Showing papers on "Shipbuilding published in 2004"

Maritime Transportation: Safety Management and Risk Analysis

Abstract: Shipping and marine transportation is a highly regulated global industry. With heightened public awareness of the environmental and human cost of marine accidents, and tighter legislation from governments and international bodies on ships and shipping operations, the safe and efficient operation of ships is a priority for all ship builders, owners and operators. This book is the essential guide to the safety of maritime transportation for anyone in the field. The book covers all aspects of maritime risk and safety from engineering and operational perspectives, as well as regulatory and health and safety requirements. It addresses the needs of both professionals and students working in the related fields of shipping management, ship design and naval architecture and transport management, as well as fields including safety management, insurance and accident investigation.

Discrete Event Simulation: An Efficient Tool to Assist Shipyard Investment and Production Planning

Abstract: The complexity both of the product ship and the shipbuilding process make planning tasks in long, medium, and short terms difficult and lead to serious uncertainties Discrete event simulation can be used to test and evaluate different scenarios in investment planning, scheduling, and resource planning Using a virtual shipyard environment, the cost to find optimum solutions and the risk related to wrong decisions in the real world can be drastically reduced However, due to the special skills and efforts usually needed to develop simulation models, the practical application of production flow simulation in shipyards is still rather limited Object-oriented simulation tool sets specially developed for shipbuilding needs provide the chance to drastically reduce these efforts Object libraries containing general and shipbuilding specific components with defined interfaces shorten the time needed for development of models for similar purposes Furthermore, the integration of discrete event simulation models for certain shipyard facilities into a holistic model of the entire enterprise is made possible by using a tool set Because of costs, some shipyards shy away from investing in simulation techniques Networking activities and joint projects on simulation issues help to overcome those obstacles German Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft already uses a simulation tool set successfully and actively cooperates with universities and other shipyards, while Center of Maritime Technologies has gathered experience in this field during participation in several simulation projects with other shipyards, for example, Jos L Meyer and Aker Ostsee The article revues practical applications of simulation, gives an impression of how object-oriented simulation tool libraries can be structured, and outlines collaboration possibilities for making simulation applications affordable

Core competence and competitive strategy of the Taiwan shipbuilding industry: a resource-based approach

Abstract: The shipbuilding output for Taiwan had been 4th in the world until 1999; however, at that time, it dropped to the 9th. Currently, the world shipbuilding capacity greatly exceeds the demand and this disparity could grow to 40% by 2005. Facing this turning point, the main objective of this study is to re-examine the international competitive position of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry; furthermore, to realize the industries’ core competences and attempt to recommend competitive strategies for the future development of Taiwan's shipbuilding industry. The results show that Taiwan's main core competence is production management, mainly through heterogeneous resource analysis. This paper also proposes that for general types of ships, Taiwan's development priority should be to utilize low-cost strategies to occupy the market continuously; as to high value added types of ships, Taiwan's priority should be to utilize differential and focus strategies. Finally, the direction of government policy is suggested.

Shipboard routing assistance : Decision making support for operation of container ships in heavy seas. Discussion

Abstract: As container ships become larger and respond less directly to the seaway it becomes more difficult for the ship officers to correctly judge the seas and to consistently make the right decisions for a safe operation of the vessel. Highly stacked containers on deck in front of the bridge further contribute to a distancing of the officers from the sea. SRA, Shipboard Routing Assistance, combines performance-monitoring of a ship at sea with information on the weather and the sea to supply active routing assistance to the navigating personnel. The objective of SRA focuses on the prevention of dangerous conditions with cargo loss and possibly structural damage to the ship when operating in bad weather. The fundamental innovation of SRA as compared to the classical ship response monitoring systems concerns the continuous shipboard measurement of the seaway surrounding the ship in terms of seaway spectra prepared at regular intervals and the corresponding response calculations with the aim to recognize situations potentially dangerous to ship and cargo. The seaway spectra are derived from measurements with the ship's own radar system. Together with pre-calculated ship response transfer functions predictions of ship motions and hull girder loads are derived for the actual sea conditions onboard. The results are permanently updated and displayed on a monitor in the wheelhouse. Active routing planning is possible by combining the system with weather forecasts, enabling the ship master to prepare for or to avoid critical situations ahead and to minimize any risks. The system is simple and easy to use. It has been successfully installed within pilot projects on a Panamax and on a Post-Panamax container ship. Within those pilot projects additional, independent strain gages and ship motion sensors were installed onboard to validate the semi-empirical SRA predictions. Results from these two pilot installations confirm the effectiveness of the system. They are discussed in the paper together with the validations. The performance and possibilities of the SRA system as a decision making support tool on board is described. A training version of SRA has been developed for the training and familiarization of navigating personnel before going out to sea. Finally the benefits of such a system on board for the ship operator, for the ship owner and also for the classification society are being discussed.

