NM209 - Marine Design Production - v01

NM 209
Principles of Marine Design

and Production
University of Strathclyde
2013
NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

__________________________________________________________________________
Contents
Contents ....................................................................................................................................... i
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... iii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. iv
1.
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Goal of the Shipbuilder ................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Key Features of the Product .......................................................................................... 1
1.3 The Life Cycle of Ships ................................................................................................ 2
1.4 Characteristics of Shipbuilding ..................................................................................... 3
1.5 Key Activities in Shipbuilding...................................................................................... 4
1.6 The Ship Design Process .............................................................................................. 6
1.7 Special Characteristics of an Offshore Construction Yard ........................................... 9
1.8 The Offshore Design and Production Process ............................................................ 10
2.
FACILITIES.................................................................................................................. 12
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 12
2.2 Production Organisation ............................................................................................. 12
2.3 Shipyard Layout .......................................................................................................... 13
2.4 Development of Shipbuilding Yards .......................................................................... 15
2.5 Comments ................................................................................................................... 19
3.
PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES ................................................................................... 21
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 21
3.2 Straightening Techniques............................................................................................ 21
3.3 Methods of Cutting ..................................................................................................... 22
3.4 Forming Techniques ................................................................................................... 25
3.5 Welding Processes ...................................................................................................... 28
3.6 Minimising Distortion ................................................................................................. 36
3.7 Materials Handling...................................................................................................... 39
3.8 Outfitting - Tasks involved ......................................................................................... 42
4.
THE SHIPBUILDING PROCESS ................................................................................ 47
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 47
4.2 Traditional Processes and Modern Approaches .......................................................... 48
4.3 An Introduction to Group Technology ....................................................................... 49
4.4 Work Breakdown - A Group Technology Approach .................................................. 52
4.5 Build Strategy and Shipbuilding Policy ...................................................................... 54
4.6 Relationship between Shipbuilding Policy and Build Strategy .................................. 56
4.7 Integrated Hull Construction, Outfitting and Painting (IHOP) ................................... 56
4.8 Zone Outfitting Method (ZOFM) ............................................................................... 65
4.9 Zone Painting Method................................................................................................. 69
4.10 Pipe Piece Family Manufacturing (PPFM) ............................................................. 70
5.
PLANNING, SCHEDULING AND PRODUCTION CONTROL............................... 74
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 74
5.2 Phases or Levels of Planning ...................................................................................... 75
5.3 Network Analysis........................................................................................................ 76
5.3.1 Rules for Networks .......................................................................................................... 77
5.3.2 Populating the Network ................................................................................................... 78
5.3.3 Using the Network ........................................................................................................... 78
5.4 Progress Recording ..................................................................................................... 79
5.5 Monitoring .................................................................................................................. 79
5.6 Managing Production .................................................................................................. 80
i

__________________________________________________________________________
5.7
5.8
Tools ........................................................................................................................... 80
Planning Data .............................................................................................................. 80
6.
SUPPORT FUNCTIONS .............................................................................................. 87
6.1 Quality......................................................................................................................... 87
6.1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 87
6.1.2 Quality Control ................................................................................................................ 88
6.1.3 Quality Assurance............................................................................................................ 89
6.1.4 Organisation for Quality .................................................................................................. 89
6.1.5 The Cost of Quality ......................................................................................................... 90
6.2 Commissioning and trials ........................................................................................... 95
6.2.1 Commissioning ................................................................................................................ 95
6.2.2 Trials ................................................................................................................................ 95
6.3 Material procurement (purchasing) and control ......................................................... 96
6.3.1 Material Control .............................................................................................................. 97
6.3.2 Material Definition .......................................................................................................... 99
6.3.3 Material Standardisation ................................................................................................ 100
6.4 Production engineering and design for production ................................................... 106
6.4.1 The Production Engineer - Why a Modern Yard needs one. ......................................... 106
6.4.2 Integration of Design and Planning ............................................................................... 108
6.4.3 Production Engineering and Design for Production ...................................................... 108
6.4.4 Practical Producibility ................................................................................................... 110
7.
SHIPBUILDING COST .............................................................................................. 112
7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 112
7.2 Cost and Sale Price ................................................................................................... 112
7.3 Components of Cost .................................................................................................. 112
7.4 Stages of Cost Estimation ......................................................................................... 116
7.5 Cost Estimation Spreadsheet..................................................................................... 116
7.6 Some Factors Affecting Ship Cost ............................................................................ 116
7.7 Special Features of the Shipbuilding Cost Model..................................................... 117
ii

__________________________________________________________________________
List of Figures
Figure 1 Classification of different ship types ........................................................................... 2
Figure 2 Classification of offshore structures ............................................................................ 2
Figure 3 Different stages in the Life Cycle of a Ship................................................................. 3
Figure 4 Approximate work content for different ship types ..................................................... 4
Figure 5 Ship as an overall product ............................................................................................ 5
Figure 6 The ship design spiral .................................................................................................. 7
Figure 7 Main shipbuilding tasks ............................................................................................... 8
Figure 8 Main activities in ship construction (Functional) ........................................................ 9
Figure 9 Fabrication of various typical parts of the ships hull structure ................................ 11
Figure 10 number of items nvolved in a typical production process of a bulk carrier ship ..... 11
Figure 11 Transition from craft to mass production ................................................................ 13
Figure 12 Shipyard layout ........................................................................................................ 15
Figure 13 First generation shipyard layout .............................................................................. 16
Figure 14 Second generation shipyard layout .......................................................................... 17
Figure 15 Third generation shipyard layout ............................................................................. 17
Figure 16 Fourth generaion shipyard layout ............................................................................ 19
Figure 17 Shipyard layout ........................................................................................................ 20
Figure 18 Roller straightener (1: lower work rolls, 2: upper work rolls, 3: back-up rolls, 4:
auxiliary rolls, 5: roller table) ................................................................................................... 21
Figure 19 Straightening of thin plates (1: lower work rolls, 2: upper work rolls, 3: clamping
rolls, 4: auxiliary roll)............................................................................................................... 22
Figure 20 Flame planner .......................................................................................................... 24
Figure 21 Profile cutting machine ............................................................................................ 24
Figure 22 Roll press operations (a: sheer strake rolling, b: half-round rolling, c: 90-degrees
flanging, d: bhd flanging) ......................................................................................................... 25
Figure 23 Frame bender (Inverse Curve (LHS); On Beds (Ctr); Hydraulic Bending (RHS))
Eyre .......................................................................................................................................... 26
Figure 24 Frame bender operation (a: bow flare bend, b: initial position, c: bilge turn bend) 27
Figure 25 Curvature from line heating ..................................................................................... 28
Figure 26 Types of weld joints ................................................................................................. 29
Figure 27 Metallurgical zones in welding ................................................................................ 29
Figure 28 Different welding processes..................................................................................... 30
Figure 29 Submerged arc welding ........................................................................................... 33
Figure 30 Gravity welding machine ......................................................................................... 34
Figure 31 Basic types of distortion and distortion control strategy (Conrardy et al. 1997) ..... 37
Figure 32 Steelwork material diagram ..................................................................................... 40
Figure 33 Typical shipyard cranes ........................................................................................... 41
Figure 34 Shipyard production process .................................................................................... 43
Figure 35 Shipbuilding work stages ......................................................................................... 47
Figure 36 Information flow in ship Design and Production..................................................... 48
Figure 37 Flow of material in a plate/section Preparation shop ............................................... 51
Figure 38 Producton facilities based on a conventional functional layout .............................. 51
Figure 39 Producton facilities based on a modern Group technology layout .......................... 52
Figure 40 Typical Product structure for a ship ......................................................................... 55
Figure 41 Components of the IHOP (Integrated Hull Outfitting Painting) approach .............. 57
Figure 42 Hull block Construction Method (HBCM) manufacturing levels ........................... 58
Figure 43 Combination of semi-blocks and blocks .................................................................. 62
iii

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 44 Combination of piece parts and sub-assemblies ...................................................... 63
Figure 45 Examples of steel panel lines ................................................................................... 65
Figure 46 Zone Outfitting Method (ZOM) manufacturing levels ............................................ 66
Figure 47 Zone Painting Method (ZPM) manufacturing levels ............................................... 69
Figure 48 PPFM method details ............................................................................................... 71
Figure 49 Pipe Piece Family Method (PPFM) manufacturing levels ...................................... 72
Figure 50 Pipe shop diagram .................................................................................................... 73
Figure 51 Steel trades manhour comparison to basic SD14................................................... 109
Figure 52 Outfit trades manhour comparison to basic SD14 ................................................. 109
Figure 53 Shipbuilding cost ................................................................................................... 113
List of Tables
Table 1 Typical Applications of Welding Processes in Shipbuilding ...................................... 32
Table 2 Differences Between Design and Production Information ......................................... 48
Table 3 Problem areas subdivisions ......................................................................................... 54
Table 4 Parts Fabrication Characteristics ................................................................................. 59
Table 5 Code areas/numbers for material procurement, production control and cost control . 99
Table 6 Advantages and disadvantages of standardising plates and sections. ....................... 100
iv

__________________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Goal of the Shipbuilder
The main objective of a shipbuilder is to build ships at a profit which are of high quality and
fulfil the needs of transporting commodities across the world sea routes, performing a specific
work or task, and moving passengers not only between different destinations but also for
leisure at a price that is acceptable to the market. In order to respond to the ever-changing
challenges of the shipbuilding market, the shipbuilders specific goal is defined by Kuo
(1997a):
to be competitive in meeting the clients specification with solutions that are cost effective
at an acceptable level of safety.
This definition implies that the success in shipbuilding depends on simultaneously meeting
the following four separate sets of criteria:
clients specification
competitiveness
cost-effectiveness
safety
1.2 Key Features of the Product

A ship is a floating structure that not only supports its own weight in water, but can safely
carry a payload of cargo and passengers from one port to another. Ships and marine structures
are also used for the exploitation of the ocean resources. Such marine structures or vehicles
are either installed at a particular place or moored at an offshore site and moved occasionally
from one position to another. Most marine vehicles will have some means of propulsion such
as diesel engines, gas turbines, steam engines or even sails. The propulsion system will be
driving screw propellers, water jets or paddles to generate the necessary thrust to propel the
vehicle. The people who operate the vehicles, i.e. the crew have to live on board and
accommodation and other support facilities must be provided.
Ships have various roles to perform and can be:
a) Ships for transportation
b) Ships for work
c) Ships for other miscellaneous work
Ship types based and their intended service are shown in Figure 1.

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 1 Classification of different ship types
Offshore structures have played a key role in the exploitation of energy resources from the
continental shelf and the deeper North Sea (Figure 2). These structures can be of the
following types:
a) Fixed structures
b) Compliant structure
c) Mobile structures
Figure 2 Classification of offshore structures
1.3 The Life Cycle of Ships

The product life cycle of a ship consists of the following stages:
Bid preparation
Preliminary design
2

__________________________________________________________________________
Detailed design / Procurement

Production
Operational / Service (including maintenance)
Scrapping / Disposal
The main stages of the product life cycle are shown in Figure 3.
Ship types
10
20
30
40
Work % performed
50
60
70
80
90
100
Product tanker
Container ship
Cruise ship
Naval ship
Steelwork
Hull outfit & accommodation
Machinery installation & pipework
Electrical systems installation
Auxilliary machinery & systems installation
Figure 3 Different stages in the Life Cycle of a Ship
1.4 Characteristics of Shipbuilding

The shipbuilding process is more often a one of a kind production and therefore has
significant differences from a mass production based industry. Some of the special
characteristics of the shipbuilding industry are as follows:
The client or ship owner has a relatively large influence on the production
The shipbuilding process has a number of intermediate production stages that are
dependent of each other
Shipbuilding has varying manufacturing principles at different stages of
production and therefore is not suitable to a single flow line type of production
Shipbuilding requires a high degree of craft skill
A range of different types of equipment is needed for the fabrication process
The design, planning and manufacturing processes have a high degree of overlap
The working environment is harsh
The shipbuilder gets to know the final definition of the ship only after the contract
is signed
The shipbuilder has to make important decisions during the product definition
stage based on uncertain stochastic information
It takes a long time to complete and deliver the product
Ships have a high product value
Ships are large in size in terms of both weight and volume
Ships have a long product life of around 20 to 25 years
3

__________________________________________________________________________
The above list, though not complete, gives some of the reasons why shipbuilding does not
fully adopt the manufacturing principles of mass production.
Ships could be as relatively simple as a bulk carrier or as complex as a drill ship, but all
include a large number of systems and sub-systems performing interrelated functions which
are. These functional systems in turn require different craft skills and manufacturing
principles to produce them. However, in different ship types these systems require different
workloads.
Ship types
10
20
30
40
Work % performed
50
60
70
80
90
100
Product tanker
Container ship
Cruise ship
Naval ship
Steelwork
Hull outfit & accommodation
Machinery installation & pipework
Electrical systems installation
Auxilliary machinery & systems installation
Figure 4 Approximate work content for different ship types
Figure 4 shows how the workload will vary in four typical ships. The various systems in a
ship can be as follows:
Steel hull structure
Power generation system for main propulsion
Power generation system for auxiliaries
Power transmission system for main propulsion
Power transmission for auxiliary requirements
Manoeuvring and control system
Cargo handling system
Systems to distribute services:
sea water and fresh water
steam and condensate
air
fuel and diesel oil
lubricating oil
hydraulic oil
Systems for
transmission of information
communication
monitoring and control
1.5 Key Activities in Shipbuilding

4

__________________________________________________________________________
On obtaining the contract, the design department proceeds with the detailed design. At this
stage the designer bases his calculation on the functional system of the ship. Design and
drawings are produced to satisfy the owners requirements, classification society and other
statutory bodies. There is a transition state where information generated for functional groups
is mapped in terms of constructional groups based on the facilities, resources, production
practices and constraints for the particular shipyard. Resource requirements in terms of
manpower and facilities and due date for completion are calculated for each constructional
group which can in turn be related to the total material requirement and the cost of the
product. The interrelationship between functional, constructional and cost/quantity for the
product ship is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Ship as an overall product
As ships are built by assembling blocks (constructional groups) which have a reasonable
content of pre-outfitting, it is important that the functional groups must be further subdivided
and distributed to the individual constructional blocks. In all these activities the design
department has a key role to play. According to IHIs manual, the role of the design
department can be defined as Designing is the beginning and the end of production
engineering (Sasaki 1988). A design department has the following four tasks:
a) Determine the shape of the ship with defined functions and acceptable
performance.
b) Examine with what materials, equipment, and methods a ship can be built at a
reasonable cost while at the same time satisfying the desired functions and
performance specifications. The design department should express their results in
terms of engineering documents and drawings.
c) Provide the Materials Procurement Department, within a defined time schedule,
information on specifications, quantities, and delivery dates for materials. They
should also supply to the manufacturing Department drawings and work
instructions for the different production processes within the defined time
schedules.
5

__________________________________________________________________________
d) The design department should make a systematic analysis of the differences
between estimates and actual figures in terms of costs, quality and performance
both during the building process and at the completion of the ship. The
Department should endeavour to incorporate improvements on the basis of this
experience in future building strategy.
The design engineers cannot contribute to cost reduction as long as they consider their job as
simply producing drawings. The design department must take the responsibility towards cost
reductions by aiming at minimising production man-hour requirements. The cost of materials
can be as much as 60% of a ships cost. It is therefore vital that the design department plays a
key role in the reduction of material costs. The design department should not only try to
reduce the quantity of materials but also make an effort towards selecting quality materials
that are affordable and easily available. The design department has an important responsibility
towards providing timely and appropriate information to the Material Procurement and the
Manufacturing Departments.
1.6 The Ship Design Process

The design of a ship is an iterative process carried out in different stages, which may be
identified as
a) Concept Design, which translates the mission requirements of the ship into its
design characteristics
b) Preliminary Design / Contract Design, which provides a precise definition of ship
leading to a set of drawings and specifications forming an integral part of the
shipbuilding contract, and
d) Detail Design, which delineates design details of the ship, and then develops
working drawings and work instructions for ship production, and is sometimes not
regarded as a part of the basic design process (Taggart 1980).
This ship design process can be represented by the design spiral as shown in Figure 6.

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 6 The ship design spiral
There are several features of the ship design process and of the design information it generates
which are of importance in the context of ship production:
The information produced by the design process defines the finished product: the
ship.
Ship design information is arranged in terms of the functional systems and
subsystems of the ship (Figure 7, 8).

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 7 Main shipbuilding tasks

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 8 Main activities in ship construction (Functional)
Design information is not always absolutely complete or explicit.

Design information is often developed independent of the production processes
and the facilities of the shipyard building the ship, although some design for
production considerations are usually involved at the design stage.
Design information does not normally contain production-related parameters such
as work content which are necessary for planning, scheduling and production
control.
Among the different stages of the ship design process, the detail design stage
concerned largely with transforming design information into working drawings
and instructions involves an overwhelming proportion of the design effort
1.7 Special Characteristics of an Offshore Construction Yard

The objective of an offshore construction yard is the same as described in Section 1.1, but
with certain special features. The business of offshore construction has certain special features
and these are:
the structure is usually stationed at a particular offshore site for a considerable
portion of its working life and therefore cannot be dry docked for periodic
maintenance and repair
the steel plates used in offshore construction are of relatively higher thickness
9

__________________________________________________________________________
the top sides of offshore structures are considerably heavy than the superstructures
of ships and are often manufactured and installed separately from the main
structure
the structure is designed and constructed to withstand long term environmental
loads
considerations for decommissioning the structure at the end of its productive life
1.8 The Offshore Design and Production Process

The offshore design process is similar to that of ships. It is initiated on enquiry from
governmental or industrial/commercial organisation. As an example, an offshore oil company
wanting to install and commission an offshore structure for exploiting oil and gas resources
from the sea initiates the process with an offshore fabricator. The next step is to analyse the
problem in sufficient details so as to arrive at a clear statement of the problem. The design
criteria that must be satisfied and possible materials to be used need to be identified.
For an offshore structure design criteria include environmental loads (wave, wind and
current), the statutory and regulatory codes of practices of the various classification societies
(e.g. Lloyds Register, Det Norske Veritas, and American Bureau of Shipping) and
governmental bodies. The design should also satisfy the cost constraints both for the initial
fabrication and installation cost and for subsequent maintenance, inspection and repair cost.
Offshore structures should be able to undergo a successful decommissioning process that
satisfies the regulations of the country and the international regulatory bodies.
Once the design problem has been clearly stated, several conceptual designs are identified
through brain storming, literature searches and reviewing past designs. A number of such
conceptual designs are analysed using engineering techniques and experience to determine
their feasibility. This is an iterative process and during the course of concept formulation, the
designer may eliminate one or more concepts or even add a new one that need to be analysed.
This iterative process is illustrated with the help of a design spiral in Figure 6 showing the
various stages in the design process of a submersible. A rational method for evaluating the
different concepts should be used. The criteria for evaluating the different designs must be
outlined and the performance of each design should be assessed by apportioning weightings
to each criterion. The concept design thus selected can now be further developed in details
with a final design description and detailed drawings required for fabrication (Figures 9, 10).
10

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 9 Fabrication of various typical parts of the ships hull structure
Figure 10 number of items nvolved in a typical production process of a bulk carrier ship
11

__________________________________________________________________________
2. FACILITIES
2.1 Introduction
There are two basic activities involved in shipbuilding; namely hull construction and
outfitting. Dramatic changes have taken place over the years in the methods employed to
carry out these two major shipbuilding activities. In the recent past, new and reconstructed
yards have attempted to achieve an assembly line type of material flow to, and within, large
assembly areas and to maintain, in turn, an unhindered and regular flow of major assemblies
to the building berth.
In a highly competitive shipbuilding market, it is difficult for a shipyard to specialise in a
particular size and category of ship. Any yard must be able to manufacture a variety of ship
sizes and types. Thus it is difficult to justify the introduction of special and expensive
assembly line equipment to suit the production of a particular ship type. When looking at the
layouts of different shipyards and their facilities, one finds many of them have some
characteristic similarities, e.g.
Small and medium sized shipyards that are located in restricted space and have
scattered building and launching facilities.
Bigger shipyards that have one or more building berths/docks and have more
space available and their layout is designed for a smooth flow of materials.
2.2 Production Organisation

