INTERVIEW The power of reliable equipment data Almaco has developed its Digital Inventory tool to provide passenger ship owners with precise data to improve the performance of onboard hotel equipment, says Hervé Touzard Accurate data is essential for smooth and cost-effective cruise ship operations, especially in modern, technology-driven vessels. Yet there is an opportunity for many cruise lines to improve upon their current practices, says Hervé Touzard, president of the lifecycle services division at Almaco Group. “On a typical ship, up to 50 per cent of the hotel equipment information is inaccurate,” says Touzard. “By improving the quality of that data, a cruise line can cut costs and reduce mistakes significantly.” To solve this issue, Almaco created the Digital Inventory, a web-based tool connected to a mobile application that gives access to accurate equipment lists, models, brands, manuals, maintenance reports and interactive spare part lists. “This solution empowers crew and management to participate in upkeeping the data to work more efficiently while reducing errors, maintenance delays and spare part mismatches,” says Touzard. The Digital Inventory is a part of the broader Almaco Hotel Management Platform. The platform provides an overview of the installed base of equipment, asset management, energy monitoring and remote monitoring of the ship’s refrigeration machinery. For instance, when the Digital Inventory is integrated with Almaco’s energy management system, users can track energy consumption and running hours directly within the same tool. “The biggest proof of value has been seeing it in the hands of our own service engineers,” says Touzard. “Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – they say there’s no going back to the old way of working. They simply love it.” Almaco’s solution has been deployed across all five ships in the Marella Cruises fleet, with the cruise line becoming one of the first to adopt the technology in the industry. The collected digital equipment inventory data in Almaco’s system is used to update existing onboard systems to ensure alignment and data accuracy. The system sends notifications when updates are needed, helping maintain a fully synchronised and up-to-date database. “What impresses me the most is the value to the crew,” says Matthew Easton, hotel technical manager at Marella Cruises. “They can work more efficiently, helping them meet the needs of passengers and increase satisfaction. The potential is huge – not only for maintaining the current fleet but also for integrating the system into newbuilds and retrofits. We’re now able to streamline maintenance and spare part logistics with precision.” The full rollout for all five Marella ships was completed in early summer 2025. Almaco’s Digital Inventory provides up-to-date data on the hotel equipment onboard a vessel Photo: Almaco 157
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