The Shipbuilding and Force Structure Analysis Tool: A User's Guide

Abstract: To help the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Navy with force structure decisionmaking, RAND researchers developed the Shipbuilding and Force Structure Analysis Tool, a series of four linked models that provide an environment in which the user is able to understand the implications of force structure choices on resource requirements and the private shipyard industrial base. This report serves as a basic introduction to the tool and a guide to its use.

Integrated Multiple Attributive Decision Support System for Producibility Evaluation in Ship Design

Abstract: Ship design today can be viewed as an ad hoc process. It must be considered in the context of integration with other design development activities, such as production, costing, quality control, and so forth. Otherwise, it is possible for the designer to design a ship that is difficult to produce, requires high material or labor cost, or contains some design flaws that the production engineers have to correct or send back for redesigning before production can be done. Any adjustment required after the design stage will result in a penalty of extra time or cost. Deficiencies in the design of a ship will influence the succeeding stages of production. In addition to designing a ship that fulfills producibility requirements, it is also desirable to design a ship that satisfies risk, performance, cost, and customer requirements criteria. More recently, environmental concerns, safety, passenger comfort, and life-cycle issues are becoming essential parts of the current shipbuilding industry. Therefore, "design for X paradigm" should also be considered during the ship design stages. An integrated multiple attributive decision support system for producibility evaluation in ship design (PRODEVIS) is developed to use by industry and researchers in evaluating the producibility of competing ship designs and design features during the early stages of ship design by taking into account cost, performance, risk, and "design for X paradigm" attributes. This developed approach is a fuzzy multiple attributive group decision-making methodology where feasible design alternatives are conducted by a ship production simulation technique. In this approach, an attribute-based aggregation technique for a heterogeneous group of experts is employed and used for dealing with fuzzy opinion aggregation for the subjective attributes of the ship design evaluation problem. The developed methodology is illustrated with a case study.

Naval Compensated Gross Tonnage Coefficients and Shipyard Learning

Abstract: In 2001 the UK Ministry of Defence and First Marine International embarked on a study to determine compensated gross tonnage (CGT) coefficients for naval vessels. This paper is a summary of the latest work, which has established trends of CGT coefficient by ship type and determined the correlation between the proportion of outfit, average compartment size, and the coefficient. A method of separating ship from organizational learning to determine a shipyard's core productivity and the first of class performance drop-off, which is related to the use of best practice, is also proposed. This has allowed the core productivity and cost performance of shipyards in some of the principal naval shipbuilding nations to be compared. Lower compensation coefficients imply lower work content per gross ton. The ship designer and the customer both have an influence on the work content and hence the compensation coefficient. The study has indicated that there is a wide variation in the work content associated with the acquisition practices of different customers. The methodology used to calculate the CGT coefficient is set out in a previous paper by the same authors, Methodology used to calculate naval CGT factors, which was presented at the 2002 Ship Production Symposium in Boston, Massachusetts. The study has continued to receive the close cooperation and support of some leading UK and continental European commercial and naval shipbuilders who have provided information and validated the findings.