Any production organisation can be divided into the following five categories:
a) Craft based (or job shop) organisation: Craft based production organisation uses
well-trained and skilled workers to perform a wide variety of tasks in one or
several locations. The work object is fixed at least for a certain time, whereas
equipment and workers have to be moved to it. In such an organisation production
decisions are taken by the craftsman, who may approach each job in the way he
feels is best suited from his experience. Planning and control is difficult in such a
production structure (Figure 11).
b) Semi-process Organisation: This form of production organisation, like the craft
based organisation, also utilises well-trained and skilled workers to carry out
similar processes at specific areas. Semi-process production organisations require
more planning effort for scheduling and control of the processes. Engineering
information has to be more detailed to enable the planners to break up the job into
suitable work packages.
c) Process (or Batch) Organisation: In process (or batch) organisation, specific areas
are used for specialised activities. Here, the equipment is fixed whereas the work
object and the worker who is trained for a specific task are moved to the
production equipment. Planning and control is more difficult in than craft or semiprocess production organisation. The engineering information required is for the
specialised task being performed on a particular piece of equipment rather than for
the total product.
12

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 11 Transition from craft to mass production
d) Product (or Group) Organisation: Product (or group) production organisation

focuses on the intermediate product and all the processes required completing it.
In such an organisation the worker and his equipment is fixed and the working
object moves from one workstation to another. The intermediate products
produced in this manner are combined to make the final product. For such an
organisation planning is simpler as the work processes are arranged logically. The
engineering information needed by the worker is for his particular workstation
alone.
e) Mass Production Organisation: Mass production organisation maximises the use
of mechanisation, continuous flow lines, and specialisation of activities at
sequential workstations. Material handling is decided at the time of facility
design. Engineering information is required for machine operation, jigs and
tooling and tolerances for quality control.
2.3 Shipyard Layout

In the traditional shipbuilding countries of Europe and North America, most shipyards were
established over 100 years ago in locations which were suitable for building small ships and
using production methods which have now been outdated. With the rapid growth in the size of
ships since World War II and the changes in production technology most of these shipyards to
survive had to be rebuilt, renewed or extended to allow for larger size of ships and modern
production methods. The layout of the modified shipyard should be such that it allows for an
easy flow of materials from one production area to another with the elimination of possible
bottlenecks. Several modern shipyards have been redesigned or are in the process of
redesigning their layout and the associated production facilities on group technology
concepts.
13

__________________________________________________________________________
A careful examination of the potential shipbuilding market and the market share of the likely
product range of ships that the shipyard intends to build is needed when considering whether
to build a new shipyard or modify an existing one. Other considerations that need be
examined are:
availability of vendors and subcontractors
environmental considerations
energy costs
availability of land and its cost
Geographical and urban factors that affect the siting of a new shipyard include:
proximity of the site to a river having sufficient draught or sea with protected water
front
the shipyard should be located in close proximity to highway, rail, water transport
and airport
proximity to technical schools and university
The following factors have to be examined when planning a new shipyard or modifying an
existing one:
Size and type of ship being built
Material throughput per year
Material handling methods
Fabrication and assembly process
Size of unit in terms of weight and volume to fabricated and welded
Extent of outfitting work up to the pre-launch stage
Information requirements for modern production methods
Administration support and necessary including planning and control
A medium size shipyard is likely to specialise in ship types over a narrow product mix and
will have a fairly high throughput so that one covered building dock or partially covered
building berth is sufficient. As mentioned earlier, since the capacity and annual throughput of
the shipyard is based on the total market analysis, the layout of the shipyard should be
examined as a total system. The individual facilities in the yard should be such that a balanced
flow of materials is achieved between interim products. The following should be examined
when considering the shipyards facility layout (Figure 12):
Optimising material and work-in-progress inventory by adopting just-in-time

concepts. This may lead to a situation when there could be a risk that a part or
component is not there when needed.
Minimise the buffer storage and marshalling areas so that the interim product from
one production stage is absorbed without delay by the subsequent stage.
Materials handling both in terms of number of lift and the distance moved for all the
intermediate products must be kept to a minimum.
14

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 12 Shipyard layout
2.4 Development of Shipbuilding Yards

The historical development of shipbuilding yards in Europe can be divided into four stages:
1. First Generation Shipyards - prior to World War II
The first generation yards that were in existence prior to World War II had the following
characteristics (Figure 13):
Component production at the steel shop was the dominant production facility with
the components being directly assembled on the open building berth or next to it.
Limited facilities for storage and shops
Lifting capacity limited to 5 tonnes to 10 tonnes cranes
A large number of building berths
Space for outfitting a number of ships in the outfitting basin
Outfitting shops located near the outfitting basin
All engineering work and outfitting work was performed post launch
A good balance between steel (hull) work and outfitting work
Wide ranging craft skills required at all stages of production
Environmental protection was minimal as work was done predominantly in the open
under harsh environment
15

__________________________________________________________________________
Organisation of work was simple as little planning effort was needed

Most of the work was concentrated around the building berth and the outfitting basin
Ships were predominantly of riveted construction.
Figure 13 First generation shipyard layout
2. Second Generation Shipyard (post World War II till about 1960)

The adoption of welding in shipbuilding and better production technology for cutting and
forming led to the concept of prefabrication whereby work was shifted from the building
berth to the protected environment of the steel shop and fabrication shop for the second
generation shipyards (Figure 14). The other characteristics of these shipyards were:
Work organised on the basis of processes in the steel shop

Sections and plates were marked, cut and formed in the shops and transported to the
slipways where they were erected directly or assembled into smaller units before
erection on to the berth
Mechanisation, materials handling and environmental protection were mainly
adopted at the component production stage
Work areas were defined with some flexibility
Efforts for scheduling and control were applied at the component production stage
where the craft skills were less when compared with the first generation shipyards
that had a wholly a craft based production organisation
An imbalance of facilities between component production and other stages such as
erection and outfitting
Provision for storage and marshalling areas
Better materials handling as a result of improved crane capacity
Improved production methods for cutting, e.g. optically controlled oxygen-gas
cutting in conjunction with 1/10th scale lofting and better welding technology
Smaller number of slip ways
Little or no change in the nature of outfitting work.
16

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 14 Second generation shipyard layout
3. Third Generation Shipyards (from 1960s to 1980s)

The growth in world trade in the 1950s and 60s provided the impetus for building ships that
were not only larger in size but were designed to carry specialised cargo. Shipyards tended to
specialise in building one or more of the emerging ship types and planned the layout and the
facilities of the shipyard so as to gain competitive edge in their chosen market segment. There
was a trend towards having the organisation suited for a flow line production. Figure 15
shows the layout of a third generation shipyard.
Figure 15 Third generation shipyard layout

17

__________________________________________________________________________
The main characteristics of these shipyards were:
Work stations clearly defined and fixed
Advanced technology introduced in hull production
The production of intermediate modules arranged as an assembly line
Scheduling and control became more important as there was greater interdependency
between the different stages of production
Concepts of standardisation in were introduced
There was a quantum jump in the materials handling capability, especially at the
erection stage. Cranes of 200 tonnes lifting capacity became quite common. Some
shipyards were equipped with cranes capable of lifting blocks up to 1600 tonnes.
Transporters capable of moving 600 tonnes block from the fabrication areas to the
erection berth (or building dock) were employed.
Prefabrication shops having areas for sub-assembly, assembly and large block
assembly became the focal point of shipbuilding activity in the shipyard
A large number of shipyards moved away from slipways to building docks.
The panel line fabrication method was introduced for flat stiffened panels
The lofting method was altered from the 1/10th scale optically controlled to
numerical controlled lofting
The productivity of burning machines increased with the use of plasma-arc burners
Modern semi-automatic and automatic welding methods produced better quality
welds faster.
Pre-outfitting and advanced outfitting concepts introduced to correct the imbalance
between the highly mechanised hull construction and the craft based outfitting
Outfitting work was planned on a zone basis so that outfit workers specialising in a
particular trade could accomplish their work in less time
Covered building docks or partially covered inclined berths were built to provide
protection from the environment.
The closing of the Suez Canal in 1967 resulted in crude oil carriers having to sail round the
Cape of Good Hope in order to deliver crude from oil fields in West Asia to European ports.
The economics of the longer route resulted in large size tankers, which came to be known as
Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) or Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs) with a carrying
capacity of 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes of crude oil. This required a very large jump in the
building capacity for the existing shipyards. Some shipyards in Europe invested huge sums of
money to upgrade their facilities to accommodate these huge ships. A few overcame the
problem by launching the ship in two parts and subsequently welding them together in the
water.
The third generation shipyards that successfully produced supertankers and large bulk carriers
had a very high degree of mechanisation, materials handling and work protection resulting in
extremely high throughput and productivity. These yards were very rigid and inflexible as
they could only produce ships of a particular shape and type. The steep increase in the price of
crude oil in the mid-1970s led to a slump in the demand for supertankers. The shipyards that
had invested heavily in infrastructure and facilities could not build ships of a relatively
smaller size and type and therefore had to close down or be nationalised.
18

__________________________________________________________________________
4. Fourth Generation shipyards (1980s till date)
The fourth generation shipyards were the ones that avoided the pitfalls of the third generation
yards building super tankers and large bulk carriers (Figure 16).
Figure 16 Fourth generaion shipyard layout
The fourth generation shipyards did not go for a large materials-handling capacity and large
size module fabrication, but concentrated their effort on improving the integration and
management of the current production technology. These shipyards incorporated the concept
of group technology at the different production stages. Block size was optimised to
accommodate zone outfitting and to facilitate the erection at building berth or the building
dock. The materials handling facilities and marshalling areas were designed so as to integrate
with the production facilities. Such shipyards had the flexibility to build ships of different
types and sizes.
2.5 Comments
As the types and sizes of ships and the equipment and methods for building them have
changed, the nature of the optimum shipyard layout has also changed. As a result, older
shipyards have tended to become inefficient and non-competitive. Attempts to remedy this by
modernising the shipyard have not always been successful because the limitations imposed by
the existing site make all the necessary changes in the layout very difficult, and the mere use
of modern equipment ineffective. In Japan, the usual solution has been to construct new
19

__________________________________________________________________________
shipyards for building the larger ships. To further avoid restrictions imposed by the
topography of a site, most of these new shipyards have been constructed on reclaimed land.
The main developments in shipyard layout may be summarised as follows:
The concentration of production into a few costly and productive work areas instead of
the several less costly and less productive areas, e.g. one or two building docks instead
of a large number of building berths.
Separate, specific and specialised locations for different production activities, e.g. in
steel work, separate areas for plate treatment, profile treatment, each of the different
production activities, flat panel assembly, web and transverse assembly, panel build
up, curved panel assembly and block assembly.
Careful attention to the flow of material between work stages to simplify material
handling and make it more efficient.
Integration of outfitting and engineering shops with steel shops to facilitate advance
outfitting, e.g. pipe shop adjacent to the steelwork areas.
Large block storage areas alongside and at the head of a building dock or berth to
facilitate advance outfitting.
Areas in between major manufacturing facilities for future expansion
Figure 17 Shipyard layout
20

__________________________________________________________________________
3. PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
3.1 Introduction
The nature of the production organisation and development of facilities and layout for a
modern shipbuilding yard were discussed in the previous chapter. A number of basic facilities
are needed to build ships or offshore structures, although certain specific facilities may
depend on the type of ship or offshore structure being built. This chapter proceeds to examine
the production methods and their associated facilities that are necessary for fabrication of steel
and outfit in a shipyard under the following heads:
Straightening - Plates and Sections

Cutting, Forming and Welding - Plates and Sections
Handling and transportation of materials and units
Outfitting - Tasks involved
3.2 Straightening Techniques

The plates and sections supplied by the steel mill arrive at the shipyard usually in a deformed
condition due to handling and transportation. Accurate marking and cutting is difficult on a
deformed plate or stiffener. The distortion can be removed by cold or hot straightening
processes.
In the cold process the straightening of plates is carried out using a plate-straightening
machine (Figure 18). The vertical gap between the top and bottom rollers can be adjusted by
moving the top rollers up and down. The centres of the bottom rollers can be moved
horizontally. A number of smaller supporting rollers are positioned around the five main
rollers. The deformed plate is passed between the upper and lower rollers that are spaced
according to the thickness of the plate. The centre rolls produce several bends whereas the
other rolls straighten the plate. A number of passes between the rollers may be required to
straighten a plate.
Figure 18 Roller straightener (1: lower work rolls, 2: upper work rolls, 3: back-up rolls, 4: auxiliary
rolls, 5: roller table)
The larger the deformation and the thinner the plate, the greater is the number of passes
required to straighten the plate. For thin deformed sheet metal plates, straightening is done in
machines having a large number of rollers with one pair acting as clamps. The cross-sectional
21

__________________________________________________________________________
view of such a roller configuration is shown in Figure 19. The cold straightening of sections
can be done by one of the following processes:
Thin sections are straightened on the anvil by hammering
Bending press for straightening heavier sections
Straightening machines fitted with rollers that are specially configured to the size
of the section being straightened.
Figure 19 Straightening of thin plates (1: lower work rolls, 2: upper work rolls, 3: clamping rolls, 4:
auxiliary roll)
Deformed plates and sections can also be straightened by selective heating. The process is
similar to the one used for hot forming of plates and sections and is discussed in Section
3.4(b).
3.3 Methods of Cutting

Steel and aluminium plates and sections arrive at the shipyard from the factories in standard
sizes and scantlings. On straightening these plates and sections have to be cut into different
shapes. The cutting of plates and sections in a shipyard is performed by one of two processes:
the Mechanical Cutting (cold process) and the Thermal Cutting (hot process).
1. Mechanical Cutting
Mechanical cutting is employed for cutting structural plates and sections of lower thickness
and for thin sheet metal. The resulting cut edges are smoother and the plates and sections
have lesser distortion. Two types of machines are used for mechanical cutting in shipyards
and these are:
Shearing Machines - for heavier structural members
Band Saw - for lighter members and sheet metals
Heavy duty shears (also called guillotine shears) are used for cutting plates with straight
edges. Press shears are used for cutting plates with curved edges of larger radius of curvature
whereas rotary disk shears are used for cutting curved edges having a small radius of
curvature or if the edges are of irregular shape.
2. Thermal Cutting
All the hot thermal cutting processes use a heat source as a means for melting the metal and
then separating them by means of kinetic energy. The source of heat could be one of the
following:
oxygen - gas ; (the gas used is either acetylene or propane)
plasma arc
air carbon arc
22

__________________________________________________________________________
laser beam
i)
Oxy-acetylene / Oxy-propane Gas Cutting: In this cutting process a torch burning

acetylene or propane gas in oxygen is used to melt a narrow strip of the metal,
which is then blown away by the kinetic energy of the gas stream. Mild steel
plates up to 300mm thick can be cut by this process. This process is not suitable
for cutting Aluminium alloy, alloy steel, stainless steel or titanium. The
commonly used equipment is the hand held and manually operated oxygen gas
burning torch. The quality of cut may be poor and the distortion in the plate is
generally on the higher side.
ii) Plasma-arc Cutting: In the plasma arc cutting process, a high velocity jet of
ionised gas first melts the metal with a constricted arc which is then blown away
by the kinetic energy of the ionised gas. This process provides a smoother cut to
that obtained by the oxy-gas process. To reduce the effect of distortion, the work
piece is submerged in a water bath during the cutting process. All metals can be
cut with the plasma-arc cutting process. Mild steel up to 20mm can be cut faster
by this process than by an oxy-gas cutting process. The Plasma-arc cutting
process is however noisier and consumes more electricity resulting in a higher
operating cost.
iii) Carbon-arc Cutting Process: The carbon-arc cutting process uses an arc to melt
the metal, which is subsequently removed from the kerf by a high velocity jet of
compressed air. This process can cut grooves in metal of up to 16mm deep in a
single pass. However, the process is noisy and expensive and therefore used
mainly to rectify weld defects or to remove excess metal from a casting.
iv) Laser-beam Cutting Process: This process uses a laser light beam as a source of
heat for melting and evaporating material from the region that is being cut. Laser
beam cutting process has the following advantages over other thermal cutting
process:
ability to cut all metals and certain non-metals like carbon and ceramics
produces a narrower kerf and heat affected zone compared with other thermal
cutting processes
has relatively higher cutting speeds for plates up to 13mm thick than other
processes
The major disadvantage of the laser beam cutting process is the relatively high capital cost but
also it is not effective for cutting plates of greater thickness.
Thermal Cutting Machines

Besides the hand held burning torch two thermal cutting machines are popularly used in
shipyards for cutting flat plates. These are
i) Flame Planer
ii) Flame Profiler
23

__________________________________________________________________________
i)
Flame Planer: The flame planer is used to cut rectangular flat plates and is also
used for edge preparation for welding. The burning torch uses either oxygen-gas
or plasma-arc for cutting plates (Figure 20).
Figure 20 Flame planner
ii) Flame Profiler: The flame profiler is used for cutting complicated non-rectangular
shapes on a flat plate (Figure 21). Such shapes occur in floor plates, deep web
frames, etc. The burning torch of the flame profiler can move in any direction on
the two-dimensional plane of the plate. This machine consists of a robust portal
frame that can move on rails in the longitudinal direction. One or more sets of
motorised burners mounted on the portal frame can move transversely.
The movement of the burner in the two-dimensional plane of the plate can be
controlled by an optical eye, which traces a 1:1, 1:5 or 1:10 drawing but is more
likely to be numerically controlled. Edge preparation can also be performed while
cutting by having more than one burning nozzle attached to the burner. Two sets
of motorised burners are usually mounted on the frame so that two plates are cut
simultaneously (one being for the port side and other, a mirror image, for the
starboard side).
Figure 21 Profile cutting machine
24

__________________________________________________________________________
3.4 Forming Techniques

In shipbuilding, a considerable number of plates and sections have to be formed/bent to a
particular shape. As in the cutting process, the forming process used in a shipyard could either
be a cold mechanical forming or the hot thermal forming (more popularly referred as the line
heating process).
a) Mechanical Forming
The machines used in a shipyard under this category are all hydraulically operated and are
Bending Rolls, Brake Press or Gap Press and Frame Bender
1. Bending Rolls
Bending rolls, similar to those described earlier for the plate straightening process, are
primarily used to provide steel plates with a cylindrical or conical shape. The desired
curvature on the plates can be obtained by adjusting the horizontal distance between the
bottom rollers. The rolls can perform the flanging of steel plates, required for corrugated
bulkheads, by fitting a flanging bar and bottom block to the top and bottom rollers
respectively. Figure 22 shows the diagram of a bending roll and the cross-sectional view of
the rolls fitted with flanging bar and bottom blocks for flanging of steel plates. The operation
of a gap press is similar to that of a brake press except that the former is used for shaping
plates of a smaller size and thickness.
Figure 22 Roll press operations (a: sheer strake rolling, b: half-round rolling, c: 90-degrees flanging, d:
bhd flanging)
25

__________________________________________________________________________
2. Press: Many of the steel plates used in the forward and aft regions of the ships hull
have compound curvature. Such plates can be shaped by using a brake press. Special
die sets fitted on the brake press are used by the operator to get the desired shape of
the plate. Knuckling is a process by which a plate is bent slightly then repositioned
and then bent again till the desired angle is achieved. Brake presses also use the
knuckling process to get the desired compound curvature on the plate
3. Frame Bender: Ships frames are usually fabricated from rolled sections (e.g. bulb
sections, ordinary angle or T-sections). These rolled sections obtained from steel mills
have to be bent to the correct shape. In shipbuilding, a hydraulically operated frame
bender (for heavier sections) or a beam bender (for lighter sections) is used for this
purpose. Three in-line clamps hold the initial straight frame in position. The main ram
then moves the outer two clamps forwards or backwards to bend the frame to the
desired shape.
Figure 23 Frame bender (Inverse Curve (LHS); On Beds (Ctr); Hydraulic Bending (RHS)) Eyre
26

__________________________________________________________________________
The section can be shifted to allow the ram force to be applied at a different position
along the length of the frame. The frame bender can bend pairs of unsymmetrical
sections (bulb or ordinary angle), placed back to back, so that port side and starboard
side frames can be produced simultaneously. Traditionally wooden templates were
used to check whether the frame had been bent to the correct shape. In modern
machines, the correct curvature of the frame is checked by the inverse curve method
or by numerical control (Figures 23, 24).
Figure 24 Frame bender operation (a: bow flare bend, b: initial position, c: bilge turn bend)
b) Thermal Forming (Line heating technique)

