Marine equipment operates in an environment where control systems cannot afford to be an afterthought.
Changing sea states, heavy loads, vessel movement, limited service access, and demanding operating schedules place unique requirements on deck machinery and the controls behind it.
Systems Interface designs, integrates, commissions, and supports marine control systems for workboats, tugboats, barges, oceanographic research vessels, and other specialized marine applications.
From automated winches and deck machinery to vessel monitoring and alarm systems, our engineers develop controls around the equipment, operating conditions, and people who depend on them.
On land, the equipment moves.
At sea, everything moves.
That changes the engineering problem.
Line tension can change as vessels respond to waves. Heavy loads must remain controlled through changing conditions. Winches, drives, sensors, brakes, and operator controls must respond as a coordinated system.
Systems Interface brings decades of experience to these applications, developing control systems designed around the mechanical behavior of marine equipment and the conditions in which it operates.
Our marine experience includes:
Automated winch control is one of the areas where SII's marine experience becomes especially specialized.
Systems Interface has worked alongside Markey Machine as a controls partner, co-engineering automated deck equipment for new vessels and retrofit applications. That relationship combines Markey's deck machinery with SII's control, drive, HMI, manufacturing, commissioning, and support capabilities.
SII's experience includes automated Render/Recover applications designed to manage changing line tension and reduce snap loads in challenging sea states, along with embedded processes for bollard pull, tension calibration, drum-layer compensation, and system data capture.
The existing SII material documents 400+ systems delivered and more than 30 years of design experience in this area.
Marine equipment manufacturers need more than someone who can program a PLC.
The controls must become part of the equipment.
Systems Interface works alongside OEM engineering teams to develop control architectures, drive systems, operator interfaces, control panels, software, and commissioning processes around the machinery being built.
That can extend from the initial system design through manufacturing and deployment, followed by troubleshooting and lifecycle support once the equipment is operating in the field.
The result is a relationship where SII can function as an extension of the OEM's engineering capabilities rather than simply supplying one component of the finished system.
Systems Interface supports marine projects with capabilities including:
Systems can be developed for new equipment or engineered around existing vessels and machinery as part of retrofit and modernization projects.
SII's marine experience is best demonstrated by systems already operating in demanding real-world conditions.
Systems Interface designed and built the winch controls for the Capt. Brian A. McAllister, including the HMI console and shared VFD drive system supporting a Markey Machine 100-hp Class III escort winch on the bow and a 75-hp towing winch on the stern.
The Tier 4 tug was built for escort, assist, and towing operations involving large vessels calling at U.S. ports and was featured during New York City's Fleet Week.
For escort tug operations near Costa Azul off the Baja California coast, Systems Interface worked as Markey Machine's controls partner on an advanced electric winch designed for challenging sea conditions.
The double-drum waterfall winch incorporated an automated Render/Recover system designed to maintain line tension as the tug moves, helping prevent snap loads and line breakage.
Systems Interface contributed to the design, manufacturing, and commissioning of the winch drive and control system.
Through its ongoing controls partnership with Markey Machine, Systems Interface has supported automated deck machinery used across demanding marine applications.
This work includes automated winch controls, Class II, Class II+, and Class III hawser systems, advanced Render/Recover applications, integrated data capture, and controls designed around the operating and maintenance requirements of the finished equipment.
Marine systems may operate hundreds or thousands of miles from the engineers who designed them.
That makes service strategy part of the engineering strategy.
Systems Interface supports deployed marine systems through a combination of on-vessel engineering service and remote troubleshooting.
Support capabilities include:
Remote-access capabilities can allow engineers to diagnose certain system issues without waiting for an on-site visit, while field engineers can board vessels when hands-on troubleshooting or commissioning is required.
SII's documented experience includes automated winch systems, towing and escort winches, vessel management and alarm systems, mining barge controls, cranes, davits, drive systems, and other marine deck machinery.
Yes. SII has a long-standing controls partnership with Markey Machine and works alongside OEM engineering teams to integrate automation, drives, HMIs, panels, and other controls into finished equipment.
Yes. SII's documented marine work includes both new-build and retrofit applications.
Yes. SII provides on-vessel troubleshooting and engineering support as well as remote troubleshooting capabilities for supported systems.
Yes. This is one of SII's most established marine specialties, with decades of experience in automated winch systems, drive controls, tension management, Render/Recover applications, and related operator controls.
Yes. SII supplies complete drive system packages that can include custom ABB/Baldor motors and Stearns brakes.
Marine automation is ultimately about confidence in the equipment.
The operator needs the system to respond predictably. The OEM needs the controls to perform as part of the machine. The vessel owner needs equipment that can be supported throughout its operating life.
Systems Interface brings the controls engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and service capabilities together to support that entire lifecycle.
Whether you're developing new marine equipment, retrofitting an existing vessel, engineering a deck machinery control system, or troubleshooting equipment already in operation, bring us the application.
We'll start with how it needs to work.