site.

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