Challenge

Heerema Marine Contractors are well known for tackling some of the toughest offshore decommissioning projects, operating some of the world’s largest crane vessels. When they needed a better way to plan and deliver for a client, they turned to us for support.

Working on older assets brought its own set of challenges. Information was often poor, and teams had to rely on fragmented documentation and manual surveys (drawings, photos, and handwritten notes). With short windows offshore, limited POB, and asset data that was frequently out of date, it was difficult to get the full picture. That made planning, risk assessments, and collaboration harder than it should be, increasing uncertainty and costs. Without a single, up-to-date visual reference, teams were left making assumptions at the bidding stage, and crucial information could easily get lost between tender and execution, leading to rework and inefficiencies. What they really needed was a clear visual source of truth to plan confidently, every time, across a portfolio of assets.

Solution

With just two days offshore to capture everything needed for planning a complex decommissioning project on a massive (~10,000sqm – 10,000 metric tonnes) deep-water asset in the Gulf, Heerema turned to us for a new approach. Using our self-capture kit, their team surveyed the entire facility, including hard-to-reach areas like the flare tip, gathering high-definition 360° imagery and dimensional data with both tripod and hardhat-mounted cameras.

A quick online training session meant the team hit the ground running, and they were able to start transferring data before even leaving the country. Within two weeks, Heerema had a complete digital visualisation of the asset, ready to explore in the R2S platform from anywhere.

R2S became their shared workspace from tender through execution, linking tags, drawings, and documents, supporting light weight integrations with planning and collaboration tools, and making lifts planning, hazards identification, and stakeholder collaboration easier. By moving to an enterprise licence, Heerema now uses this approach across their portfolio of projects, cutting out the hassle of starting from scratch each time.

Impact

• Tighter, lower-assumption bids: Real-world measurements and visual context reduced guesswork and improved accuracy from the tender stage.

• Faster, smoother execution: The same digital platform supported work orders, lift plans, SIMOPS reviews, inductions, and contractor briefings, keeping everyone aligned and keeping momentum from planning to execution.

• Speed-to-value at scale: Rapid turnarounds, repeatable processes, and blended training meant Heerema could deliver results faster, with less risk and greater confidence.

• Permanent digital record: R2S now serves as a lasting resource for planning, collaboration, and training, reducing the need for repeat offshore visits and enhancing communication with all stakeholders.

• Transferable beyond decommissioning: This approach is now being applied to modification/upgrade project where visual certainty and collaboration are key.