JBO makes full switch to Sesam software for offshore wind
German engineering consultancy JBO has switched to DNV’s web-based software Sesam for structural analysis to increase efficiency and improve their offshore wind turbine (OWT) foundation designs. This means they can also take full advantage of Sesam’s cloud computing capabilities.
JBO (Jörss-Blunck-Ordemann GmbH), the engineering consultancy headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has a growing presence in offshore wind. In late 2023, JBO acquired licenses for DNV’s Sesam software to improve the quality and speed of their jacket designs for offshore wind substructures.
Walid Al Otaibi, Director Offshore at JBO, explains. “We were looking at the market to see what software was specifically designed for offshore wind. At the end of last year, we decided it was time to switch to Sesam,” he says.
Al Otaibi, whose education is in civil and structural engineering, joined JBO in 2014, after having been involved in constructing several skyscrapers in megacities on the Persian Gulf. Since entering the offshore industry, he has been involved in designing, verifying and constructing substructures in the offshore wind sector.
Within days of the purchase of Sesam, DNV’s support team offered JBO extensive training for the software. “The training was very fast,” says Al Otaibi. “I’m really surprised how fast it was and how easily we’re getting answers. We work with multiple software packages and we’ve rarely experienced a comparable support. Not only that the people in support have been going out of their way, checking what we’ve been doing and giving us feedback. That’s been very helpful,” he says.
The full switch to Sesam software
After just two months of using their new Sesam software package, JBO made another big decision, says Al Otaibi. “When we acquired Sesam, we decided to use it for jacket type wind turbine generator foundations, and to maintain an alternative application for substation foundations. Two weeks ago, we decided to switch completely to Sesam for all jacket type substructure activities,” he says.
This decision came after their experience with Sesam during an ongoing project with a tight schedule.
Ali Aidibi, structural design engineer at JBO, confirms his satisfaction with the new capabilities that became available with the switch. He has previously evaluated and reported on SCF and fatigue damage of a tubular KT joint for an offshore jacket structure within his masters thesis.
“Now we’re working on an ongoing project, in parallel as we’re learning Sesam,” says Aidibi. “It’s very good and quite intuitive. The different colour-coding options are very important, it is certainly an advantage over other applications,” says Aidibi.
Interface with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers
“One of the reasons why we wanted to switch to Sesam is that it has a well-established interface to the OEM suppliers’ load calculation software,” says Al Otaibi. “We actually tested it in an ongoing project, and we can confirm that the interface works seamlessly”.
“Especially for complicated structures like jackets, the interface with the OEMs on super elements, transferring them back and forth — the environment in Sesam is tailored to the different applications used by the OEM suppliers. It’s near to perfect. We didn’t have to write new code to be able to do that because Sesam already provided it.”
The power of Sesam in the cloud
Another benefit of Sesam is the power of the cloud. “We are making strong use of the cloud computing power,” says Al Otaibi. “This is something that not all software provides. We’re saving significant time in the pre- and post-processing of loads.”
So, after only two months of use, the verdict is that JBO has been both proud and surprised at what they have already achieved with Sesam software.
Rapid implementation and customer delivery
“Within this time, we were able to run a load iteration with the OEM supplier,” says Al Otaibi. “It was a light one. We didn’t run all load cases. But tending the models, comparing the natural frequency, and getting the loads back – load retrieval – all took place within this period of less than two months. That speaks for itself. Rolling out a new software, training the staff, using online documentation and support, being able to run such analysis already within two months? I think that’s quite impressive.”
About JBO
Jörss - Blunck - Ordemann GmbH is an engineering consultancy based in Germany with over 60 years of history. It is active in preparing and examining structural designs in buildings, civil structures, offshore structures, property planning, and structural supervision. While the construction and civil engineering departments have existed since the early days of JBO, the renewable energies sector, especially offshore wind energy, was started in 2014. With 80 employees, the engineering consultancy is well-positioned for various tasks, from the initiation of first drafts to the detailed design engineering, construction and site supervision.
Profile
Website: www.j-b-o.de
Market: Engineering services for energy industries
Employees: 80+
Product: Sesam Online
Customer feedback
Why we chose DNV:
- DNV is market-leading in software for offshore wind
- Good experience in years of use of DNV’s Bladed software
This is what we gained:
- Tailor-made software for offshore wind
- Seamless interface with OEM supplier software
- Effective calculations using the power of the cloud
- Impressive speed of training and understanding of the software