A plate will have induced stress when subjected to non-uniform heating. This in turn will
produce strain, i.e. permanent deformation similar to the deformation of a plate subjected to
mechanical forces. The Line Heating technique produces permanent deformation in the plate
based on this principle. Heat is applied along a relatively narrow region of the plate, which is
immediately cooled by water or air. The local heat thus applied causes thermal stress in a
small region of the plate. The Youngs modulus and the elastic limit of the material both
decrease with the increase in temperature.
The narrow heated line of material is prevented from expanding by the adjacent cold material
(the adjacent region can be cooled by air or water). The constrained heated region swells
beyond the elastic limit perpendicular to the plane of the plate. On cooling, contraction will
occur with the bulged region contracting more than the other side. This results in the plate
bending and becoming concave on the side to which the heat was applied. The plate also
undergoes some overall shrinkage. By making a pattern of such heat lines on the plate an
experienced operator can produce controlled distortion of the plate to obtain the desired shape
(Figure 25).
Line heating is dependent on the following factors:
material type and thickness
shape of the deformed plate
heat input amount and rate
cooling process employed.
The rate and amount of heat input to which the plate is subjected to depend on:
torch tip and size
27

__________________________________________________________________________
distance between torch tip and plate

torch travel speed.
The extent of thermal deformation also depends on the cooling process and can be controlled
by:
use of water or air
rate at which the coolant is applied
distance between the torch heating region and the cooling region.
Line heating is also used for fairing a plate or stiffener to the correct shape after the plate or
stiffener has been given a rough shape by a mechanical forming process.
Figure 25 Curvature from line heating
3.5 Welding Processes

Welding is the accepted means of joining metals in the shipbuilding industry. It can be
defined as a process for joining two metal pieces wherein a heat source is used to melt the
edges of the joint thereby permitting them to fuse with the molten weld metal so as to produce
a joint which is as strong as, or stronger than, the parent metal.
28

__________________________________________________________________________
a) Types of Joint
The common types of welded joints in shipbuilding are (Figure 26):
i) Butt Welds: The two pieces of metal that are to be joined together are lying
approximately in the same plane.
ii) Fillet Welds: The two metal pieces that are to be joined together are approximately at
right angles to each other.
iii)Lap Welds: The edges of the two metal pieces to be joined together are lying one on
top of the other.
Figure 26 Types of weld joints
Welding by fusion creates three different metallurgical zones (Figure 27):
the fusion zone - the zone that was melted on application of heat and contains
the weld metal and the parent metal
the heat affected zone (HAZ) - the region just adjacent to the fusion zone which
has not melted on application of heat by the welding process
the unaffected parent metal.
Figure 27 Metallurgical zones in welding
b) Welding Processes
The welding processes can be broadly divided into the following three categories (Figure 28):
i) Gas Welding
ii) Electric Resistance Welding
iii) Electric Arc Welding
i)
Gas Welding: In gas welding heat is generated by combustion of oxygenacetylene fuel that melts the work edges to be joined to form a molten puddle
along with the filler material to fill the gaps or grooves. This process is very slow
and is rarely used in shipbuilding for fabrication purposes.
29

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 28 Different welding processes
30

__________________________________________________________________________
ii) Electric Resistance Welding: In electric resistance welding two metal pieces are
fused together by the heat generated due to the resistance of the work piece to an
electric current. Mechanical or hydraulic pressure must be applied to the two
pieces being welded. Shipyards rarely employ electric resistance welding except
for the electroslag process, described later, which can be used for joining two
blocks on the erection berth by a vertical butt weld.
iii) Electric Arc Welding: In electric arc welding a high current is passed between the
electrode and the work piece being welded with a small distance separating the
two. On completion of the electric circuit a high current arc is generated that
produces sufficient heat to melt the edges of the work piece and the tip of the
electrode so that fusion occurs between the edges of the work piece. During the
welding process, the molten metal in the weld pool will have a tendency to react
with the oxygen and nitrogen in the surrounding atmosphere to form oxides and
nitrates. This in turn will cause a degradation of the weld quality. The electric arc
welding process prevents the degradation of the weld by providing a shield of flux
or gas or both around the molten weld pool during the welding process.
The common electric arc welding processes used in shipbuilding are:
Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) which could be one of the following:
Manual Shielded Metal Arc Welding
Semi-automatic/Automatic Submerged Arc Welding
Semi-automatic Gravity Welding
One Sided Welding
Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) / (FUSARC)
Gas Metal Arc (GMA) Welding / Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding
Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) Welding / Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding
Electrogas Welding
Electroslag Welding
In the above welding processes, shielded metal arc welding is a flux shielded process, while
one-sided welding and flux-cored arc welding could be either flux shielded or gas shielded.
The last four are gas-shielded processes with the electroslag welding process using electrical
resistance to generate heat. In the gas shielded welding processes, the arc is shielded from the
atmosphere by an inert gas such Argon, Helium or Carbon Dioxide, which is supplied
externally.
A summary of these welding processes and their application in shipbuilding is given in Table
1.
31

__________________________________________________________________________
Table 1 Typical Applications of Welding Processes in Shipbuilding
Sl.
No.
PROCESS
1
2
Shielded Metal Arc - Manual

Gravity Welding
3
4
Submerged Arc Welding

Flux-cored Arc Welding
5
6
Gas Shielded Welding

(MIG / TIG)
One Sided Welding
Electrogas Welding
Electroslag Welding
APPLICATIONS
All position welding
Joining pre-assembled stiffener frameworks to plating and
other horizontal and vertical fillet joints
Butt weld of flat plate panels with two side welding.
Outdoor work instead of submerged arc process, such as
joints of deck plating using portable equipment.
Short welds, joints in curved panels and similar work inside
the hull, protected from wind
Automatic or semi-automatic one-sided welding can be used
for butt joints of flat panels using FCB or FAB backing.
Portable equipment may be used for deck plating joints with
FAB for seams and Kataflux for butts, and also for long
continuous bottom shell joints. Manual one sided using
special brick-backing may be used for making joints in
bottom plating where these are interrupted by longitudinals
and other structures, and for side shell seams and joints in
vertical plating where the fit up is not very good.
Long vertical butt joints of the side shell plating or
longitudinal bulkhead, and vertical fillet welds joining
transverse bulkheads to longitudinal bulkheads or side shell
plating.
Long vertical butt joints of side shell plating. Consumable
nozzle electroslag process can be used for short vertical
welds, such as joints of deck or bottom longitudinals and
their junctions with transverses or bulkheads. The process is
also used for heavy work such as rudders and stern frames.
c) Shielded Metal Arc Welding

The shielded metal arc welding process could be one of the following:
i)
Manual Shielded Metal Arc Welding Process: This method uses an electrode
consisting of a core wire of rimming steel with a flux coating around it. The flux
coating is generally a mixture of mineral silicates, fluorides, carbonates,
hydrocarbons, and powdered metal alloys plus a liquid binder. During the welding
process, the high temperature of the generated by the electric arc causes the flux to
melt and form a layer of slag over the molten pool and at the same time providing
an envelope of gas around the arc. The manual shielded welding process can be
used in any one of the following weld positions:
downhand
vertical
horizontal
overhead
ii) Submerged Arc Welding: This is a semi-automatic/automatic flux-shielded electric

arc welding process used to weld two plates together by means of a butt weld.
This process is always carried out in the downhand position. It uses a bare wire
electrode automatically fed along with a separately fed granulated flux. During
the welding process, the flux melts to provide a gas shield for the arc along with a
covering of slag on the weld pool (Figure 29).
32

__________________________________________________________________________
The high heat concentration permits heavy weld deposition at relatively high
speeds without air entering the weld pool. The submerged arc welding process is
very efficient for straight downhand welding and can be used for single pass or
multiple pass welding. The unused flux can be recovered for reuse. The main
advantage of the submerged arc welding process is its speed. It can be used, for
example, to butt weld 25 mm plates in one pass on either side at speeds of 1.3 - 1.6
metres per minute. The cost of consumables is lower than in the manual metal arc
welding process, but because the equipment is relatively costly, the process is
economical only with high equipment utilisation.
The portable submerged arc-welding machine takes some time to set up and hence
its use is restricted to long butt joints or long continuous fillet welds. The
submerged arc welding process also requires an accurate edge preparation and
good fit up. In joints where the root gap is not uniform, an initial run or two may
be done by a manual welding process before the submerged arc welding process is
used to complete the joint.
Figure 29 Submerged arc welding
iii) Gravity Welding: The gravity welding method is a semi-automatic flux-shielded

electric arc welding process typically used in shipyards for welding stiffeners to plates
by means of fillet welds (Figure 30). The machine consists of a tripod, one leg of
which acts as a rail for the sliding holder of the flux coated electrode. The electrode is
positioned and the electric arc is struck.
The weight of the electrode and the holder causes it to slide down the rail and deposit
the weld along a straight line. The angle of sliding will determine the amount of weld
metal deposited. The machines are provided with a mechanism to break the arc after a
33

__________________________________________________________________________
particular length of welding is performed. The machines can be moved from one
position to another and several such machines can be operated by a single operator,
who need not be a skilled welder. The consumption of electrodes is about 10% less
than in the (manual) shielded metal arc welding process. One advantage of gravity
welding is that welding over paint primer does not cause porosity, a defect that occurs
if submerged arc fillet welding is used.
Figure 30 Gravity welding machine
d) Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)

The flux-cored arc welding process uses a continuous flux coated electrode. It is a mechanised
process wherein the electrode wire fed from a reel is coated with a suitable flux to produce a
slag covering the weld pool. The process, which is suitable for outdoor welding, is faster than
the manual submerged arc welding process but is slower than the submerged arc welding
process.
e) Gas Metal Arc (GMA) Welding / Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding
The metal inert gas welding process is used mainly with semi-automatic welding techniques
for producing butt and fillet joints involving longitudinals, floors, girders and brackets. The
electrode is continuous to allow for a longer duty cycle. The weld pool is shielded by CO2 gas
when using the spray transfer and the dip transfer welding process to deposit the weld metal.
A gas shield of Argon or Helium gas is preferred when using the pulsed arc transfer process.
When welding mild steel, a shielding gas of CO2 is more economical than using Argon or
Helium as gas shields.
The disadvantage of this process is that it requires trained welders to perform the task. Also,
when welding outdoors, wind and draught may cause porosity in the weld. To avoid porosity
in the weld, the semi-automatic no gas process is used. In this process a self-shielded flux
34

__________________________________________________________________________
cored electrode is obtained from a wire fed gun. The flux decomposes in the arc to provide a
gas shield. Accurate joint preparation is required to use this process.
f)
Gas Tungsten Arc (GTA) Welding / Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) Welding
In this process an arc is generated between the work piece and a tungsten electrode which is
not consumed during the welding process. The arc and the molten weld pool are protected
from the atmosphere by an inert gas shield of either Argon or Helium. An externally fed filler
rod may supply the filler metal to the molten weld pool. The non-consumable tungsten
electrode is provided with a water cooling system. The arc from the tungsten electrode melts
the work pieces to fuse together. A cleaner weld is produced as filler metal is normally not
used. The tungsten inert gas welding process is used in shipyards and offshore yards for
welding sheet metal, smaller diameter pipes and to provide the root pass on a multiple pass
weld for larger diameter pipes. It is also a process suitable for welding aluminium.
g) One Sided Welding
This electric arc welding process can be either flux or gas shielded. Here a back or sealing run
is not required. The plates to be welded are brought together and the weld made from one side
with flux or refractory backing material on the other side. There are several types of backing:
water-cooled copper plate, flux copper backing (FCB), flux asbestos backing (FAB), and
resin-bound sand (Kataflux). The welding can be done manually or automatically using the
same equipment as in conventional two sided welding. Accurate edge preparation is desirable
to avoid over-penetration, which causes erosion of the backing material.
The advantages of one side welding are that it reduces handling - it avoids the need to turn the
plate in a panel line - less time is required to make a joint since the back of the weld does not
require dressing, accurate joint preparation is not absolutely necessary and the fatigue strength
of the joint is better than with two sided welding. Among the disadvantages are the cost of
flux backing materials, the necessity to start and finish the weld on a run-off plate and a
greater risk of distortion.
h) Electrogas Welding
Electrogas welding is an electric arc process for the automatic vertical butt welding of blocks
on the erection berth. In this process, the weld pool is held in place by copper shoes and
shielded by carbon dioxide fed through holes in the shoes. The welding equipment consisting
of the filler wire on a reel, the feed motor, copper shoes, shield gas supplying device, and
control equipment, is carried in a cage which is hoisted up automatically as the welding
progresses. The process can cope with small amounts of curvature in the plating, and with
small inclinations from the vertical due to declivity. It can also tolerate small variations in the
edge gap.
Electrogas welding machines have been developed for use on vertical welds inside the hull, as
well as outside. The equipment can be set up quickly, is compact and easy to transport and
store, and can be operated by one man. The advantages of the electrogas welding process are
that it is five or six times faster than the manual metal arc-welding process, and is economical
in the use of consumables. Compared to the electroslag welding process (another automatic
vertical butt welding process and described subsequently), electrogas gives better
35

__________________________________________________________________________
metallurgical properties and is easier to start, and to restart in the middle of a weld. The
disadvantages of the electrogas welding process are that it is adversely affected by wind and
draughts and can only be used economically for long welds in thick plates.
i)
Electroslag Welding
Another automatic process for the vertical welding of butt joints is the electroslag process
which uses the principle of electric resistance heating. Heat is generated by resistance heating
within a bath of molten slag on the top of the weld pool held in place by copper shoes.
Normally, a square edge preparation is used, and the weld metal is provided by feeding a solid
wire into the slag bath. The welding head moves up along the weld automatically on a
carriage moving in a tower.
The electroslag welding equipment takes a long time to set up, so that its use is only
economical for plate thicknesses over 15 mm and weld lengths over 3.5 metres. For shorter
joint lengths of thick plates, which would require a large number of runs by a manual process,
the consumable nozzle electroslag welding process is used. Electroslag welding is much faster
than manual welding, gives welds of better appearance, and does not require accurate joint
preparation. Its main disadvantages are poor notch toughness in the weld, and restarts are
difficult if the process accidentally stops in the middle of a weld.
3.6 Minimising Distortion

In the modern yard, ships are built by assembling large blocks at the building dock or berth.
The blocks or units in turn are assembled from smaller assemblies and sub-assemblies. Such
production methods involve:
sub-assembly of plates and stiffeners

assembling the piece parts and the sub-assembled parts into assemblies and into larger
block assemblies.
erection of assemblies and blocks
It is obvious that each stage of the assembly process introduces welding stresses and strains
which result in shape distortions. The cumulative effect of all these distortions can result in a
significant amount of re-work. Any readjustment and rework at the later stages costs the
shipyard both in terms of time and money. Over the years, shipbuilders have come to expect
some degree of distortion and have learned to live with the consequences. At the panel
fabrication and block erection stage, shipyards employ the following practices to correct
inaccuracies in the shape of the panel or blocks:
Flame straightening to remove distortion.

Stiffener ends are left unwelded to aid in fitting.
Panels are made slightly over-size and are subsequently trimmed to shape.
In recent years, ship panel distortion has become a major problem with the increasing use of
thin plates (plate thickness of less than 10 mm) in panel fabrication. The significantly
increased distortion has resulted in a large increase in man-hours for fitting, flame
straightening, and rework following flame straightening. Shipbuilders are generally concerned
with two forms of thin panel welding distortion (Conrardy et al. 1997):
36

__________________________________________________________________________
*
In-plane distortion
In-plane distortion is the shrinkage in the overall panel dimensions. This type of
distortion is not helpful for producing neat cuts at the fabrication stage.
Out-of-plane distortion
Out-of-plane distortion is the edge waviness of the fabricated panels. This type of
distortion requires flame straightening and needs extra man-hours for fitting.
The in-plane and out-of-plane distortions are not mutually separate. Some of the in-plane
shrinkage observed in ship panels is a due to the out-of-plane distortion. This is because a
deformed plate is shorter than a flat plate. Also, flame straightening to correct out-of-plane
distortion, if done prior to panel/block erection will impart additional in-plane shrinkage for
thin panels.
Figure 31 Basic types of distortion and distortion control strategy (Conrardy et al. 1997)
a) Types of Welding Distortion

The basic types of welding distortion occurring in ship panels are (Figure 31):
Transverse shrinkage
Longitudinal shrinkage
Rotational distortion
Angular distortion
Longitudinal bending distortion
Buckling distortion
In thin panels, all of the above forms of distortion are likely to occur. However, studies
37

__________________________________________________________________________
carried out by Conrardy et al. (1997) suggest that buckling is the primary contributor to thin
panel distortion. The buckling is due to the longitudinal shrinkage forces that are generated as
a result of reaction to the residual tensile stress during the welding of longitudinal stiffeners.
Buckling occurs when this compressive load exceeds the critical buckling load for the panel
and the system becomes unstable. The critical buckling load for a panel depends on the
stiffness of the panel which in turn is a function of the panel plate thickness, the panel size
and the spacing of the stiffeners.
A recommended distortion control strategy for thin panels proposes is to first eliminate the
buckling distortion arising from welding longitudinal stiffeners and subsequently control the
angular distortion resulting from the welding of both longitudinal and transverse stiffeners. In
this respect, the techniques available for reducing buckling distortion include the following:
Modifying panel design - This can be best achieved by increasing the thickness of
the plate and reducing the spacing of the longitudinal stiffeners.
Reducing welding heat input - Implementation of low heat input welding process
will not only reduce buckling distortion but also angular distortion.
Using intermittent welding - Significant reductions in panel distortion can be
achieved by replacing continuous welds with intermittent welds having the same
total strength. However, concern regarding fatigue and corrosion problems and the
fact that intermittent welding is not conducive to welding automation has been a
major hindrance to this technique of distortion control.
Using an egg-box method of construction - In the egg-box method of construction,
first the longitudinal stiffeners are welded to the transverse stiffeners. Then, the
stiffener assembly is welded to the assembled plate. This technique is useful as a
distortion control technique because the stiffener assembly is rigid and partitions
the plate into small areas which have a higher resistance to buckling.
Weld quenching - This technique is debatable and shows more promise for
distortion control of aluminium alloys than for steels. Though there is a significant
reduction in buckling distortion as a result of quenching (application of a water
spray on the back side of the plate at the stiffener location), under certain
conditions cracking can occur if the weld experiences excessive cooling rates.
Thermal tensioning - In thermal tensioning, parallel lines on both sides of the weld
joint are heated, while the weld joint itself is cooled. If a temperature difference of
about 170o C is generated, then the difference in the expansion and contraction of
the plate will create a tensile stress in the weld joint which is sufficient to prevent
buckling.
Of the above-mentioned techniques for controlling buckling distortion, thermal tensioning
and intermittent welding seems to be quite promising in the short term. The techniques
available for controlling angular distortion include the following:
Increasing restraint - There is a difference of opinion in the shipbuilding industry
as to the use of this technique for. Some practitioners are of the opinion that
38

__________________________________________________________________________
increasing restraint prevents the movement of the panel, whereas others believe
that restraint causes accumulation of residual stresses which in turn make the
distortion even larger when the restraining forces are removed. However, recent
studies indicate that increasing restraint reduces distortion without significantly
increasing the residual stress. The problem of using this technique is perhaps in the
larger fabrication time needed as a result from the need to apply the restraint and to
allow the part to cool.
Back bending - In the back-bending method of controlling distortion a component
in the opposite direction is put in the panel from which it is expected to distort.
This technique is suitable only for longitudinal stiffener welds. The main difficulty
of back-bending technique is to estimate the necessary degree of pre-bending to
eliminate distortion.
Back-side line heating - This technique is used in Japanese shipyards for reducing
the angular distortion resulting from the welding of transverse stiffeners. In this
method, distortion is removed after it has occurred by performing line heating at
the stiffener location on the opposite side of the plate from the fillet welds. The
angular distortion is removed by balancing the heat about the neutral axis of the
plate. However, the additional heat input from line heating can increase buckling
distortion.
Of the techniques mentioned, increasing restraint and back bending are most appropriate for
controlling angular distortion during the welding of longitudinal stiffeners, whereas back-side
line heating is most suitable for reducing angular distortion arising due to welding of
transverse stiffeners.
3.7 Materials Handling

It has been estimated that materials handling accounts for some 50% of the total man-hours
used in the building of a ship, and according to Taylor (1992) 60% of the shipyard labour
costs may be taken up in materials handling. The efficiency of a shipyard, therefore, greatly
depends on the material handling systems employed, and it is important to ensure the proper
integration of manufacturing and handling equipment to obtain smooth production flow
(Figure 32). As large prefabricated units are built for final assembly on the building berth, the
shipyards are dependent on heavy lift cranes and are increasingly making use of horizontal
means for transfer of blocks instead of the vertical methods involving overhead cranes. The
materials handling equipment used in the different areas of the shipyard can be grouped in the
following categories:
Conveyors
Cranes
Industrial Vehicles
Containers
39