Parametric method of preliminary prediction of the ship building costs

Abstract: Paper presents results of studies on a parametric method of predicting ship building costs -useful in the preliminary design. Conception and theoretical basis of the method are presented, devised are also approximation formulae for estimating the building costs of the ship hull, ship equipment and the power plant with propulsion Factors of importance for the ship building costs are identified and a computational algorithm formulated. The useful character of the method is illustrated by examples of building cost predictions for four different ship types designed in the Eureka project E/2772, i.e.: SINE 202 universal container carrier, SINE 203 oil product tanker, SINE 204 ro-ro ship and SINE 205 river-sea ship.

Achieving manufacturing quality and reliability using thru-process simulation

Abstract: Manufacturing of heavy industrial components such as the front linkage, case frame and car body of construction and mining equipments involves multiple processes including thermal cutting, bending/forming and welding. Distortion, welding joint integrity and manufacturing variability pose significant challenges on today's manufacturing. In this paper, the authors presented VFT - Virtual Fabrication Technology [1], a thru-process simulation package, developed at the technical center of Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL, USA and Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Ohio, USA. VFT is a trademark of Battelle Memorial Institute. This work was performed under the support of the US Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards, Advanced Technology Program. Steel rolling simulation, thermal cutting simulation, bending and welding simulation capabilities in the VFT software have significantly reduced the time and cost of manufacturing process developments as well as to achieve competitive advantages through quality improvement and differentiated products. Besides the Caterpillar applications, VFT software has also found applications in shipbuilding, nuclear piping, and automotive industry.

Hydrodynamic characteristics of special type ships

Abstract: Economic conjuncture, improvements, and also technological developments had preliminary impacts on the shipbuilding industry since the second part of the 20th century. Free market competition conditions offer new and significant modifications to the conventional type of ship's dimensions and their technical properties. This fact is true with hovercraft, hydrofoils, and small water-plane area twin hull (SWATH) ships. Besides, technological developments are equally welcome in any area of design and production of ships. The aim of this article is to reference scientific journals and conference and symposia transactions and proceedings dealing with special type ships and thier hydrodynamic performance published from January 2000 to July 2003. The following types of ships are considered: multihulled vessels, hydrofoil ships, and special-purpose ships (submarines, surface warships, Roll-on Roll-off ships, and fishing vessels, etc.). This brief review article not only list references to papers in this millennium, but will also help researchers and engineers for their studies on special type ship hydrodynamic performance providing quick and practical access to relevant references.

The advanced outfitting dilemma

Abstract: Since the shipbuilding technology transfer to the U.S. from IHI in Japan in the early 1970s, the potential performance improvement resulting from the application of Advanced Outfitting (AO) has been the basis for shipbuilders around the world implementing it. The commercial shipbuilders that implemented it, all reported significant reduction in build duration and savings of man-hours. However, the situation for naval ships has not been so clear-cut! Also today we are hearing from cruise ship builders that the saving is much less than the original expectations. They also do not perform as much advanced outfitting before the on-board stage. Is there something different between cruise ships and combatant ships that nullify the benefits ofAO or are there other factors that do not allow the same extent of advanced outfitting attained on commercial cargo ships? This paper will report on ongoing research that is attempting to address this issue.

LCA-ship. Design tool for energy efficient ships. A Life Cycle Analysis Program for Ships. Final report

