National Instruments has announced Houlder as a global finalist for  their Engineering Impact Awards in the Energy category.  The awards, presented at a ceremony held during the annual NIWeek conference in Austin, Texas, on May 22, recognise companies and universities that use the NI platform to develop innovative applications that address societal and engineering challenges.  Houlder was selected for its offshore wind handling equipment.

Frederic Perdrix, Houlder’s Chief Technical Officer commented; “We are delighted to have been recognised on the international stage by National Instruments.”

The selected application used NI CompactRIO and LabVIEW products to rapidly and cost effectively develop a precision control system to lift, upend and position 855t offshore wind foundation piles. Houlder’s clients required two pile upending tools for operation on board the heavy-lift jack-up installation vessels MPI Discovery (below) and Swire Blue Ocean Pacific Orca.  The tools lift monopiles that will be driven into the seabed to act as foundations for offshore wind turbines.

“Every year, the Engineering Impact Awards leave me energized and inspired,” said Dave Wilson, vice president of software product marketing at NI. “Our customers deserve to be celebrated for their technically challenging and innovative work, and it’s an honor to present our finalists at this event. I’m proud to know our customers are being empowered by the NI platform.”

NI received more than 120 submissions from 34 countries around the world, and a technical panel of experts selected just 15 as finalists for the following awards: Aerospace and Defense, Electronics and Semiconductor, Energy, Industrial Machinery, Transportation, Research, Chairman’s Award, Humanitarian Award and Intel Internet of Things Award. Award winners are determined in each category based on several criteria, including technical difficulty, engineering, business, or societal impact, and benefits achieved from using the solution.

Learn more about the Engineering Impact Awards at ni.com/impactawards.