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 32 Steelwork material diagram
a) Conveyors
Conveyors are used in shipyards for moving heavy materials in a fixed path, continuous
movement mode. They are mostly of the roller type. With the adoption of flow-line
production for plate treatment and in the panel line, increasing use is being made of horizontal
conveyor systems, which compared to cranes are quicker, safer and less expensive, require
less manpower, and are easier to automate and computer control, and can improve work flow.
The integrated plate/section treatment plant has roller conveyors to feed plates/sections
through the shot blasting, painting and drying units, and the output from the plant is directly
connected to the flat panel line. The panel line will have a mechanised conveyor system
feeding into plate welding and stiffener welding stations.
In some shipyards, even the assembly of three-dimensional blocks and outfitting is done on
conveyor lines. Thus, materials handling in hull component production and assembly are done
by horizontal conveyor lines. These conveyor lines are arranged to end within reach of the
heavy lift crawlers or the main erection cranes. Conveyors are also used in semi-automated
pipe shops, where they serve the various work stations as in a panel line.
40

__________________________________________________________________________
b) Cranes
Cranes are the most common materials handling equipment used in shipyards. The various
types of cranes used in shipyards are (Figure 33):
Bridge cranes
Jib cranes
Gantry cranes
Mobile cranes
Figure 33 Typical shipyard cranes
Bridge cranes require support on both sides for their full length of run, whereas jib and gantry
cranes are self-supported and travel on ground level rail tracks. Bridge cranes can be operated
41

__________________________________________________________________________
by an operator in the crane cabin or (increasingly) by hand held ground-level control. The
cabin controlled bridge cranes can move simultaneously lengthways and sideways, but the
movement of hand held bridge cranes are generally restricted to moves in one direction at a
time. Bridge or gantry cranes are commonly used in the steel stockyard. These cranes are
provided with magnetic lifting gear, so that the plates are subjected to least distortion.
Inside the steel component production area, assembly area, pipe shop, and machine shop,
overhead bridge cranes are common. Frequently, the main shop cranes are at higher level than
the supporting cranes. The roof supported bridge cranes used in covered hull and pipe shops
typically have a maximum capacity of 20 tonnes. The top running bridge cranes that run on
horizontal rails (which in turn are supported by vertical columns) can have a maximum lift
capacity of 300 to 400 tonnes.
In the hull construction stage, i.e. on the erection berth or building dock, travelling gantry or
level-luffing jib cranes are used. The jib cranes could be of revolving type so as to permit
wider outreach to the block storage areas. A problem with gantry cranes is that to avoid
interference between two or more cranes serving a berth, the cranes have to operate at
different heights. Level-luffing jib cranes are more flexible and these cranes can be used in
tandem for lifting heavier blocks. Mobile cranes used in shipyards are mainly wheeled
vehicles having a low lifting capacity.
c) Industrial Vehicles
In addition to shipyard cranes and conveyors, industrial vehicles play a significant role in
materials handling. Forklift trucks are widely used for transporting items of small batch sizes
over a wide coverage area. To transport large prefabricated units from the assembly shops to
the storage areas adjacent to the building dock or berth, very large self-propelled heavy lift
crawler vehicles are used. A typical heavy crawler will consist of a large self-elevating
platform mounted on a multi-axis chassis with control cabins at both ends.
d) Containers
Barrels or drums for holding liquids and other bulk commodities (e.g. sand, pallets, etc.) are
carried in boxes or containers. The containers in turn are moved between shops and around
the shipyard by fork lift trucks or mobile cranes.
3.8 Outfitting - Tasks involved

All non-structural parts on a ship are referred to as outfit items. Outfitting work has become
progressively more complex because of the greater sophistication of modern ships in their
machinery, equipment and accommodation, and because of the stringent requirements of
national and international regulations (Figure 34).
In comparison with steel fabrication, outfitting and related installation work is more labour
intensive and requires a larger number of trade skills. Because it involves a large number of
dissimilar processes creating a wide variety of products, the outfitting process has tended to
receive less attention than steelwork. Outfit items on a ship can be broadly classified as:
Main propulsion system and auxiliary machinery

Piping system
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems commonly referred as HVAC
42

__________________________________________________________________________
Electrical systems
Accommodation
Deck fittings
Weapon systems on board naval ships
Figure 34 Shipyard production process

43

__________________________________________________________________________
a) Main Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery
The main propulsion and auxiliary machinery are purchased directly from outside vendors
with the ship owner usually being involved in the selection process. The responsibility of the
shipyard lies in the proper installation of this equipment. The shipyard has to undertake the
pre-installation tasks such as providing the necessary structural foundation, piping and
electrical connections of required auxiliaries, shaft connection and alignment, etc. Finally,
after installation it is the responsibility of the yard to test the propulsion and auxiliary
machinery systems and confirm that they are performing as per the desired benchmark. Shaft
alignment is an important task under this category. The shipyard has to ensure that the shaft
load is correctly distributed over the bearings and that proper tooth contact is made in any
reduction gearbox fitted.
b) Piping Systems
The assembly and installation of various piping systems on board the ship, e.g. fuel oil, bilge,
ballast, fire main, etc., constitutes the largest outfit task in many shipyards. The main tasks in
a pipe shop are:
cutting of pipes
hole and contour cutting
edge preparation for welding
flange fitting and welding
bending
surface preparation and coating of pipes
testing of pipes including X-ray testing
As with hull component manufacture, the pipe cutting process can be done either by
mechanical cold cutting using band saws or shearing machines, or by thermal cutting using a
numerically controlled plasma arc cutting machine. The latter process is preferred for
complex cutting and edge preparation as it not only produces a faster and cleaner cut, but can
also produce contour cuts or hole cuts for branching pipes. Portable grinders are used for edge
preparation when the edge is not prepared by the thermal cutting machine. Boring mills or
pipe lathes are also used for mechanical end preparation.
The bending of pipes is achieved either by a cold mechanical process or by a hot thermal
process. Internal support either by tightly packed sand or an internal mandrel may be needed
during the pipe bending process to retain the roundness of the pipe and prevent its collapse
during bending. The need for internal support during pipe bending increases as the wall
thickness of the pipe and the radius of bend decrease relative to the pipe diameter. Cold
bending machines are usually preferred to hot bending machines. The latter are used mainly
for larger diameter pipes ( 150mm). The hot bending machine requires more space and the
process itself is relatively expensive, inefficient and time consuming.
Assembly of pipe pieces is achieved either by welding (including brazing or soldering) or by
bolting. Submerged arc and gas metal arc welding (GMA/MIG) are the preferred processes
for the welding of flanges and branches or tees.
44

__________________________________________________________________________
c) Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC)
The main task in a shipyard under this category is the preparation of ducting systems from
sheet metal for the different HVAC systems. The main components of the HVAC system such
as compressors, fans, heat exchangers, dampers and diffusers are generally supplied to the
shipyard by vendors. The installation of this equipment along with their ducting systems is the
responsibility of the shipyard. Insulation of the ducts is done during the installation.
The major processes for the preparation of the ducts involve cutting, bending and assembly of
sheet metal. Saws, punches and shearing machines are generally used for cutting of sheet
metals. However, some shipyards have such a large volume of outfit work that they prefer
numerical controlled plasma arc or laser cutting machines to produce the accurate piece parts
for sheet metal work. The bending of sheet metal is done by variety of presses, which in turn
can be fitted with different tools and dies for performing specific operations. Turret presses
are used for punching a variety of holes in the sheet metal. The sheet metal ducts are joined
together by welding, riveting, bolting, or using hooked seams.
d) Electrical
The electrical equipment is supplied by outside vendors. Therefore, the main tasks for the
shipyard under the electrical outfit process involve:
running of cables through cableways or supported by hangers
splicing of cables
manufacture and installation of cableway bulkhead penetrations
Installation of switchboards, control panels, etc.
connecting the cables to the various pieces of electrical equipment
e) Accommodation
All work inside the accommodation spaces, excluding the HVAC and electrical work
described earlier, come under this head and is generally referred as joiner work. Joiner work
involves the construction and installation of all non-structural partitions and doors inside the
accommodation space. It also includes the installation of furniture, insulation and other deck
fittings in the accommodation. The work processes, which are manual in nature, include
cutting, fitting, bolting, welding, soldering and brazing.
f)
Deck Fittings
Deck fittings are either fabricated by the shipyard from steel (e.g. ladders, bulwarks, railings,
hawsepipes, and masts, etc.) or purchased from vendors (e.g. winches, windlasses, anchors
and chains, cargo handling gear, deck coverings, etc.) The deck fitting work processes
generally involve the cutting, welding and bolting of steel pieces. The installation - including
electrical and hydraulic connection - of the various items of deck equipment is also a part of
this outfit process.
g) Weapon Systems on Board Naval Ships
The weapons systems on board a naval ship consist mainly of hydraulic and electronic
equipment supplied by sub-contractors. The installation and testing of this equipment is done
45

__________________________________________________________________________
by a combined team of shipyard personnel and personnel from the armament supplier. The
owners team would also oversee that the weapon systems are performing to specification.
The major components of the weapon systems for a naval ship are grouped as follows:
Command and control systems.

Sensors - include radar, sonar and other electronic sensing systems.
Weapons - include guns, missile and torpedo launchers, and their fire control and
handling systems.
Aviation system - consisting of hangars, maintenance spaces and related stores
46

__________________________________________________________________________
4. THE SHIPBUILDING PROCESS

4.1 Introduction
The ship production process, like ship design, may be divided into stages Figure 35. The hull
structure (steel work) part of the production process consists of a component production stage
followed by assembly stages of increasing complexity in which larger assemblies are
progressively built up from components and smaller assemblies culminating in the complete
ship. The information required at each stage of the production process must provide a
complete and explicit definition of the intermediate products (components, minor assemblies
and major assemblies) produced at that stage.
Figure 35 Shipbuilding work stages
These intermediate products may consist of elements of different functional groups, and the
manner in which a ship is divided into intermediate products at different levels depends upon
the shipyard building the ship. It is also desirable that the information provided at each
production stage not only defines the intermediate products being produced but also includes
a list of materials and components required, and data on work content (e.g. amount of
welding), handling parameters (e.g. weight and centroid), resources (e.g. assembly space) etc.
which would facilitate production planning, scheduling, resource allocation and production
control. It is therefore evident that the information needed for ship production is quite
different from the information generated by the ship design process. The main differences are
highlighted in Table 2.
47

__________________________________________________________________________
Table 2 Differences Between Design and Production Information
Item Information From Ship Design
Information For Ship Production
1.
Defines the complete ship
Defines intermediate products
2.
Is arranged according to functional

groups and subgroups
3.
4.
Is arranged according to production stages with

intermediate products consisting of elements from
different functional groups
Has emphasis on the operation of the
Has emphasis on production processes, materials
complete ship, not on the production
lists, work content and other production parameters
processes involved
associated with intermediate products
Is generally independent of the
Is largely governed by the facilities, standards and
shipyard in which the ship will be built working practices of a particular shipyard
4.2 Traditional Processes and Modern Approaches

The basic flow of information in a ship design and production cycle is shown in Figure 36.
Although the various activities are shown as taking place in series, the need to reduce the
period of the shipbuilding cycle usually makes it necessary to carry out these activities partly
in parallel. "Concurrent Engineering" may be new as a term, but it has been practised in
shipbuilding for a long time.
Figure 36 Information flow in ship Design and Production
The use of computers has no doubt resulted in significant improvements in the manner in
which ship design information is generated and in the way that ship production information is
used. Thus, computers have permitted the adoption of parametric studies and optimisation
techniques in the concept and the preliminary design stages.
Computers have also eliminated the traditional mould loft and allowed the use of computercontrolled machine tools and robots in ship production. Nevertheless, the essential task of
converting the design information into information for production remains a problem area.
This was illustrated by Section 1.7 in which detail design, described in Taggart (1980) as the
development of working plans and work instructions, requires more than ten times the effort
required for concept design, preliminary design / contract design put together.
48

__________________________________________________________________________
4.3 An Introduction to Group Technology

Because of increased competition that the advanced European and American shipyards faced
from the emerging shipyards in the Far East, various thoughts were given to improve ship
production technology and thereby attain higher productivity. The application of the concepts
of Group Technology provided the advanced shipbuilding countries with a basis on which
they could improve their shipbuilding productivity; the goal of every shipyard if they are to
survive in the competitive business of building ships. Finally, the availability of high
computer processing power and speed coupled with the advances in database technology has
enabled the full potential of group technology to be realised.
Group Technology, though not a new concept to engineering, can be broadly defined as:
the logical arrangement and sequence of all the facets of company operation in order to
bring the benefits of mass production to high variety, mixed quantity production structure.
Elaborating on this the definition, group technology can be seen as a concept in which the
production facilities are organised in self-contained groups or cells. Each self-regulating
group or cell is capable of producing a family of products of similar manufacturing
characteristics. Each cell will have a number of machines and workers who are capable of
using several machines or processes, thereby requiring fewer workers. The group technology
concept is somewhat between the conventional batch processing system and the flow line
production system and can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
i)
Components are classified into groups or families according to the production

processes by which they are produced.
ii) Work loads are balanced among production groups into which production
facilities are organised rather than between separate manufacturing operations.
iii) The production groups or cells will vary in size and composition in terms of
machinery, people and components concerned. The layout of some cells may be
organised to provide a flow to optimise the operation of a key machine tool by
having the secondary machinery arranged in a manner to ensure a balanced input
and smooth outflow of work. The machines in the cell can also be arranged so that
there is a continuous flow of work from one machine to the next and thereby
trying to gain the advantages of flow line production.
iv) Each cell works with a considerable degree of autonomy.
a) Group Technology in Shipbuilding
Another, more detailed, definition for group technology is:
a technique for manufacturing small to medium lot size batches of parts of similar process,
of somewhat dissimilar materials, geometry and size, which are produced on a committed
small cell of machines, which have been grouped together physically, specially tooled and
scheduled as a unit.
49

__________________________________________________________________________
This definition clearly states that group technology is not suited to lot sizes that can be
efficiently produced on an assembly line. Group technology aims at realising the benefits of
mass production (e.g. balanced work flow, moving the work to the worker and permanent
locations and functions for different work) to small lot sized varied work. Concepts of group
technology are applicable to shipbuilding as the ship production process will have a number
of interim products which are either one of a kind or are alike for a few cases.
By this concept, interim products will be grouped together into different problem areas based
on the similarity of the process. Therefore, a flat panel assembly area will be manufactured in
a different cell or group to that of a curved panel assembly. The cell for each problem area is
flexible in the sense that it allows for dissimilarity in shape, material, size, etc. of the
deliverable.
The machines required to manufacture the interim product are grouped together in the cell. In
a shipbuilding yard that has adopted group technology concepts; the cell will be responsible
for completing all aspects of an assembly including piping, ducting, painting, etc. regardless
of overlapping functional systems. The cell or group should be viewed not as a collection of
machines but as a single machine producing an interim product for a specific problem area.
The scheduling of material and production for the cell is treated as a single entity.
Group Technology has been successfully used by advanced ship building nations in the
following areas of shipbuilding:
Rationalisation of Design.
Development of effective production planning systems by analysis of product
sizes, shapes, variety and processes.
Reduction in the variety of structural material sizes.
Improved presentation of engineering information to the shop floor through
classification and coding of products.
Improved shop floor organisation and layout based on statistical analysis of the
product processes and flow.
Ship construction is characterised by a single deliverable end product which is assembled

from a number of major assemblies (structural blocks, main engines, shafting, piping units,
etc.) manufactured by the shipyard and outside vendors. These in turn are assembled from
smaller assemblies and purchased components. The key to the success of group technology in
shipbuilding is to focus on the interim products.
Figure 37 shows flow of materials in a Plate/Section Preparation shop and the subsequent
Assembly Shop. Figure 38 shows the layout of the facilities in a conventional shipyard where
the different production processes are arranged as per functional layout. The facilities inside
the plate and section preparation shop are arranged such that like machines are in one place.
50

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 37 Flow of material in a plate/section Preparation shop
Figure 38 Producton facilities based on a conventional functional layout
Figure 39 shows the production facilities arranged in the group technology layout. Group
technology modifies the process flow as it aims to arrange the production facilities in selfcontained and self-regulating groups or cells. Each cell undertakes the manufacture of a
family of components with similar manufacturing characteristics. There may be duplication of
machines in each cell which may result in a low machine utilisation, but should result in an
overall improvement of productivity.
51

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 39 Producton facilities based on a modern Group technology layout
The application of group technology to shipbuilding provides an opportunity to develop better

methods and techniques for the design and construction of ships. The benefits arising from the
application of group technology to the shipbuilding process are summarised as follows:
Reduction in engineering drawings

Company standardisation
Reduction in design and engineering man hours
Improved quality
Better utilisation of facilities
Identification and elimination of high work content product and processes
Simplified planning, scheduling and production control
Scope for improved productivity
There are, however, costs associated with the implementation of group technology in
shipbuilding. It is expected that increased productivity and cost savings will greatly outweigh
the increased implementation costs. The success of group technology will depend on detailed
work packages generated by the Engineering Department and an effective planning and
control system. This may require a larger engineering team. Also, effort has to be put in
classify and code all the interim products that go into the manufacture of the ship.
4.4 Work Breakdown - A Group Technology Approach

A ship is a complex product that has a number of functional systems integrated together to
perform specific tasks. It is therefore natural to divide the ship into a number of components
so as to have a control over their production process. A Work Breakdown Structure is a
system of subdividing the ship in systems (functional) oriented or product oriented manner.
52

__________________________________________________________________________
a) Systems-oriented Work Breakdown Structure (SWBS)
In the system oriented work breakdown structure, the ship is grouped according to its
functional components. Such divisions are useful at the early design stage for initial
estimates. They are not very helpful in providing information for manufacturing, scheduling
and control as the modern method of ship construction is by assembling blocks. Estimation of
costs (especially labour cost) and measurement of product and process efficiency is difficult if
the ship is divided on a Systems-oriented Breakdown Structure.
b) Product-oriented Work Breakdown Structure (PWBS)
In recent years, shipbuilding has evolved from a systems based infrastructure to a

product and process based infrastructure. The product-oriented work breakdown
structure classifies the ship on the basis of its interim product. Parts and
subassemblies are grouped by common permanent characteristics and classified
by both design and manufacturing attributes.
For requirements of Work Package classification, PWBS divides the ship by the:
Type of work
Needs for resources, i.e. material, manpower, facilities
Needs for control of production process.
i) PWBS by the Type of Work
The PWBS divides the shipbuilding process into the following three types of work package
because each type of work imposes different manufacturing problems:
Hull Construction
Outfitting
Painting
These three types of work are further broken down into fabrication and assembly. With regard
to painting, only assembly has any meaning in a shipyard context as fabrication would imply
paint manufacture.
ii) PWBS by the Resource Requirements for Interim Products
PWBS classifies interim product according to the following resource requirements:
Material: to be used for production of the product and could be direct or

indirect, e.g. steel plate, machinery, cable, etc.
Manpower: to be charged towards the production of the interim product and
could be direct or indirect, e.g. welder, gas cutter, fitter, rigger, etc.
Facilities: to be used for producing the interim product and could be direct or
indirect in the form of buildings, docks, machinery, equipment, etc.
iii) PWBS for Control of Production Process

In a shipyard, the build strategy should be carefully planned so that the different
manufacturing processes for component parts and assemblies leading to the structural blocks
and outfit units are produced productively within a given time frame. There may be
simultaneous use of different manufacturing processes for different systems in a ship or even
53

__________________________________________________________________________
for different ships. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a strategy for an effective control of the
production process.
To achieve this, PWBS divides the ship into the following product aspects:
System A structural or operational function of a product e.g. longitudinal
bulkhead, deck, fire main, mooring system, fuel oil system etc.
Zone - A product based on a geographical division of the ship, e.g. cargo hold,
superstructure, engine room, etc. and their subdivisions or combinations, e.g. a
structural block or an outfit unit, and ultimately a part or component.
Problem Area - A division of the production process into similar types of work
problems which can be as shown in Table 3.
Work Stage - The work stage defines the production process by sequence, e.g. sub
steps of fabrication, sub assembly, assembly, erection; outfitting on-unit, outfitting
on-block, outfitting on-board.
The PWBS by the product structure, work type and work stage allows viewing of interim
products by multiple work types across several different stages.
Table 3 Problem areas subdivisions
By feature
By quantity
By quality
By kind of work
curved versus flat panels

steel versus aluminium superstructure
small diameter versus large diameter piping, etc.
Volume of on-block outfitting for machinery space versus
volume of on-block outfitting for other spaces
Grade of workers required, Grade of facilities needed, etc.
Marking, cutting, bending, welding, bolting, testing etc
4.5 Build Strategy and Shipbuilding Policy

