Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NM209 - Marine Design Production - v01
NM209 - Marine Design Production - v01
University of Strathclyde
2013
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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).
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
10
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.
14
16
18
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
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
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:
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
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).
laser beam
i)
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.
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).
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).
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)
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.
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.
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
30
31
Sl.
No.
PROCESS
1
2
3
4
5
6
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.
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
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
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.
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:
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)
Conveyors
Cranes
Industrial Vehicles
Containers
39
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
Bridge cranes
Jib cranes
Gantry cranes
Mobile 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
Electrical systems
Accommodation
Deck fittings
Weapon systems on board naval ships
44
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
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46
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.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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:
By feature
By quantity
By quality
By kind of work
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
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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:
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.
Pipe Piece Family Manufacturing (PPFM) - this is because large quantities and
varieties of pipe pieces and ventilation trunking need to be manufactured.
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).
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:
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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
Marking, Cutting, Edge
Preparation
Marking, Cutting, Edge
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
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63
64
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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
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The advantages of shifting paint related work to earlier manufacturing stages are:
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
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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.
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.
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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 =
Spent Hours
% Complete
Earned Hours =
Productivity
Projected Hours =
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.
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.
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6. SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
6.1 Quality
6.1.1 Introduction
Some Dictionary Definitions of Quality
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
purpose,
of
the
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
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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
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
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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?
Material lists
MLS Material List by (Ships functional ) System (by purchasing zone)- Lists major
components & bulk raw materials derived from system diagrams
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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
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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
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
Material Cost
Classification
Piece
For identification in
procurement
For material cost control
Work Package
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
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103
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ii)
iii)
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
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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.
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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:
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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
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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
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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.
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.
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