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UniSea is extending its long-standing partnership with Norled, one of Norway's largest ferry and express boat operators, from HSEQ and operational management to a complete Fleet Management solution.
Following several years of successful use of UniSea HSEQ across its fleet, Norled has chosen to implement additional UniSea modules across all 80 vessels. The expanded scope includes Maintenance, Procurement, Maindeck (Dry Docking), Inspections and Analytics, bringing Norled onto UniSea's fully integrated technical platform.
At the heart of the agreement are UniSea Maintenance and UniSea Procurement, the two modules that will carry the day-to-day technical workload for Norled's crews and shore organization.
UniSea Maintenance gives Norled one planned maintenance system for the whole fleet, built to be used by the people onboard. Jobs, running hours, component history and spare parts live in one place, with the same structure on every vessel. For a fleet operating fixed schedules along the entire Norwegian coast, predictable maintenance planning translates directly into vessel availability.
UniSea Procurement covers the process from start to finish. Requisitions raised from a maintenance job flow straight into purchasing, with approval, supplier communication and receipt handled in the same system. The result is full traceability on what was ordered, the reason for ordering, the component it is for and its cost, without having to rely on emails and spreadsheets.
For Norled, the starting point for the decision was the people who will use the system every day. Arnulf Bie, Head of Technical Operations and Maintenance at Norled, explains: "For us it's critically important to have the reality and the needs of the users onboard front-and-center as we make our choice of systems. We know UniSea as an easy to use tool for HSEQ already, and very much appreciate the focus on the end-user-experience in the technical modules as well."
The decision followed a broad evaluation of the market. Lisbeth E. Skogland, Head of Digital at Norled, describes what tipped the balance: "Changing a business-critical system in any organization is a big deal. We have done a broad screening of solutions and providers in the market before making our decision. A key element for choosing UniSea for Maintenance and Procurement is their focus on using the latest available technologies, focus on data-quality, predictive maintenance, AI, and a collaborative approach to how we will work together going forward."
Maintenance and Procurement will handle most of the day-to-day work onboard, but they are only part of the picture. Norled is also bringing in Maindeck, Inspections and Analytics, and the case for those three rests less on what each does on its own than on how they connect to the maintenance data already being built up across the fleet.
The clearest example is dry-docking. With UniSea Maindeck, work identified during operation can be planned straight into the next docking project, and once the docking is complete, the scope is written back into the vessel's maintenance history. The docking stops being a separate project living in its own files and becomes part of the same record.
The same logic applies to inspections. UniSea Inspections lets crew and superintendents run any inspection from the offline mobile app, and a finding can be turned into a work order in Maindeck in a few taps, at the point where it is observed rather than later at a desk.
UniSea Analytics then draws on all of it. Because maintenance, procurement, docking and inspections share the same data, Norled gets fleet-wide visibility into maintenance status, procurement spend and docking performance from one source, without assembling reports from several systems.
For the crews, the practical effect is that nothing needs to be stored in an email, a notebook or a separate file. A finding, a job, a purchase and a docking task follow the same workflow across the platform, and the full history stays with the vessel.
Kurt Roar Vilhelmsen, CEO of UniSea, welcomed the expanded agreement: "Norled has been with us for many years, and it means a great deal that they now choose to put their entire technical operation on our platform as well. This is exactly what UniSea has been built for: one fleet management system where safety, maintenance, procurement, docking and inspections share the same data and the same workflow. Running that across 80+ vessels for one of Norway's largest ferry operators is a milestone for us, and we look forward to delivering on it."
Norled AS is one of Norway's largest ferry and express boat operators, running services along the entire coast from the Oslofjord to Troms. The company is headquartered in Stavanger with offices in Bergen and Oslo, and has around 1,000 employees. Norled has invested heavily in new vessel types and low- and zero-emission technology, and put the world's first all-electric car ferry, MF Ampere, into service in 2015.
UniSea is a software provider specializing in solutions for the maritime industry, helping companies optimize operations, enhance compliance, and improve sustainability efforts. Founded in Skudeneshavn, Norway, where the company maintains its headquarters, UniSea has grown over almost three decades to serve a fleet of more than 4,000 vessels with a team of more than 130 employees.
The company's platform offers more than 40 integrated modules that support shipping companies in managing various operational processes, including safety management, environmental compliance, maintenance operations, and performance monitoring. UniSea continuously listens to its users and regularly releases new and improved solutions, ensuring the platform evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of the maritime industry.