To accomplish a given task within a stated objective, the management must clearly specify:
What is to be done?
When is to be done?
How is it to be done?
What resources are needed to do the task?
A build strategy document is normally prepared to answer the above questions. The build
strategy is defined by Lamb [Wade et al. 1997] as:
an agreed design, engineering, materials management, production, planning and
testing plan prepared before the work starts so as to identify and integrate all the
necessary processes.
A build strategy document attempts to capture the design, planning, production methods and
practices for a specific task into an integrated system. The document spells out objectives,
constraints, potential difficulties, and other information that needs to be developed before the
main task can commence. The build strategy develops and refines as more information
becomes available during the design process. The initial build strategy addresses the whole
54

__________________________________________________________________________
ship, then an interim product and finally specific work methods and requirements for each
work package are provided. This can be seen in Figure 40.
Figure 40 Typical Product structure for a ship
A Build Strategy could be produced as a stand-alone document for any ship to be built by a
shipyard but it would be very thick and would take a lot of effort to prepare if certain other,
more generic, documents had not been prepared earlier. The first key document is the
shipyards Business Plan which sets out the shipyards ambitions for a period of years and
describes how the yard aims to attain them.
Next there should be a Shipbuilding Policy. This defines the product mix the yard intends to
build together with the organisation and procedures which will allow it to produce ships
efficiently. The Shipbuilding Policy will identify methods for breaking the ships in the
product mix into standard interim products by applying a Product Work Breakdown Structure
(PWBS). It should also define the areas in which particular interim products will be produced
and the tools and procedures to be used.
In addition there should also be a Ship Definition Policy. This specifies the format and
content of the design and engineering information necessary to support the manner in which
the ships will be built. If any of these documents does not already exist then the information
applying to a particular contract that it would have provided will have to be generated and
included in the Build Strategy. The principal aims of a Build Strategy include:
To apply a companys overall Shipbuilding Policy to a particular contract

To provide a process that ensures that design development takes full account of
production requirements
To introduce, systematically, production engineering principles that reduce the work
content and cycle time of building a ship
To identify interim products and create a product-oriented approach to designing and
planning a ship
55

__________________________________________________________________________
To ensure all departments contribute to the strategy

To ensure communication, cooperation, collaboration and consistency between the
various technical and production functions.
4.6 Relationship between Shipbuilding Policy and Build Strategy

A Shipbuilding Policy defines the optimum organisation and built methods necessary to
produce the product mix the yard aspires to within its Business Plan. It is aimed at design
standardisation and rationalisation in a suitable work organisation to simulate the effect of
series construction. A Shipbuilding Policy is developed from the companys Business Plan
which is likely to look forward for a period of five years or so and include topics such as:
The product range the yard intends to build (based on market study)
The capacity and output of the yard
Cost Targets
Pricing Policy
The relationship between the Business Plan, Shipbuilding Policy and Build Strategy is shown
in a figure. To meet the targets set in the Business Plan decisions are needed on the core of the
Shipbuilding Policy: Facility Development
Productivity Targets
Make/Buy/ Subcontract
Technical and Production Organisation
The Shipbuilding Policy can then be seen as a set of standards to be applied to specific ship
contracts at levels corresponding to the planning levels i.e. Strategic; Tactical; Detail.
A well-organised shipyard will have designed its facilities around a specific product range and
standard production methods which are supported by a variety of technical and administrative
services that have been developed according to the requirements of production and detailed in
a Shipbuilding Policy; Thus, when a new order is received only work which significantly
differs from anything previously undertaken needs to be investigated in depth to identify
possible difficulties.
Where it has not been possible to minimise product variety then the solutions to these
difficulties will be crucial to the completion of the build. The solutions are embodied in the
Build Strategy. Among other attributes, the Build Strategy Document is an effective way of
capturing the combined knowledge and processes of design and shipbuilding so that they can
be continuously improved and updated. Preparing the Build Strategy brings together all the
groups involved in designing, procuring, constructing and testing the ship so that they can
evaluate and decide on the optimum approach before any tasks are commenced or any
information is passed on.
4.7 Integrated Hull Construction, Outfitting and Painting (IHOP)

The concepts of group technology have been successfully applied in modern shipbuilding
wherein the different components of PWBS (by the type of work, i.e. hull construction,
56

__________________________________________________________________________
outfitting, and painting) have been integrated in the production process. Figure 41 shows the
different elements of an Integrated Hull, Outfitting and Painting (IHOP) system identified as
the following zone oriented methods:
Hull Block Construction Method (HBCM)
Zone Outfitting Method (ZOFM)
Zone Painting Method (ZPTM)
Pipe Piece Family Manufacturing (PPFM) - this is because large quantities and
varieties of pipe pieces and ventilation trunking need to be manufactured.
Figure 41 Components of the IHOP (Integrated Hull Outfitting Painting) approach
a) Hull Block Construction Method

In the Hull Block Construction Method, the ship is divided and subdivided into blocks. These
blocks form the basis for control of the production process and also have an impact on the
Zone Outfitting Method and the Zone Painting Method. The size, shape and the number of
blocks will determine the subsequent nature of the work packages for the interim products and
thus will have a large influence on the productivity of the yard. The division of the ships into
manageable blocks should be such that:
Blocks are simple and have logical boundaries.

The number of blocks should be minimised, if necessary by joining blocks, to exploit
the largest capacity crane at the erection site. There may be sometimes an additional
manufacturing level where blocks are joined into grand blocks.
The shape of the blocks should be such that they have a stable configuration and can
stand on their own with minimum or no external support.
The need for scaffolding, lifting and turning of a block during its fabrication process
should be minimised.
The blocks should be configured such that the various sub-assemblies that make up a
given block can be assigned to one of a minimum number of work package groups
considering similarities in problem area and need to minimise variations in working
times.
The blocks should provide maximum accessibility, both in terms of area and volume,
for on-block outfitting and on-block painting so as to:
install machinery and other components in the engine room
57

__________________________________________________________________________
arrange deck machinery, moorings, piping, fittings, etc., and
perform as much painting as possible before erection of the block
The hull block construction method has a hierarchical framework with up to seven
manufacturing levels (depending on the shipyards facilities and the type of ship it is building)
so as to optimise the hull structural production process (Figure 42).
Figure 42 Hull block Construction Method (HBCM) manufacturing levels
The interim products manufactured at each level in the hull block construction method (except
for the Grand Block and Erection Level) are examined for similarities in their production
aspects. Then they are grouped so as to:
further modularise the production process
justify the presence of expensive but highly efficient facilities
achieve manpower savings
The work at each manufacturing level will be examined next and grouped by problem area
and work stage.
i) Parts Fabrication
This stage produces components and piece parts for hull construction which cannot be further
subdivided. The manufacturing process for plates and rolled sections can be grouped based
on the differences in raw materials, finished parts, fabrication process and relevant facilities
as:
58

__________________________________________________________________________
Rectangular flat plates

Non-rectangular flat plates
Internal parts from flat plates
Plates with curvature in one direction
Plates with compound curvature
Straight rolled sections
Curved rolled sections
The different work stages during parts fabrication are:

Marking and Cutting
Bending (but not for all cases)
Table 4 shows the different problem areas during the parts fabrication stage along with their
associated work stage and facilities.
Table 4 Parts Fabrication Characteristics
PROBLEM AREA
Rectangular flat plates
Non-rectangular flat plates
Internal parts from flat
plates
Plates with single
curvature
Plates with compound
curvature
Straight rolled sections
Curved rolled sections
WORK STAGE
Little marking, Cutting, Edge
Preparation
Marking, Cutting, Edge
Preparation
Marking, Complex contour
cutting, Edge Preparation
Preparation
Preparation
Little marking, Cutting,
Sniping, Scallops
Marking, Cutting, Sniping,
Scallops, Bending
FACILITIES
Flame Planer
Flame Profiler
Flame Profiler
Flame Planer or Flame
Profiler, Bending Rolls
Flame Profiler, Press, Line
Heating
Profile Burner, Guillotine
Profile Burner, Guillotine,
Frame Bender
ii) Part Assembly

Part assemblies usually consist of built up sections or stiffened brackets and are there to
reduce excessive volume of work at the subsequent sub-assembly level. Part assembly can be
grouped by their problem areas as:
Built-up Sections - e.g. heavier scantling T- sections and L- sections.
Sub-block Part - e.g. bracket plate stiffened with a face plate or flat bar.
The different work stages for part assembly are:
Assembly
Bending (but not for all cases)
iii) Sub-block Assembly
This manufacturing level consists of assembled structural parts like transverses, girders,
floors, etc. Work packages of sub-block assembly can be grouped as:
Sub-assemblies of similar size in large quantities - e.g. deep transverses, girders,
59

__________________________________________________________________________
web frames, floors, etc.
Sub-assemblies of similar size but in small quantities - e.g. forward stringers
The sub-assemblies in the former category can be mass produced size by size in process lanes
with appropriate welding equipment and facilities for material handling and transfer, whereas
the sub-assemblies in the latter category must be produced in a job shop manner. The work
stage classification at this manufacturing level is as:
assembly
back assembly (but not for all cases) (back assembly is additional fitting after
turning)
iv) Semi-block Assembly, Block Assembly and Grand Block Joining
A block is the most important zone for the hull construction and the efficient production of
these blocks is the key to higher productivity in the shipyard. The blocks can be planned in
three assembly levels. These are:
Semi-block assembly
Block assembly
Grand-block joining
It should be noted that the semi-block assembly stage and grand-block joining stage, which
precede and follow the block assembly stage, are there only to assist the manufacture of the
blocks.
The semi-block serves the need to assemble partial zones of the main block. This is
sometimes necessary so as not to disrupt the work flow to the main block. The semi-block
assembly is divided by problem area in the same manner as sub-block assembly. The size and
shape of the semi-block assemblies are such that they can be produced in the same facility as
sub-block assembly.
Grand-block joining is the process whereby two or more block assemblies are joined to create
a larger block. The grand-block joining is usually done near the erection site and the size and
weight of the grand-block should be just within the maximum lifting capacity of the berth
cranes. The advantages of grand-block joining are:
Reduces erection time in the building berth or building dock.
The final shape of the grand-block should be more stable for erection purposes.
Facilitates further on-block outfitting and painting.
Block assembly is divided into problem areas on the basis of whether the base of the panel, to
which component parts, assembled parts, and/or sub-blocks are attached, is flat or curved.
Another distinguishing feature at this stage is the uniformity or non-uniformity of the working
times required to manufacture these blocks. Blocks requiring uniform time can be assembled
in flow line production as the start and finish of the job can be planned. Blocks that require
non-uniform assembly time and special jigs and clamps for each block assembly are normally
manufactured by a job-shop approach. The division of the blocks by the problem area are:
Flat Block - The working time in this case is uniform and there are no projections
from the panel undersides for which special jigs are required. The undersides will
also not interfere with roller conveyors.
60

__________________________________________________________________________
Special Flat Block - The working time for such a block is non-uniform and special
jigs or supports are needed to manufacture them.
Curved Block - The working time is uniform.
Special Curved Block - The working time for such block is non-uniform and
special pin jigs (a series of vertical screw jacks that can be adjusted to attain the
desired curvature) are needed to manufacture them.
Superstructure Block
The work carried out at the block assembly stage is as follows:
Joining of plates (not for all cases)
Attaching Stiffeners (not for all cases)
Assembly - panels are combined with component parts, sub assembly, sub blocks
and even semi-blocks
Back assembly (not for all cases)
At the grand block assembly level the problem area can be classified as:
Flat panel
Curved panel
Superstructure panel
The work stage at this level could be as follows:
Joining of blocks
Pre-erection
Back pre-erection
v) Hull Erection
This is the last level in Hull Block Construction Method where the complete hull is
considered as a zone. The problem areas for hull erection are:
Forward hull
After hull
Cargo hold
Engine room
Superstructure
The work stages at this level can be grouped as:
Erection
Test (test means usually testing the water tightness of tanks and could be performed
independently of erection)
Figures 43 and 44 illustrate how the piece parts and sub-assemblies are combined to form
larger assemblies and blocks for the different regions of the ship structure.
61

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 43 Combination of semi-blocks and blocks
62

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 44 Combination of piece parts and sub-assemblies
63

__________________________________________________________________________
b) Panel Line
Stiffened panels, consisting of plates attached to stiffeners, constitute a large percentage of the
structural fabrication work in a shipyard (Figure 45). To improve the productivity at the block
assembly stage the stiffened panels are produced in an automated flow line production called
the panel line. The different work stations for this flow line production which can use egg-box
assembly for stiffeners and one-sided welding for joining plates are as follows:
Plate Arrival, Alignment and Tacking: Plates after being shot blasted and primed
arrive at this station on conveyor rollers. The plates are positioned, aligned and tack
welded manually.
Plate Welding: The tack-welded plates arrive at this station where one-sided buttwelding is carried out. Copper back-up plates are positioned to suit the width of the
plates prior to the arrival of the plates. Normally, gantry mounted one-sided
welding machines that can weld up to 3 seams simultaneously are used. These
machines can weld plates up to 25 mm thick in a single pass.
Marking and Cutting: Marking on the joined plate panel is carried out next so as to
allow for distortion during butt-welding. Stiffener locations are also marked at this
stage. Marking at this stage allows for a more accurate panel shape. Subsequently,
the plate panel is cut to size, including deck openings, lightening holes, etc., using a
numerically controlled flame-cutting machine.
Egg Box Assembly of Stiffeners: On a parallel conveyor, which is alongside the
plate panel line, the longitudinals and transverses are assembled together using lugs
and jigs.
Egg Box stiffener Feed-in: The assembled egg-box stiffeners of longitudinals and
transverses are transferred on to the plate panel and positioned using overhead
cranes.
Welding of Stiffeners to Plate Panel: The stiffener assembly is welded to the plate
panel using automatic or gravity welding machines. The sequence of welding is
important to reduce distortion.
Inspection and Repair: The stiffened panel is checked for welding defects and
accuracy at this stage. If required, minor repairs are carried out. Outfitting work like
fitting of pipes, scaffolding brackets, lifting pads, etc. can also be performed at this
stage. Finally, the panel is painted and transferred to one of the block assembly
stage, grand block assembly stage or erection stage
64

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 45 Examples of steel panel lines
4.8 Zone Outfitting Method (ZOFM)

The zone outfitting method works in conjunction with the hull block construction method.
Both use a similar logic of zone division. The likely different manufacturing levels for ZOFM
are shown in Figure 46. Outfit components are assembled either independently of the hull
blocks or based on the hull blocks. The ZOFM planners must take into account the block
zones of HBCM when planning the outfit work packages. The outfit work package for a
particular zone is broken up to suit the manufacture and outfit process control for the given
outfit interim product. Whereas, in HBCM the zone size increases as the manufacturing level
progresses, the outfit zone size for control purpose may be larger at the initial stages and
could have no common boundaries with outfit zones defined at subsequent stages. The outfit
work package corresponding to a particular zone, problem area or work stage is defined in
terms of pallets.
65

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 46 Zone Outfitting Method (ZOM) manufacturing levels
A pallet for any interim outfit product will define the work package in terms of information,
labour and material needed to complete the specific outfit task. The pallets are sequenced in
the outfit plan by their order of execution. ZOFM has many advantages over conventional
outfitting:
Outfitting and installation work is transferred indoors where there are better
working conditions: better access, better lighting and less congestion.
A large amount of work can be done at the ground level, thereby increasing safety.
Supervision of work is easier.
The different outfitting activities can be carried out in closer proximity to the
respective outfit shops and stores, reducing idling time.
Many of the auxiliary systems and subsystems can be tested in the shop, thereby
facilitating the early rectification of defects.
However, the introduction of ZOFM will alter the material procurement policy of the
shipyard. Planning and production control will become more complex as the steel work and
outfit work have to be synchronised and better organisation and more effort is required to coordinate work between various departments. Outfit work in ZOFM can be carried out:
On-unit: On-unit outfitting refers to a zone where outfitting work is performed
independent of the hull structure. On-unit outfitting enhances safety as work is
carried out indoors and at ground level. Improved productivity can be achieved
(both in terms of reduced outfit man-hours and duration) by increasing the outfit
work content on-unit compared to on-block or on-board.
On-block: On-block outfitting refers to a zone where outfit work is carried out on a
66

__________________________________________________________________________
structural assembly (semi-block, block or grand block). The zone for on-block
outfitting is a particular region on a block. If the structural block is subsequently
turned and further outfit work carried out on the block, the zone for on-block outfit
work will be different.
On-board: On-board outfitting refers to a zone on the ship where outfit assembly is
performed. The on-board outfitting work can be carried out at the hull erection
stage (prior to the launch of the vessel) or at the post launch stage.
The ZOFM planner should be able to plan and divide the outfit work packages in a top down
manner. He must consider all outfit components for all systems that exist in an on-board zone
and try to shift the outfit work to the on-block zones. Subsequently, he must consider all
outfit components for all systems that exist in an on-block zone and shift as much as possible
of the outfit work content to the on-unit zones. The other important points that need to be
considered by the outfit planners are:
Maximise down hand welding for outfit work.
Organise the outfit work so that the maximum amount can be performed at the onunit stage, followed by the on-block and finally the on-board stage.
Transfer outfit work from narrow enclosed spaces to more open spaces, thereby
maximising safety and providing improved access for workers and materials.
Plan outfit work packages concurrently to reduce outfitting duration.
a) Component Procurement
Component procurement is the first stage of outfit production. The work packages and
material requisitions for component procurement are grouped by zone and by problem area as:
manufactured in house
manufactured by outside contractors in accordance with the shipyards specification
bought out items
Work stage grouping of component procurement is as follows:
design and material preparation (not required for bought out items)
manufacturing (not required for bought out items)
palletising
b) Unit Assembly and Grand Unit Joining
In a similar manner to the hull block construction method where the block is the key zone for
manufacturing, the unit is the key zone for outfitting work. The manufacturing level for onunit outfitting work could be unit assembly and subsequently grand unit joining. Unit
assembly could be divided according to their weights as small units (of less than 1 tonne) and
large units. Unit assembly can be further divided by problem area into:
Machinery work - machinery equipment with their attachments, supports, etc.
Pipe work - pipe pieces with valves
Other - hatch covers with coamings, masts, etc.
Two or more outfit unit assemblies can be combined to form a grand unit in order reduce the
outfitting work at the on-block and on-board stage. Work at this stage is predominantly
67

__________________________________________________________________________
assembling and welding.
c) On-Block Outfitting
At the on-block outfitting stage, on-unit and grand-unit outfit assemblies are fitted to the
structural blocks defined by the HBCM. The outfit zone, as mentioned earlier, will be
different if the structural block is turned and the outfit components and assemblies are fitted
onto the ceiling, or subsequent outfitting work carried out after the tank top plate has been
installed on the double bottom block.
The output work packages at this stage can be grouped by problem area into specialist work
for hull outfit, machinery outfit and superstructure outfit. The outfit work is carried out either
at the location where the structural block is being assembled or at a different location where
the completed structural block has been shifted. In the latter case, the outfit work is carried
out using an on-flow concept where different outfit work packages start and end together. The
work stage for on-block outfitting can be grouped as:
on-ceiling fitting
on-ceiling welding
block turnover
on floor fitting
on floor welding
d) On-Board Outfitting
On-board outfitting is the outfit work carried out on the hull of the ship either during a prelaunch erection stage or during the post-launch outfitting stage. In shipyards, the former is
referred as advanced outfitting and the latter conventional outfitting. On-board outfitting work
should be carefully analysed for better work control as different outfit trades are likely to
interfere with each other. Outfit planners should aim to reduce the on-board outfit work as far
as possible. However, the following outfit works have to be performed on-board:
Outfitting components that are too large or heavy to be fitted on block (e.g. main
engine, diesel generators, etc.)
Outfitting components that are fragile and therefore susceptible to damage due to
weather exposure or handling of the block.
Connection between the different outfit components, on-unit outfit assemblies and
grand unit outfit assemblies that have been fitted on block or on board stage.
Outfit work at this stage can be grouped by problem area as:
similar outfit work in small quantities
similar outfit work in large quantities
work requiring high-skill
The work stages for on-board outfitting are:
open space or blue sky outfitting
open space or blue sky welding
closed space outfitting
closed space welding
68

__________________________________________________________________________
4.9 Zone Painting Method

Traditionally shipyards painted a ship in the building dock or the outfit basin. The
implementation of concurrent engineering concepts to reduce shipbuilding time meant that
much of the painting had to be shifted to the preceding manufacturing levels by integrating
painting with hull construction and outfitting production processes. The logic of group
technology as employed in HBCM and ZOFM was extended to painting and referred to as the
Zone Painting Method. ZPTM looks at painting as an assembly process with different
painting work at different levels (Figure 47).
Figure 47 Zone Painting Method (ZPM) manufacturing levels
The advantages of shifting paint related work to earlier manufacturing stages are:
Painting can be maximised for down hand or vertical plane application.

