Damen Naval and ILIAS Solutions have reinforced their strategic collaboration at a special kick-off event. The two companies have been working together since 2021 on the new Autonomous Asset Management (A2M) solution, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was not possible to present the software to representatives of the Dutch and Belgian Defence industry earlier.

“This is a great moment and one that highlights how important this is for us,” Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene told the guests in attendance. “You can build a beautiful ship, but it must also be well maintained. “In our recently recalibrated company strategy, one of our key objectives is that, in addition to delivering a vessel, we keep close contact with the customer for maintenance throughout the lifetime of the delivered vessel.”

During a ceremonial signing ceremony, ILIAS Solutions Managing Director Jean-Pierre Wildschut (l) and Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene put their signatures to the agreement. During a ceremonial signing ceremony, ILIAS Solutions Managing Director Jean-Pierre Wildschut (l) and Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene put their signatures to the agreement.

ILIAS Solutions managing director Jean-Pierre Wildschut added that the kick-off event was a great day and thanked Damen Naval for the trust in his company. “We have worked hard over the past months, but the real work starts now. We know how much added value A2M can bring.”

A2M is a software for digitally managing maintenance on board military ships without the need for a connection to shore. Once the connection to shore is possible, data can be exchanged. The software is ready to use advanced algorithms to use ship data to detect and even predict required maintenance.

Representatives from CZSK, the Dutch COMMIT (previously DMO) and the Belgian counterpart Directorate General Material Resources were invited to the kick-off event. Representatives from CZSK, the Dutch COMMIT (previously DMO) and the Belgian counterpart Directorate General Material Resources were invited to the kick-off event.

Representatives from CZSK, the Dutch Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT) and the Belgian counterpart Directorate General Material Resources were invited to the kick-off event. There were also guests from companies, organisations, and knowledge institutes such as Thales, RH Marine, research centre Royal NLR, the Dutch Defence Academy and Agoria from Belgium. Participants were given a short presentation and could attend a demonstration of the product.

Product Manager ILS & Service support Niek Marsé is the driving force behind the collaboration within Damen Naval and hosted the event. “It was a very successful event where we were able to show what A2M already has to offer and its potential. It is an important step towards digitising the maintenance process and sets a foundation towards predictive maintenance.”

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