Painting can be carried out in regions where there is relatively easy access.
There is a better control of temperature and humidity.
There is a safer environment for painting.
Scaffolding provided for block assembly work can be used for painting, thus
avoiding the need to erect scaffolding twice.
a) Shop Primer Painting

Plates and sections arriving from the steel mill are first shot blasted to remove mill scale and
subsequently given a coating of primer before they are processed to create structural parts or
components. The shop primer painting, whose job is to prepare the surface and apply a coat of
primer, is divided by problem area into:
surface preparation and primer coating for plates
surface preparation and primer coating for sections and other parts
The work stages are:
shot blasting
69

__________________________________________________________________________
painting
b) Primer Painting
The application of anti-corrosive paints, including epoxy and inorganic zinc-silicates, is the
task at the primer painting level. The problem areas can be grouped as:
Paint type - could be conventional, epoxy or inorganic zinc-silicates and number of
coats
Type of the hull structural block or outfit unit.
The work stages at this level can be grouped as:
surface preparation
cleaning
touch up
painting
block turnover (not in all cases)
surface preparation on the turned over side
cleaning on the turned over side
touch up on the turned over side
painting on the turned over side
c) Finish Undercoat Painting
Various outfitting items like masts, cargo booms, undersides of hatch covers, etc., are difficult
to access after they have been installed on-board. Therefore, the painting of such items, best
carried out before their installation on-board, is grouped in the painting category of finish
undercoat painting. The division by problem area and work stage is similar to the primer
painting level.
d) Finish Painting
This is the final stage in the zone painting method and the division of work by problem area
and work stage is similar to the earlier levels except that there will be no block turnover at this
stage.
4.10 Pipe Piece Family Manufacturing (PPFM)

The application of group technology to organise the shipbuilding process resulted in hull
block construction method (HBCM), zone outfitting method (ZOFM), and zone painting
method (ZPTM). The use of group technology for the reorganisation of facilities and work
within the plate/section shop was highlighted in Section 4.1.
Pipe-piece manufacture and assembly is an important outfit process in the shipyard as even a
medium-sized dry cargo ship will have more than 3500 pipe-pieces in its engine room with
the figure rising to around ten thousand for a naval ship or products tanker (Figure 48).
Despite their large variety, pipe-piece parts have a number of common elements amongst
them and thus they can be grouped, using the concepts of group technology, into families or
batches having similar design and manufacturing attributes.
70

__________________________________________________________________________
Figure 48 PPFM method details

71

__________________________________________________________________________
This process of classifying pipe-pieces is referred as Pipe-Piece Family Manufacturing
(PPFM). There are two main differences between PPFM and the earlier described
HBCM/ZOFM/ZPTM. Firstly, PPFM is organised independently of the hull structural block
and secondly it represents fabrication work rather than the assembly work of
HBCM/ZOFM/ZPTM (Figure 49).
Figure 49 Pipe Piece Family Method (PPFM) manufacturing levels
a) Material Receiving
The different arriving materials are grouped according to the type of material (steel, nonferrous, PVC, etc.) and shape (pipe, flanges, elbows, tees, sleeves, etc.).
b) Pipe Piece Fabrication
At this manufacturing level pipes are marked, cut, machined and possibly bent. The problem
areas are grouped as:
Type of material
Main pipe or branch pipe
Small, medium or large bore pipe.
c) Pipe Piece Assembly
Flanges, sleeves, collars, etc. are attached to the cut pipes at pipe piece assembly level. The
joining of main and branch assemblies is not performed at this stage. The problem areas are
grouped as:
X-ray test (only for some cases)
Short straight pipe
72

__________________________________________________________________________
Long straight pipe
Bent pipe
The work stages at this level are:
Joining of cut pipes - usually done to produce a pipe longer than the standard length
Assembly
Welding (not for all cases)
Finishing by grinding or machining (not for all cases)
Bending (not for all cases)
d) Pipe Piece Joining
All assembly work not performed at the earlier stage is accomplished at the pipe piece joining
manufacturing level. Joining of a main pipe sub-assembly to a branch pipe sub-assembly or to
other parts such as elbows, tees, sleeves, etc. to produce a pipe assembly which is neither
straight nor simple is the primary task at this level. The work stages are similar to those at the
previous manufacturing level except that there is normally no bending of pipes at this level.
e) Testing and Coating
Testing and coating of pipes are done at the place where the final pipe piece assembly
(straight or simple) and pipe piece joining (main pipe to branch pipe) takes place. There are
different tests to check the quality of the assembled pipes. Similarly coating is grouped as per
the different coating processes. The work stages for coatings are pickling and coating.
f) Palletising
At this manufacturing level the pipe pieces are grouped according to the requirements for a
specific pallet. The pallet could be for hull, machinery or superstructure (Figure 50).
Figure 50 Pipe shop diagram
73

__________________________________________________________________________
5. PLANNING, SCHEDULING AND PRODUCTION CONTROL

5.1 Introduction
The management of any large project, especially shipbuilding, requires the use of planning,
scheduling and production control techniques. Any planning and control system will aim at
managing the shipyard resources, i.e. material, manpower, facilities, time, capital and
information, so as to meet the contract requirements in a productive manner.
The planning phase of any project involves:
Listing all the jobs that need to be performed to complete the project.
Determining any ordering (dependencies) of the jobs.
Identifying gross material and manpower requirements for the jobs.
Estimating the costs and duration of each job.
Scheduling involves the following tasks:
Laying-out of the actual time order in which the jobs are to be performed in order to
complete the project.
Start and finish times for each job.
Material and manpower requirements needed at each stage of production.
Production control involves:
Monitoring the differences between actual and scheduled (planned) performance.
Providing information on which to base decisions and actions without deviating
from the plan or to recover from situations where the plan did not match with the
actual production.
A plan is a simulation of what is needed to reach a goal - which in the case of shipbuilding is
to deliver the ship at the right time. The objective of having a planning and production control
system is to gain and keep control of the project. Therefore, the plan must be produced early
enough to be acted upon and the control system must be given enough information to allow
for a corrective action when necessary.
It is often assumed that these activities only became important in shipbuilding with the advent
of Group Technology. It is true that effective Planning, Scheduling & Production Control is
more necessary in todays complex world and that the quantities of production data can be
more readily handled with the aid of the computer than in previous times. However effective
planning was practised in effective shipyards as far back as the 1920s. The concept came
from the mass production industries and it has been employed in shipbuilding whenever its
processes could be seen to be tending towards mass production.
An effective planning and control process for a shipyard should aim at meeting the following
objectives [Neumann 1994]:
As far as possible, the plan should provide a consistent work approach (common
strategy) to take advantage of the learning curve.
An attempt should be made to increase producibility by having an interaction
between the engineering and planning departments early in the design process.
74

__________________________________________________________________________
Information requirements to and from the material control, engineering and
production departments should be clear, consistent and in tune with the
shipbuilding strategy of the shipyard.
The status of the project at every stage should be given accurately so as to
determine the correct actions to achieve the milestones.
Deviations from the initial plan and their impact should be clearly shown in the
rescheduled plan.
The plan should provide tools to control the work at the shop floor in accordance
with the build strategy.
The plan should provide for a feedback and monitoring mechanism.
To meet the stated objectives, the planning, scheduling and production control system should
take a top-down approach. The highest level defines the general goals and objectives which
are subsequently worked towards with more detail at the lower levels. The top-down approach
allows for greater consistency throughout the production process as goals and objectives
defined in the early stages of ship design and construction provide a common basis to the
production, planning and engineering departments to work together in developing producible
designs and effective build strategies.
5.2 Phases or Levels of Planning

Planning is often dealt with in the following four broad phases or levels:
a) Strategic Planning/Summary Planning
Strategic or Summary planning will address the overall activity of an entire shipyard. The
plan will determine the number and type of ships that the yard is capable of building. Strategic
planning, therefore, needs information on the resource demands for building these ships.
b) Tactical Planning/ Contract Planning
Tactical planning is also referred as contract planning. This plan addresses the main activities
of an individual contract. Such a plan will provide the resource demands of an individual ship
needed for the strategic plan.
Early in the life cycle of the contract a series of planning units are identified for the contract.
The number of planning units is to some extent dependent upon the type and size of vessel
planned; however, typically, the contract would be broken down into some 150 to 300
planning units.
The ship system man-hour budget is reallocated over these planning units by work type
(skill). Thus, typically each planning unit would have a man-hour budget of the order of 5000
to 6000 man-hours. Each planning unit is also allocated a planned start and planned finish
date. This information is input to the computer system and used to forecast initial manpower
loadings, to allow early identification of possible overloads, etc.
Any necessary action is then taken to achieve a balanced and achievable work load, for
example, by adjustment of planned start/finish dates, or a planned increase of available manhours, etc., so a realistic plan is determined at the planning unit level.
75

__________________________________________________________________________
c) Detailed Planning - Working
Production management need a plan which addresses the work going on in a particular shop
or area of the shipyard.
As the contract progresses, work packages are identified within each planning unit and are
assigned a portion of the planning unit man-hour budget. Work package size is typically
enough work for a small team for a period of one to two weeks, that is, approximately 150 to
300 man-hours. The work package should be a readily identifiable task whose completeness
or otherwise can be clearly determined.
These details are input to the computer system which monitors the allocation of man-hours to
work packages to ensure that the global man-hour budgets (by planning unit) are not
exceeded.
d) Detailed Planning - Shop Floor
Detailed planning at the shop floor/work package level is necessary for use in the actual
building of any part of the ship. Detail planning breaks the ship down to blocks, blocks to
assemblies, assemblies to sub-assemblies and finally to piece parts. Consideration is given to
the resources needed to make or buy each piece part in terms of facilities, manpower,
material, time, capital and information and then to the resources needed to assemble the parts
together in sub-assemblies, assemblies, blocks and finally the whole ship in accordance with
the planned build strategy.
Each work package, as it is identified, is assigned a planned start and finish date. It is
possible, if required, to identify all work packages at the beginning of the contract. However,
a more normal approach is to identify work packages some four to six weeks before work is
due to begin and to ensure materials are or will be available when required.
The work package budgets and planned start/finish dates are used to produce more detailed
forecasts of labour loading by work type (skill) with (typically) a six-week horizon. This
allows the production of detailed production schedules with (say) a four-week time horizon.
Since the overall labour loading has been examined during the higher-level planning process,
at the planning unit level the labour loading at work package level should in theory be broadly
acceptable. Inevitably, however, peaks and troughs are encountered, but since a four-to-six
week advance warning of unacceptable forecast labour loading is available, early (corrective)
action may be taken (for example, subcontract, reschedule, planned overtime working, etc.).
In this way any difficulties are contained and do not detract from the overall planning unit
planned start and finish dates which are ultimately tied to timely contract completion.
5.3 Network Analysis

Two techniques were developed in the 1950s. The Critical Path Method (CPM) was the first
to be devised. It is a deterministic approach to scheduling the activity of a project using
known and stable technology. Slightly later the Programme Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT) was introduced. This allows a more probabilistic approach and is applied
most commonly to projects involving a measure of uncertainty such as Research &
Development or one off projects involving new and developing technology.
76

__________________________________________________________________________
Basic to both techniques is the network diagram showing the activities and events of a project
and their relationships with one another.
An activity is a definite task, job or function to be performed. It can be associated with a time
(duration) for its accomplishment and a demand for resources. It is depicted on the diagram
by an arrow starting at the tail of the arrow and proceeding to completion at the head.
An event is a point in time indicating the beginning or end of an activity. It is depicted on the
diagram by a small circle.
As a project is organised into a number of planning levels with increasing amounts of detail
this produces an interlinked set of networks where a single activity at Level 1 is represented
by a network of activities at Level 2 each of which represents a network of activities at Level
3 and so on.
5.3.1 Rules for Networks
i) Each Activity must have a preceding and a succeeding event.
ii) Each event should have a unique number.
(Normally the number at the head of the arrow is greater than the number at the tail.)
iii) There should be no loops.
iv) No more than one activity can have the same preceding and succeeding event.
Clearly, sometimes several events are concurrent, in reality sharing the same starting and
finishing events. In these cases one or more dummy activities may be introduced to the
network to allow the diagram to be prepared.
v) A dummy activity is accomplished in zero time and consumes no resources.
vi) The dummy activity may represent a constraint.

77

__________________________________________________________________________
Both A & B must be completed before C can start but D can start when B is complete,
irrespective of A.
5.3.2 Populating the Network
When the logic of the network is complete then the assignment of timescales can begin.
Ideally the timescale for each activity is prepared in an objective manner depending only on
the nature of the activity. In practice preconceived ideas can influence the preparation. For
example, if the timescales for successive activities along a single path are sought then the
person who is estimating or supplying them may mentally (or otherwise) add them up and
compare them with the timescale for the whole project or with some previous project. As a
result of this exercise they may offer extended times for certain activities to give themselves
some leeway or may offer unrealistically short timescales to show that they are not trying to
obstruct the project.
The overall elapsed time available for the project should not influence the estimated times for
individual activities. These should be standard, repeatable times which would be achievable
by a competent, well-organised and motivated workforce under normal working conditions.
Consideration of the comparison between the overall duration of the network and the time
thought to be available for project execution should take place as a formal review after the
network has been determined.
When the plan is being developed, it should be clear that the timescales are estimates and not
commitments. It is only once the plan has been approved by all interested parties that the
timescales should become commitments.
5.3.3 Using the Network
The purpose of devising the network is to find the path of longest duration between the start
of the project and its completion. This is the Critical Path and determines the shortest time it
will take to complete the work of the project. In addition, if any activity on the Critical Path is
delayed then the completion of the whole project is delayed by the same amount.
It may be possible for activities off the Critical Path to start later than the earliest possible
starting time without delaying the whole project. The time difference between the earliest and
the latest starting times is known as float.
If the duration of the Critical Path is longer than the available time for the completion of the
project then the management of the organisation must find an alternative logic to speed up
completion. Alternatively, they must be prepared to increase the resources available to some
or all of the activities on the Critical Path so that their durations are reduced.
78

__________________________________________________________________________
5.4 Progress Recording

As work progresses on the work packages, actual man-hours used are collected for each
employee by work package and are recorded within the computer system. Actual progress by
work package is also recorded and is entered into the computer system.
One of the most contentious issues in Production Control is the question of determining when
an activity is complete or, if it is not complete, how nearly complete it is. The most accurate
approach is to have the work broken down into such small elements that each is clearly either
complete or not complete. This will generally result in a slight understatement of progress
compared with the actual situation. The alternative is to make estimates of percentage
completion but these (a) tend to overstate progress and (b) become a source of argument as to
the real state of the project.
5.5 Monitoring
The computer system is then used to report upon contract progress and performance against
budget at various levels of detail:
Contract summary reports for senior management.
Planning unit summaries for production management.
Work package detail for shop floor supervision.
At all levels of detail the reports concentrate on two key points:
Are we on schedule?
Are we on budget?
by highlighting both overruns against budget and deviations from planned progress. Forecast
man-hours to complete based upon current actual performance are also included as a basis for
corrective action. Within the four levels of planning the output of production must be
monitored for completeness and for cost in order to give a measure of productivity.
The most important measures are Earned Hours (using Hours of worker effort expended as a
measure of cost) and the Productivity ratio. These should be calculated for each Work
Package (at Level 4), each Activity (at Levels 3 & 2) and for each contract (at Level 1).
The definitions of these and other useful measures are :Planned Hours =
Budget Hours included in the Contract
Spent Hours
Actual Hours charged against the Work Package etc.
% Complete
Calculated % from Progress of Work Package Line Items
Earned Hours =
% Complete x Planned Hours
Productivity
Earned Hours / Spent Hours
Projected Hours =
Planned Hours / Productivity to Completion

79

__________________________________________________________________________
5.6 Managing Production

Management of the Workforce can often best be provided by management of the Material this is very much the philosophy of the mass production assembly line. Human psychology
tends to allow a worker to slow down when (s)he sees her/his work running out - Work
expands to fill the time available for it. People dont want to use up all the work available to
them and dont want to be seen with nothing to do e.g. close to the end of a ship with no more
work in sight. A steady flow of jobs can be assured by having a reasonable amount of material
immediately available to continue work. This can help ensure a constant level of productivity.
It also discourages workers from wandering off in search of missing parts.....!
Although the Plan may not explicitly include the cost of any of the operations, cost is none the
less important to the shipyard. The control system must take account of cost as well as time so
that managing work also manages cost. One way of doing this is to consider how and where
un-necessary costs are incurred e.g. due to workers waiting for material or due to rework
making sometime a second time because it wasnt made properly the first time.
5.7 Tools
A number of tools are required to prepare, manipulate and display all this information. These
include both graphical and analytical methods which can be employed at a number of
planning levels and are:
Block Diagrams
Bar Charts
Network Analysis Methods (CPM and PERT)
A network for the whole ship may be derived by assembling together networks representing
individual sub-assemblies/assemblies/blocks at various stages such as fabrication/preoutfit/advanced outfit/erection. A berth utilisation chart will show the progress of ships from
berth to outfit quay to dock etc. indicating the occupancy of the facilities.
5.8 Planning Data

All the tasks that constitute the plan require a substantial amount of data - some of which can
be hard to obtain in a one of a kind production like shipbuilding. In mass production
industries it is relatively easy to get reliable data on the time each task will take and on the
change in time resulting from a change in the facilities or methods of production. In
shipbuilding this has been a problem as often a job or work package will only be done once
per ship. However, modern production methods using the concept of group technology have
gone some way to resolving this problem.
Planning data includes historical data on time, manpower, material, facilities and cost of
doing a particular job. On the other hand, control data includes the following:
Budgeted and Actual Labour hours
Planned Start and Finish Dates
Actual Start and Finish Dates
Forecast of Completion
80

__________________________________________________________________________
Forecast of Resource Loading
Planning, scheduling and production control should be totally integrated with the different
shipbuilding functions as it provides the means for the build strategy, which is based on the
application of group technology, to be transmitted to production. The preparation of the block
plan and key date master schedule, including material requirement dates are all heavily based
on the build strategy adopted by the shipyard.
The build strategy provides input to all three planning stages, i.e. strategic, tactical and
detailed. The planning and scheduling functions then proceed to provide the shipyard with a
description of how to build the vessel, in what order to carry out the erection of the
intermediate blocks and within what time frame.
The design and engineering departments have to provide, as scheduled, information
concerning what to build and what to procure. Based on this and the scheduling information,
the material procurement department undertakes the task of providing the necessary material
at the required time (just in time if possible). Production control monitors the actual progress
of production and compares it with the planned and scheduled performance on a periodic
basis (daily, weekly or monthly). Production control must devise and implement strategies to
handle any differences between planned and actual production.
81

__________________________________________________________________________
82

__________________________________________________________________________
83

__________________________________________________________________________
84

__________________________________________________________________________
85

__________________________________________________________________________
86

__________________________________________________________________________
6. SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
6.1 Quality
6.1.1 Introduction
Some Dictionary Definitions of Quality
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
Distinguishing characteristic or attribute *

The basic character or nature of something
A feature of personality
Degree or Standard of excellence - especially a high one*
Quality used as modifier: having or showing excellence or superiority - a quality product

Quality Control, on the other hand, is defined as the control of the relative quality of a
manufactured product, usually by statistical sampling techniques.
The following terms also are used:
Quality Assurance
Quality Audit
Quality Assessment
Quality Standard
Quality System
Returning to the dictionary Assurance is defined as :
i) A statement, assertion etc. intended to inspire confidence
ii) A promise or pledge of support
iii) Freedom from doub ; certainty
iv) Insurance providing for certainties such as death rather than fire or accident
Thus Quality Assurance seeks to assure the customer that the product is fit for
etc. The customer can then have confidence and certainty that the product is
correct quality.
purpose,
of
the
Audit is defined as an inspection, correction and verification of business accounts by a

qualified accountant.
Quality Audit is derived from the above and means: The inspection, correction and
verification of the records of a Quality System by a qualified Quality Auditor
Assessment is defined as Evaluation or the act of assessing.
Quality Assessment is derived from this and sets out to measure the level of Quality in the
work of accompany or organisation
Quality Standards could be: ISO 9000 series, BS 5750, AQAP 1
87

__________________________________________________________________________
These set out the requirements of a Quality System - that is a management structure and a set
of procedures which govern how the business of a company is conducted so that its products
are Quality products.
Most of the effort originally put into Quality was been in the sense of the Quality Control of
a manufactured product - thus it was applied only to Production areas. However a basic tenet
of the application of Quality is to apply it to any customer/producer relationship throughout a
company, such as:
Design
Drawing Office
Drawing Office Loft
Personnel Dept. Employee
Recognition of the need to achieve Quality throughout the company has led to the growth of
Total Quality Management (TQM) which leads to the appearance of Quality matters in service
areas of a company as well as to the service industry sectors of the national economy.
The fundamental aim of all investigations of quality is to ensure that any product fully
satisfies the needs of the customer in terms of fitness for purpose, completeness, timeliness
etc.
Quality Control is a prime concern of any supplier.
Quality Assurance is what is demanded by any prudent customer.
6.1.2 Quality Control
In the mass production industries quality control could be regarded in the rather narrow sense
of a means of process control based on the statistical analysis of routine sampling of the
product. In an industry like shipbuilding quality control is a much wider activity which might
be defined as
the function of direction and management which must be performed in order to make sure
that the end product meets the users requirements.
The elements of control include:
Determined direction and management
The required characteristics and quality implicit in the design, drawings &
specification
Production processes that are potentially capable of producing, repeatedly, articles
which conform to the users requirements.
Process control to realise the potential.
Inspection and testing to ensure that the requirements have been met.
The fore going elements are necessary, but are not sufficient, for Quality to be under control.
In addition the following must be borne in mind
Effective Quality Control is only possible when directors and senior management
are convinced it is necessary and economic.
Customer approval of designs and/or Drawings does not constitute a quality check
- this must be done by the designers to confirm that all customer requirements
88

__________________________________________________________________________
have been met in the design and can be realised in the article as produced.
Production processes must match the accuracy and precision required by the
product.
Control of the production processes is part of Quality Control
Inspection is a safeguard against a defective product going into service. However,
Inspection alone is not Quality Control - it is just one element of the system
6.1.3 Quality Assurance

Whilst the supplier must practice Quality Control in order to produce a quality product, the
customer needs assurance that the end product has the required characteristics and quality.
Quality Control and Quality Assurance are complementary and supplier and customer must
work together. Quality Assurance has been called:
a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that
the product will perform satisfactorily.
With a complex product the customer may need to be intimately concerned right through the
process of manufacture in order to obtain assurance. This is partly achieved by having an
Owners Representative standing by a merchant ship alongside Classification Society
Surveyors during build. (Incidentally, the shipbuilder needs assurance of quality from their
suppliers and them from theirs and so on). The assurance of Quality needs three elements:
Proper definition of Requirements

Audit of the producers Quality Control
Evidence of tests and trials
In addition, Planning and Scheduling have an often unrecognised part to play in assuring
Quality. Without reliable scheduling of the build process then some work is likely to be
rushed, and rushed work is unlikely to be the best quality work.
6.1.4 Organisation for Quality
A Quality Department may be organised in three Sections or Sub-Departments:
Control
Assurance
Audit.
The Quality Control Section on a day-to-day basis conducts the inspections and checks
appropriate to the product and record and classify the results. They will advise production
departments of success or failure; advise on the necessary rework and arrange to inspect or
check the rework.
The Quality Assurance Section prepare the procedures and develop the systems of work and
management necessary to ensure that the customers requirements are clearly understood and
are correctly translated into designs, drawings, documents and hardware in the course of
manufacturing the product. They will supervise the development of the definition of the tests
89

__________________________________________________________________________
and trials necessary to demonstrate the effective operation of the product.
The Quality Audit Section will examine the working practices and records of all other
departments in the company to ensure that they are following the systems laid down to ensure
that only quality products are produced.
6.1.5 The Cost of Quality
At first sight, the departments and personnel employed in Quality matters appear to be an
unnecessary expense to the company. However, if sensibly implemented, they can help the
company to save money by eliminating waste and rework and enhancing its image as a centre
of Quality. With most defects found by Quality Control checks the expense comes from
finding, recording, communicating and rechecking the defect - it could be put right on the
spot at negligible cost. Therefore if the Quality Department can nurture a culture of Quality
and the notion of Get it right FIRST time by identifying recurrent types of defect and putting
in place the procedures to eliminate them then the whole company will benefit.
It is probably convenient to consider the cost of quality in terms of:
Quality of design
Quality of conformance to design
Quality of design
High quality may be that which is expensive in terms of first cost, but is not necessarily so in
the long term. On the other hand, low quality may be cheap in terms of first cost, but is not
necessarily so in the long run.
For any given purpose there is an economic level of quality and it is this level that must be
expressed in design. Poor rapport between design and production may result in costly
problems for design to solve.
Quality of conformance to design
After having established a quality design it is only sensible to build to it, rather than building
something else and having to rework it. It is therefore important to clearly convey the design
intent to all who need to use it because:
Production departments and workers need to understand what is required to be
done.
There is a need to reduce scrap and rework.
If mistakes do occur, they must be corrected early on.
Therefore, when one starts to consider the processes of Managing Quality, one begins to see a
clear need for integrating the activities of the shipyard.
Finally, it should be clear that quality is not just the responsibility of quality control or the
production department. Ultimately no department / division / group or trade in a shipyard can
say it does not have an influence on and responsibility for the quality of the products of the
organisation.
90

__________________________________________________________________________
91

__________________________________________________________________________
92

__________________________________________________________________________
93

__________________________________________________________________________
94

__________________________________________________________________________
6.2 Commissioning and trials

Commissioning is the process of bringing all the systems and equipment of a ship into a
working state and Trials are performed to ensure that all the systems and equipment work
satisfactorily as required by the specification, the owner and the regulatory authorities.
It is appropriate to deal with these topics after Planning and after Quality because both
Commissioning and Trials require a considerable measure of planning for their successful
conclusion and Trials can be considered to be the ultimate form of Quality Control - at least in
terms of performance.
6.2.1 Commissioning
Procedures need to be prepared for the safe and timely commissioning of each system in the
ship. They need to take account of the fact that construction of the ship is still going on
around the system being commissioned - indeed perhaps only part of the system is complete
but is needed for the commissioning and testing of another system. Safety must be ensured for
the components of the system, for the workers carrying out the commissioning, for the rest of
the workforce present on the ship and for the ship itself.
An appropriate sequence of commissioning must be devised. It would not be sensible to
expect the Main Engine to run before the systems for fuel supply, lubrication, cooling and
exhaust had themselves been commissioned and tested. Electric power would almost certainly
be required. This might come from a shore supply but could also be from another ship system
with its own sub-systems for fuel supply, lubrication, cooling and exhaust. Another prerequisite would be a fire-fighting capability - this should have been available throughout the
building period anyway, but its character may change as commissioning proceeds.
That is not the end of the story. Before the engine can be allowed to turn the shaft the bearing
must be checked (and lubricated and possibly cooled) and workers cleared away from shaft
tunnels and similar spaces. Many systems are now fitted with complex control gear based on
micro-processors - small industrial microcomputers. The software for these processors also
has to be brought into operation and tested before it is safe to operate the system they are
intended to control. It is particularly important that the fault detection and warning functions
of the control equipment work reliably to protect the system from damage.
6.2.2 Trials
The reason for conducting trials is to demonstrate that every part of the ship will operate
correctly, safely and in accordance with the specification under representative working
conditions.
Some parts of the ship can be tested and demonstrated while the vessel is tied up to a quay
wall. These trials are known as Basin, Harbour or Dock Trials. Clearly it is not possible to
demonstrate the speed or manoeuvrability of a ship while it is tied up and so Sea Trials have
to be conducted with the vessel under way in open water. The dock trials are a necessary
preliminary to the sea trials in that they demonstrate that many of the systems required at sea
are functioning correctly and they are much more economical to the shipyard.
95

__________________________________________________________________________
Up to a point the Main Engine can be run in harbour during these Basin or Dock Trials but
care must be taken over moorings, propeller clearance from the river/dock bottom and quay
wall, wash effects on other ships and flow to cooling water inlets. Failure to take care of any
one of these items can cause havoc to the ship - mud getting into sea water inlets can be the
very devil to get rid of and if too much power is supplied to the propeller then the vessel may
carry away her mooring lines and run amok causing all manner of damage.
Devices called Brake Wheels have been proposed to absorb the full power delivered by the
engine to the shaft without converting it to thrust as a propeller would. In principle these
allow the engine to be run up to full power without the vessel moving at all. In practice there
is some disturbance to the water and a certain amount of bottom scouring but it is normally
manageable. The use of Brake Wheels at least allows control equipment to be tested up to full
power although bearings and thrust blocks are clearly not thoroughly loaded.
All these activities are usually planned by the shipbuilder and conducted by shipyard staff
with assistance from representatives of the engine builder, pump suppliers and other subcontractors whose equipment is in use and who wish to ensure that it is operated correctly.
Representatives of the owner and the Classification Society under whose rules the ship has
been designed and built will also be present. In addition the future crew of the vessel are
usually interested to learn as much as they can about operating the equipment and what
performance can be expected.
It must always be borne in mind that the Trials have great financial significance to both the
owner and builder. Failure to meet the performance requirements agreed in the contract may
incur significant additional costs due to rectification work combined with financial penalties
called Liquidated Damages or even the rejection of the ship.
Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the occasion of watching a ship setting off for her sea
trials is a satisfying experience, particularly if you have been closely involved in the design or
build of the ship for any length of time. Sea trials are often the only opportunity that a Naval
Architect may have to live aboard and observe the operation of a ship at sea. For that reason,
attending Sea Trials is an opportunity not to be missed.
6.3 Material procurement (purchasing) and control

Materials (i.e. Steel + other materials + Outfit items) = 40% or more of a ships cost.
Therefore Effective and efficient materials PURCHASING is an essential element of
(a) cost control and (b) cost reduction.
Major factors influencing material costs include: Choice of materials used
Control of their use
Subsequent installation or manufacturing processes
Handling costs (Labour & Equipment)
Storage & Distribution (including Safety, Security & Temperature Control)
96

__________________________________________________________________________
Who should take these influencing factors into account?
Designers
Buyers
Production Engineers
What would you examine or review when looking into a shipyards material purchasing
philosophy and methods?
Are the Technical Specifications being met?

Are Production Demands being met (i.e. Quantity, Quality & Delivery)?
Is there a policy for minimising stock (consistent with efficient operating)?
Is Company Purchasing Power fully utilised?
Are Design Standards in operation to facilitate Bulk Purchase?
What part has Standardisation to play in material purchasing and control?
Can be a major influence in cost reduction and on-time availability of material,

especially stock.
6.3.1 Material Control
Economic aspect of material control (i.e. controlling cost of bought-in items)

Logistic aspect of material control (i.e. ensuring arrival at the right time and in the
right place)
Many departments involved (design & drawing offices, purchasing, planning, quality, stores
& production
Control problem grows as Ships Size/Complexity increases
Control problem grows as Lead Times on materials decrease.
Why is an Accurate and Early Definition of material requirements important?
Allows Timely Ordering so that material is available when required
Provides Accurate Database for the material control system
Makes sure materials arrive on time and in the right place
Provides a work quantity survey on which to base work content calculations
How is the early definition of material requirements carried out?
On an estimating basis - for major items - in the early stages.

Estimates progressively refined and extended as design progresses.
Material Lists & Work Content Estimates for a Work Package - when work instruction
drawings are available.
Many CAD/CAM systems allow at least a partial automation of some of the above
Material lists
MLS Material List by (Ships functional ) System (by purchasing zone)- Lists major
components & bulk raw materials derived from system diagrams
97

__________________________________________________________________________
MLP Material List for (manufacture of ) Pipe (pieces)

MLC Material List for (manufacture of ) Components (other than pipe)- MLP/MLC
list raw material for custom made outfit items - pipe pieces, ladders, loose tanks, vent
trunking etc .- all often derived from standard drawings.
MLF Material List for Fittings (per pallet i.e. per work zone per work stage)
Problems/Objectives of a material control system?

Control cost against budget
Ensure that the correct Material/Item, to the correct Specification is:
Identified
Ordered
Inspected
Delivered (On Time with close to 100% Reliability)
Accepted
Stored
Distributed
The overriding function of such a System is to ensure that no workstation is delayed because
of a shortage of
Direct Materials
Stock Items
Consumables
The sheer volume of data in large companies (shipyards) requires the use of Computer
Processing for material control procedures.
Material Control covers the following areas:
Material from its definition during the design process to its delivery at the worksite or
work station
and includes:
Authority for:
Material requisitioning
Direction over:
Purchasing;
Expediting;
Warehousing (or, in British usage, Storing);
Palletizing;
Delivery to the work site
Material equals:
Raw Material
Outfit Items
Allocated, Stock and Consumable Items
98

__________________________________________________________________________
Is Material Control Important? Why is Material Control Important?
Material Control is one of the most important functions in applying and controlling
group technology shipbuilding
Since actual production work requires material, problems and delays in obtaining the
proper material, at the proper time, in the proper location present significant
roadblocks to productivity
Control of material is the means of controlling production
6.3.2 Material Definition

What is meant by Material Definition ?
How is material defined in a shipyard?
i) All outfit items are first described in specifications coded with drawing or purchase
order numbers.
ii) Next they are identified by a Classification System.
For the purposes of material procurement, production control and cost control four code
numbers can be assigned (Table 5):
Material Code No
Material Cost Classification No
Piece No
Work Package No
Table 5 Code areas/numbers for material procurement, production control and cost control
Number
Designates or Identifies
Purpose
Material Code
Type, Grade, Size
Material Cost
Classification
Piece
A particular system and material family
For identification in
procurement
For material cost control
Work Package
Where the item will appear by a unique

serial number, by system
Its end use by Zone/Problem Area/Stage
of a specific level of a specific
manufacturing method for a specific
contract
For identification in design

For issue control
iii)
For the same purposes (but specifically to identify the amount or volume of
material required to create a Budget Control List) they are further defined by actual or where
necessary estimated quantities (no of pieces, lengths etc.) or
weights.
iv)
For grouping to facilitate material procurement by designating the required
material procurement lanes the following Classification Assignment takes place: Material Listing
Material Requisition
Material Control
Material Purchasing
99

__________________________________________________________________________
What is requisitioning? (Dictionary Definition - An authoritative or formal request or
demand). The major goals of the requisitioning process are:
Convert from design intent to procurement specification
Convert design data by ship/system/stage to specification by material/delivery date
Plan material procurement in accordance with the schedule of the contract
Minimise stocked material.
The objectives of material procurement include:
To procure material of the correct quality at the best price in accordance with the
delivery requirements
To provide an up-to-date record of the delivery status and price for every item or every
piece of material purchased.
To maintain continuous supply, alternative sources of supply and on-time service to
production with minimum stock holding.
To avoid waste, obsolescence and duplication
6.3.3 Material Standardisation
Standardisation of Steel Plates & Sections has long been a subject for discussion among
shipbuilders. In essence it means constraining the hull structural designer to a limited number
of different sizes of steel plates & sections (i.e. (s)he will not have a free choice of plate
length, width and thickness or of section size and scantling).
Steel standardisation can be introduced at, or have an influence on, at least four important
stages in shipbuilding - Design, Purchasing, Stockyard & Production. A summary of the
sometimes contradictory advantages and disadvantages of standardising plates and sections is
shown in Table 6.
Table 6 Advantages and disadvantages of standardising plates and sections.
Area or
Advantages
Disadvantages
Stage
Cost of the extra design effort
Design
Reduction in quantity extras
Cost of possible increase in
More flexibility in nesting
inherent hull weight
Better nesting
Less scrap (due to a decrease in the no. of plates
used and an increase in the no. of separate parts
of the same thickness to be nested together)
Increase in total weight of steel
Purchasing Reduction in the number of deliveries from the
purchased and possibly in total cost
steel mill i.e. reduction in total no of orders per
of steel
ship
Possible increase in steel stock
Hence reduction in penalty costs because of
holding
bulk buying
Capital tied up in stock
Stockyard
Savings in steel stockyard operational costs
(reducing search time, handling time, area)
Higher scrap percentages
Production Reduction in delays caused by damaged or
Increased welding due to generally
faulty steel requiring replacement (e.g. pitted or
thicker butts & seams
laminated plates)
Reduction in the waiting time for steel
100

__________________________________________________________________________
Material Control System - Schematic

101

__________________________________________________________________________
102

__________________________________________________________________________
103

__________________________________________________________________________
104

__________________________________________________________________________
105

__________________________________________________________________________
6.4 Production engineering and design for production

6.4.1 The Production Engineer - Why a Modern Yard needs one.
Production Engineering is essentially the determination of how each product is to be built by
the most efficient methods and making best use of the facilities. Production Engineering is an
intimate part of the design process and should be involved at the earliest stages of design - not
brought in after the design is complete.
Production Engineering methods are not new to shipbuilding - they were an implicit function
of craftsmen but the change from craft skills to operative skills has meant that production
engineering should be viewed differently.
Design, Planning and Production Engineering should be proceeding in parallel. Lamb gives a
definition of Production Engineering equating it with Industrial Engineering (the preferred
U.S. term):The task of determining the best methods of performing the various manufacturing processes
within a given facility, taking into account its limitations (e.g. space, equipment, cranage) and
operational goals (e.g. price)
106

__________________________________________________________________________
i)
OBJECTIVES:Assist production in achieving their targets

Monitor development of production techniques
Identify ways of reducing production cost
ii)
FUNCTIONS:Work Process Analysis

Value Engineering and Analysis of Methods
Definition of Equipment and other Requirements for production
Definition of technical information requirements for production
Liaison between service departments1
iii)
LIMITATIONS:Physical layout of Production facilities at any time

Skill Availability
Agreed working conditions/practices
Facilities maintenance and general services
However, continuing good design requires a regular review of construction methods and
developments in the production areas.
6.4.1.1 Areas of Application of Production Engineering techniques
Block Breakdown
Panel Line
Pipe Production.
The liaison role of Production Engineering becomes very evident if we consider how it takes
part in deciding on Block Breakdown i.e. the best location of joints between units/blocks.
While these discussions principally involve Design, Planning and Production, consideration
may have to be given to input from a range of other interested parties both inside and outside
the yard. These may include (Internally) Purchasing, Quality, Works Services, Maintenance
and even Training and (Externally) the Classification Society, Equipment Suppliers and other
sub-contractors.
Bruce talks at length about Production Engineering with particular emphasis on Value
Engineering, Process Analysis and Spatial Analysis. He gives its principal functions as: Product Definition
Process Analysis
Process Planning
Value Engineering
Work & Method Study
Determining Standards
Machinery & Tooling requirements
1
The service departments concerned here are Technical (Design/Drawing/Lofting), Planning & Procurement
107

__________________________________________________________________________
Process Information & Instruction requirements
He describes it as the link between Engineering (the U.S. term incorporating Design/
Drawing/Lofting/Planning) and Production. It also has a major role to play in the introduction
of Group Technology into the shipbuilding process and developing its application. This
further underlines the importance of Production Engineering in the modern yard.
6.4.2 Integration of Design and Planning
Some yards, especially the Japanese, regard the functions of the Design and Drawing Offices
as part of Planning because they are concerned with intent - what is to be - rather than
manufacture - what is. Generally though they remain separate Departments, often responsible
to different Directors. There must be discussion between Design and Planning to establish
ground rules for building e.g.
Given lifting weight limits for cranes, what are the resulting physical sizes of units and
how does this affect the structural arrangement and the extent of advanced outfitting?
Does the allowable size enclose complete tanks or other compartments which may
then be outfitted to a very considerable extent?
When will the ship be launched? Does the weight of a fully (or more fully than usual)
outfitted ship cause problems at launch - Load on Berth or Required height of tide?
The solutions to these problems are often recorded in the Build Strategy Document which sets
out to establish the most effective way of building a particular ship. If problems arise in the
building process, these can be resolved without causing further conflict with a previous
decision regarding the process.
6.4.3 Production Engineering and Design for Production
In shipbuilding, Production Engineering is also referred to as Industrial Engineering, Value
Engineering or Productivity Improvement. Production engineering seeks to improve the
existing process of building a ship. It may involve studying Methods - by analysing various
stages in the process, the use of standard equipment - jigs or special tools, or standard details.
It is commonly applied in mass production industries and therefore suffers a credibility
problem when applied to shipbuilding which is seen as building one-off products. However
many parts of a ship are produced in reasonably large numbers (or very similar parts are
produced repetitively) and so an approach to mass production can be considered - Group
Technology.
This approach is not as new as it might seem. A hundred years ago, the yard of Russell &Co.
in Port Glasgow led the world in annual tonnage output and did this by building standard
ships - Built by the mile and cut off by the yard. Their successors, Lithgows Ltd,
successfully followed the same pattern for many years. The immense losses of ships in the
two World Wars prompted the building of Standard ships on both sides of the Atlantic. In the
USA, the Hog Island yard in WWI and Kaiser with the Liberty Ships in WWII really treated
ships to the assembly line process. Two very enterprising shipbuilders, the Ayre brothers, set
up a new shipyard in the 1920s at Burntisland on the Forth and seriously worked at
standardising - standard parts, standard methods, standard details and standard costs.
108

__________________________________________________________________________
When the Japanese came to rebuild their shipbuilding industry in the 1950s they got a lot of
help from the Americans who had produced the Liberty Ships. They learned all the lessons
very well and developed the techniques further so that they rapidly became the world leaders.
By the late 1970s the Americans were buying back from Japan the techniques they had first
taught them. In the 1980s British and European shipbuilders also began to look at the
Japanese methods as filtered by the Americans.
Design for Production is allied to Production Engineering but looks at the problem from a
different perspective. The aim here is to look at the product - a ship - and while it is still on
the Drawing Board to eliminate features which make it difficult to build. The objective of
both techniques is to maintain the characteristics of the ship which appeal to the customer speed, cargo carrying ability, fuel economy, quality etc. while building it at a reduced cost
(Figures 51 and 52).
Figure 51 Steel trades manhour comparison to basic SD14
Figure 52 Outfit trades manhour comparison to basic SD14
109

__________________________________________________________________________
6.4.4 Practical Producibility
a) Definition
Producibility can be defined as the technical and managerial effort necessary to reduce the
acquisition cost of a system without adversely affecting the system performance. Producibility
can also be looked as the capability to manufacture, build or assemble goods in a cost
effective manner.
In the shipbuilding context, it can be defined as the reduction in costs as a result of the
effort put in to make the ship cheaper to build by making it cheaper to construct
without compromising on its desired capabilities such as size, speed, displacement,
payload, stability, strength, etc.
b) The Producibility Framework
A systematic plan for considering producibility in the design and construction process of a
ship should include the following four steps:
Identify potential producibility concepts
Evaluate the impact of the producibility concepts on the ship along with cost
estimates
Integrate the desirable producibility concepts into the design
Provide for a lesson learned mechanism and feedback loop.
c) Producibility Principles in Shipbuilding
Using the producibility principles at the ship design stage, costs can be reduced in the
following two areas:
Material costs
Labour costs
Material costs can be reduced by better specification, selection and timely purchase of the
different shipbuilding items. Savings in labour costs, on the other hand, are not so obvious
and therefore producibility concepts at the design stage should attempt to reduce the manhours required to build the ship. The aim of any producibility concept should be to:
reduce labour cost by reducing the number of steps needed to perform the task
reduce the number of piece parts
incorporate standardisation
increase the proportion of repetitive jobs
Producibility benefits are greatest at the early design stages. The following is a list of
producibility principles which should be applied during the design of a ship so as to minimise
the cost of construction. The application of the principles requires a co-ordinated effort by the
designers, production engineers and the production planning personnel.
1. Double curvature: Avoid doubly curved surfaces in hull plating as far as possible.
Hull lines can often be made straight in one direction without loss of hydrodynamic
performance.
2. Hull curvature: Avoid curved plates inside the hull while designing deep web frames.
Use flat surfaces as far as possible.
3. Frame spacing: Increase frame spacing to its optimum value at the expense of
110

__________________________________________________________________________
increased steel plate thickness. Wide frame spacing will improve worker productivity
by providing better access to confined spaces. Fewer piece parts will tend to reduce
construction man-hours
4. Number of parts: Attempt to reduce the number of piece parts which have to be
manufactured and assembled. A trade off can be achieved by allowing a moderate
increase in the thickness of some piece parts at the expense of a decrease in the
number of pieces required.
5. Design for modular construction: The key to modular construction is to design the
ship so that it facilitates assembly and erection of the blocks. The blocks are then able
to act as the carriers of structural, machinery and piping units.
6. Block breakdown: An early breakdown of the hull into blocks is desirable so as to
facilitate the use of the zone outfitting method (or advanced outfitting). The
breakdown of the ship into blocks should be such that the number of identical or
nearly identical blocks should be maximised. The configuration of the blocks should
be such that they are self-supporting when placed on the erection berth/dock.
7. Block size: The size of block is normally limited by the maximum lifting capacity of
the cranes. A very large unit for a relatively small ship may not be advantageous from
the point of producibility.
8. Knuckles: A knuckle has little or no hydrodynamic effect if it is situated above the
waterline. The location of a knuckle should be decided at the early stage and knuckles
should be located at the block divisions.
9. Standardised parts: Piece parts such as brackets, cutouts, etc. should be standardised as
far as possible.
10. Machinery Arrangements: Machinery & equipment should be located so as to
minimise piping runs and also to facilitate their operation and maintenance.
11. Machinery units: Machinery units should be installed on skids (on-unit level in
ZOFM) and fully tested at the outfitting assembly area before being installed on block
or on board the ship.
12. Welding: Care should be taken during the block breakdown to maximise automated
erection berth welding. At the block assembly stage, downhand welding should be
maximised.
13. Limit capability: Remove everything from the design that is not required for the
operation, maintenance or safety of the vessel.
Weight against cost: A limited increase in the scantlings of plates and stiffeners can be
permitted as a trade-off for a decrease in the labour cost to fabricate the unit. The slight
increase in material cost will be more than compensated by the reduction in labour cost. A
slight increase in the lightweight of the ship may be acceptable for a significant reduction in
the construction man-hours.
111

__________________________________________________________________________
7. SHIPBUILDING COST
7.1 Introduction
At the completion of the contract design stage a particular shipyard is chosen by the owner to
build the vessel. The contract and specification agreed by the owner and the builder will
clearly spell out the payment terms that the owner must comply, and the delivery date and
performance requirements of the ship which the builder must satisfy. There will be penalty
terms stipulated in the contract if the shipyard is unable to meet the delivery date or the agreed
performance of the ship. An accurate estimation of building cost is an important part of the
shipbuilding activity for the following reasons:
An estimated cost at tender stage is essential for submitting quotation

A comparative study on the basis of building cost can be done for various sets of
parameters at concept design stage
A detailed estimated cost is necessary before signing contract
A record of actual cost of the ship at various stages of construction is necessary for
cost check, cost control, etc.
The cost components of previously built ships are useful for statistical analysis and for
estimation of costs of new ships.
7.2 Cost and Sale Price

Cost is concerned with how much money the shipbuilder will pay for shipyard labour to build
the ship, subcontractors to assist, all material and equipment contained in the complete
vessels, miscellaneous services and all establishment charges. Sale Price is a complex
quantity and is strongly influenced by market conditions, competition, supply and demand of
ship type, international exchange rates, cargo freight, interest rate on investment etc.
For a shipbuilding venture to be profitable, Sale Price must be greater than Cost in real terms.
Therefore, cost and price are related. Since the shipbuilder has less control over price (as seen
from above), he must keep a strict watch and control over the cost.
7.3 Components of Cost

The total cost can be broadly broken down into two main categories (Figure 53):
direct expenses
Indirect or overhead expenses.
112

__________________________________________________________________________
Material
Direct
Expenses
Labour
Prime/
Direct Cost
Other
Direct
Expenses
Works /
Manufacturing
Cost
Factory
Expenses
Production
Overhead
Cost of
Production
or
Gross Cost
Indirect
Expenses
Office &
Administration,
Establishment
Overhead
Sales and
Distribution
Cost of
Sales
SALE
PRICE
Profit
Figure 53 Shipbuilding cost
The direct expense can be further subdivided into:

Material cost
Labour cost
Other direct expense
The indirect or overhead cost can be subdivided into:
Factory work expense
Production overhead
Office and administration, Establishment overhead
Sales and Distribution
a) Material Cost
Material cost can be further broken down into:
steel plates and sections,
outfit,
machinery,
electrical and
miscellaneous items.
113

__________________________________________________________________________
Total steel material cost is based on gross steel which is:
gross steel weight = net estimated steel + scrap.
The steel material includes plates and sections used for hull, superstructure, main and minor
bulkheads, double bottom and decks, bulwark, steel seating for machinery etc., but excluding
structural forging, castings and deck fittings.
Outfit items include materials such as timber, internal and external paints, primers and
thinners, deck covering, insulation etc. and equipment such as cranes or derricks, hatch
covers, winches, structural forging and castings including stern frame, stern post and rudder
post, HVAC equipment, refrigeration equipment, ship's piping and pumps, anchoring and
mooring equipment and fittings, steering gear, auto-pilot and navigation equipment, chain
cables, B-class bulkhead panels, C-class or joiner bulkheads, ceilings and linings, windows
and scuttles, lifesaving equipment and launching equipment, provision winch and davit,
accommodation ladder, accommodation furnishings and fittings, galley and pantry equipment,
blacksmith work, steel metal work, ship's inventory, hardware and consumables, etc.
Machinery items include the main engine, diesel generator sets, air compressors and bottles,
marine pumps and engine room piping, heat exchangers, centrifuges or separators, Boiler,
sewage treatment plant, CO2 plant and bottles, pollution control equipment, propeller and
shafting, engine room crane, control systems, valves, engine room workshop equipment,
general tools, stores and spares.
Electrical equipment includes electrical items, automatic equipment, main and auxiliary
switchboards, electrical cables, electrical fittings, radar, radio, navigation aids, etc. The
material cost must include all taxes, freight and insurance during transit. An imported item, if
quoted as FOB (freight on board) price, must be enhanced to include cargo insurance and
freight (CIF) to the country and internal freight and customs duty.
b) Labour Cost
Labour cost is generally taken as the costs of direct labour allocated to the particular ship.
This can be computed as the total wages including salary and national insurance and all
benefits such as medical, subsidy on canteen facilities etc. of the labour as per job allocation
for the ship. This labour includes all charge hands, tradesmen, trainees, apprentices, helpers,
etc.
Labour cost can be calculated from:
Labour Cost = Labour rate ( per man-day) x No. of man-days for the job in question.
The number of man-days is the shipyard norm based on the standard production efficiency
and is estimated from previous data over the recent years. For an initial estimate of labour
cost, it can be divided into four main components (as was done for materials) such as steel,
outfit, machinery, and electrical labour. For a more detailed estimate, the labour cost
associated with each material component can be computed. Actual labour can be calculated
later as per the job allocation of each shop in the shipyard.
The production rate or, for steel, tonnes/man-hour is a function of a number of variables
114

__________________________________________________________________________
which are not easy to define. Some examples are given below. As the unit size (and weight)
increases, the tonnes/man-hour rate increases. Similarly, if the complexity of the unit
increases, production rate falls. The complexity can be thought of as directly related to
number of components in a unit, the plate preparation required before assembly, total weld
length etc.
One can also mention here that with proper flow of material, installation of efficient and
automatic machines and proper jigs and fixtures, complexity effect on production rate can be
reduced. Similarly, based on number of machines and extent of floor area in a shop floor,
there is an optimum level of workforce which can give maximum production. If the work fed
to the shop is low, then idle labour is generated and similarly, if the labour force is low,
production reduces. On the other hand, if more than the optimum number is present, then
there is unnecessary interference between workers which reduces production efficiency and
does not increase the total production.
Therefore, for estimating labour cost, the job complexity (based on the yard facilities as well
as the design intent), the total work content as well as the available labour must be considered.
a) Other Direct Expenses
This item represents those costs which can be directly charged to the ship but cannot be
attributed to material or labour. Examples of other direct expenses include launching and
delivery expenses, insurance during construction, expenses due to external supervision such
as classification society surveys and similar items.
b) Indirect Expenses
A large portion of the total cost cannot be charged to the ship's account directly, but is
incurred due to ship construction. These are normally termed as overhead expenses. This item
includes the following:
Full company establishment charges such as rates, rents, water, electricity and other service
charges; supervision cost of production which include salaries of foremen and managers up to
Chief Executive Officer; design and drawing office expenses; expenses of purchasing,
planning and production control, quality, general company administration, sales and
marketing etc.
Very often it is enough to consider the total cost as made up of the three components material, labour and overheads - each with its own individual break down. Thus all expenses
other than material and labour can be termed as overheads. However, some of the overhead
expenses are dependent on the quantity of production as well as duration of production. Rates
and rent, salaries to supporting staff such as security personnel, canteen etc. is dependent on
duration of production rather than quantity of production. Thus the overhead expenses can be
broadly subdivided into two groups:
Fixed or dependent on duration of production

Variable or dependent on quantity of production.
When the annual accounts of the shipyard are prepared, all other expenses not charged under
material and labour are termed as overhead expenses which are then proportioned to the ships
(fully or partly) constructed that year. Performing a statistical analysis of these expenses can
115

__________________________________________________________________________
allow the derivation of some norms regarding percentages in which the fixed and variable
overhead expenses can be apportioned.
7.4 Stages of Cost Estimation

Costing is normally done at three different stages:
a) Pre-contract Cost Estimation
This cost estimation is done at the preliminary/concept design stage so that a quick analysis of
various feasible alternatives with regard to cost can be made and a suitable decision for an
optimum design taken. At this stage, since detailed costs of material and labour are
unavailable, previous cost data is analysed with regard to a few variables only, such as the
main ship parameters, type of ship and major items of equipment like the main engine,
generators, cargo handling gear etc. It is then possible to identify trends in the data for
previously built ships and predict the cost with reasonable accuracy.
b) Contractual Cost Estimation
This cost estimation is done prior to the signing of the contract when contractual design
drawings and specifications are ready. So, it is possible to estimate the gross material cost
(purchase department information) and also the labour cost (from labour production norms
and labour wage rates). This can be easily and accurately predicted with the help of a
database of building cost data.
c) Actual Costing
Actual costing of the ship is carried out as the ship is being constructed. The costing
department does this by noting the actual materials and labour issued to the ship. This cost is
passed on to the cost database and is also utilised to update norms etc.
7.5 Cost Estimation Spreadsheet

Once the shipyard norms have been established, a standard tabular calculation procedure will
lead to estimated ship cost. A spreadsheet type of calculation on a computer can be easily
adopted. The items can be filled under various heads as per convenience and shipyard
practice. Subtotals can be incorporated if desired. A standard template has the advantage that
the estimates can be continuously updated until ship completion and hence it is easy to keep
control over the cost incurred during the fabrication process. To make this job easier, a cost
database of various items is very convenient. This database can then be utilised for different
purposes.
7.6 Some Factors Affecting Ship Cost

a) Stage Payments
In constructing a new vessel, the shipbuilder is investing a large sum of money over a long
period. To offset the absence of direct return, the owner makes stage payments. The main
milestones in the ship construction process are identified and a payment is made on reaching
116

__________________________________________________________________________
each milestone. Examples of such milestones are contract signing, placing order for steel and
machinery, keel laying, 50% erection of steel, launching, and installation of main engine,
dock trials and delivery.
The pattern of stage payments should be organised such that it does not distort a sensible
build strategy by requiring, for example, that a token unit be erected on the berth to claim a
payment. The pattern should reflect modern shipbuilding practice:
b) Delayed Delivery
Too often the delivery of the ship is delayed due to some reason or other. The delay may
cause heavy financial loss to the shipyard. This can be estimated and quantified. The financial
losses can arise from the following:
The shipyard has to make penalty payments in accordance with the contract terms.
There will be an increase in the overhead costs for the following reasons:
The production-independent portion of overhead cost increases due to the
increase in the build period.
A drop in production efficiency or an increase in idle labour adds to overhead
costs.
The stage payments are made later since the milestones are reached later.
The entire building schedule may be disrupted.
The ship owner's confidence in the builder reduces.
c) Series Construction
If a shipbuilder enters into a contract with a single owner or with a number of owners for the
construction and delivery of a series of vessels of the same design, the following beneficial
effects should be found to reduce the cost of succeeding ships:
There will be a reduction in material cost due to the bulk ordering and purchase of
material provided the inventory cost does not increase.
There should be a learning effect from one ship to the next; mistakes made in the
first vessel should be avoided and the workers familiarity with the product should
increase productivity. Thus the labour cost of later vessels in the series should
fall.
There is likely to be a drop in overhead cost since:
the cost of design, development of jigs etc. can be distributed over the entire
series
the building time for later vessels may be reduced (by improvement in
production efficiency) thus reducing overhead cost.
7.7 Special Features of the Shipbuilding Cost Model

Shipbuilding, unlike other manufacturing industries, has a production rate that varies with
time. Also the estimation of work completion is not exact and the production rates can vary
during the production stage. Therefore, any shipbuilding production cost model should
include the following elements:
117

__________________________________________________________________________
A measure to define the output of the shipyard.

The time dependence of production cost on resource utilisation.
The effect on ship production costs of changes in the production rate.
Ships are often produced singly or in very small batches over a period of time measured in
months or years. During all the stages of construction, the output of the shipyard is measured
in terms of the percentage completion of the ship. This is a very subjective measure and
modern shipyards try to measure the progress of work by ascertaining the completion of the
different interim products, i.e. work packages that are needed to produce the ship.
Each work package will have a budget and on completion of the work package the actual
man-hours are calculated and compared with the budgeted man-hours for an effective cost
control system. As mentioned, the completion of the ship implies the completion of the
different interim products or work packages. If there is an increase in the work content
required to complete the ship from what was budgeted, the reasons could be an increase in the
number of work packages or an increase in man-hours for the work packages.
For shipbuilding, it is important the interim products get completed at the planned time as a
large inventory cost is associated with them. If an interim product is completed earlier than
scheduled, capital may be tied up as value added along with associated increased costs for
storage and corrosion control. On the other hand, delayed completion of the interim product
will upset the production schedule resulting in bottlenecks at the construction stage due to
interference between the delayed work packages and those running to schedule. Similar
problems arise when equipment or material supplied by vendors and sub-contractors arrives
too early or too late.
118

NM209 - Marine Design Production - v01

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

NM209 - Marine Design Production - v01

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

NM 209

Principles of Marine Design

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

1.2 Key Features of the Product

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 1 Classification of different ship types

Figure 2 Classification of offshore structures

1.3 The Life Cycle of Ships

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Detailed design / Procurement

Figure 3 Different stages in the Life Cycle of a Ship

1.4 Characteristics of Shipbuilding

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 4 Approximate work content for different ship types

1.5 Key Activities in Shipbuilding

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 5 Ship as an overall product

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

1.6 The Ship Design Process

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 6 The ship design spiral

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 7 Main shipbuilding tasks

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 8 Main activities in ship construction (Functional)

Design information is not always absolutely complete or explicit.

1.7 Special Characteristics of an Offshore Construction Yard

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

1.8 The Offshore Design and Production Process

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 9 Fabrication of various typical parts of the ships hull structure

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

2.2 Production Organisation

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 11 Transition from craft to mass production

d) Product (or Group) Organisation: Product (or group) production organisation

2.3 Shipyard Layout

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Optimising material and work-in-progress inventory by adopting just-in-time

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 12 Shipyard layout

2.4 Development of Shipbuilding Yards

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Organisation of work was simple as little planning effort was needed

Figure 13 First generation shipyard layout

2. Second Generation Shipyard (post World War II till about 1960)

Work organised on the basis of processes in the steel shop

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 14 Second generation shipyard layout

3. Third Generation Shipyards (from 1960s to 1980s)

Figure 15 Third generation shipyard layout

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 16 Fourth generaion shipyard layout

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Figure 17 Shipyard layout

NM209 - Principles of Marine Design and Production

Straightening - Plates and Sections

3.2 Straightening Techniques