Abstract: In order to make it easier to include aspects during ship design that will improve environmental performance, general methods for life cycle calculations and a prototype tool for LCA calculations of ships and marine transportation have been developed. The base of the life cycle analyses is a comprehensive set of life cycle data that was collected for the materials and consumables used in ship construction and vessel operations. The computer tool developed makes it possible to quickly and simply specify (and calculate) the use of consumables over the vessel's life time cycle. Special effort has been made to allow the tool to be used for different types of vessels and sea transport. The main result from the project is the computer tool LCA ship, which incorporates collected and developed life cycle data for some of the most important materials and consumables used in ships and their operation. The computer application also contains a module for propulsion power calculations and a module for defining and optimising the energy system onboard the vessel. The tool itself is described in more detail in the Computer application manual. The input to the application should, as much as possible, be the kind of information that is normally found in a shipping company concerning vessel data and vessel movements. It all starts with defining the ship to be analysed and continues with defining how the ship is used over the lifetime. The tool contains compiled and processed background information about specific materials and processes (LCA data) connected to shipping operations. The LCA data is included in the tool in a processed form. LCA data for steel will for example include the environmental load from the steel production, the process to build the steel structure of the ship, the scrapping and the recycling phase. To be able to calculate the environmental load from the use of steel the total amount of steel used over the life cycle of the ship is also needed. The processed LCA data in the tool contain the key factors to make it possible to perform life cycle analyses of such a complex 'product' as a ship and the sea transport activity performed by the ship. The calculated environmental impact can also be analysed with respect to different operations, life cycle phases etc. To make comparisons easier between ship concepts etc., the calculated environmental impact can be evaluated with different categorisations and valuation models in an analyses module.

Governing the shipyards : Europeanisation and the German shipbuilding industry

Abstract: This thesis examines processes of Europeanisation in the German shipbuilding industry between 1980 and 2002. In particular, it analyses the impact of European Union (EU) shipbuilding policy on German shipbuilding policy and German public and private actors. The thesis argues that the specific salient features of the shipbuilding industry are decisive in explaining what drives Europeanisation in the German shipbuilding industry in terms of the response of private actors. Their reaction to EU policy is inextricably linked to that of the public actors. Accordingly, the thesis highlights the interactive nature of the Europeanisation processes with which domestic public and private actors are involved. Thus, it argues that the analysis of 'EU action' and 'German reaction' in the field of shipbuilding needs to consider the impact of German public actors' responses to EU shipbuilding policy on those of domestic private actors, and vice versa. The response of German public actors - the Federal and Land governments - is analysed in terms of German shipbuilding policy content and institutional developments. German shipbuilding policy is shown to meet and exceed EU shipbuilding policy requirements. The impact of EU shipbuilding policy on private actors - German shipbuilding firms and the German shipbuilding association - is explored in terms of their interest representation activities and the shipbuilding projects for which they seek state support. German shipbuilding firms look increasingly to the EU as the channel through which to air their concerns and further their interests. Such a response is based on the realisation that the EU is able to secure benefits that the domestic governments cannot provide. Empirical analysis also shows that German shipbuilding firms have engaged in shipbuilding projects of the type encouraged by EU policy. This thesis suggests that Europeanisation processes are contingent and differentiated and due attention should be paid to various sets of domestic actors.

Decision-making processes in shipping acquisitions and shipbuilding

Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to expand and analyze the decisions that are constantly being made by shipping companies concerning acquisition of newbuildings, the construction of newbuildings, operational aspects as well as financial issues concerning a shipping company. The issues that shall be analyzed and discussed have been deduced after extended discussions with technical directors of some of the major Greek Shipping Companies. Once all issues at hand have been deduced, this thesis shall provide a general introduction, and consequently an analysis of each and every major event at hand, indicating Shipping Company's various options. The next step shall be to analyze the results of all the interviews, and then finally give further comments and suggestions concerning each and every major event at hand shall be indicated. Thesis Supervisor: Henry S. Marcus Title: Professor of Marine Systems

Structural analysis of the shipbuilding industry based on transaction cost theory

Abstract: Due to the petroleum crisis in 1973, the demand of ships fell at a worldwide level, making it necessary to reduce the worldwide shipbuilding capacity. However, at that moment, the Korean shipbuilders' entrance in the international market increased even further the excess of supply, which had repercussions on the price of the ships and extended the crisis effects in the shipbuilding sector. European shipyards have suffered this situation in a special way: governments had to adopt measures that meant the closing of naval factories. The surviving European shipyards had to undertake important restructuring processes, based fundamentally on: (1) the externalisation of their value chain activities and (2) the subscription to cooperation agreements. In this study, we endeavour to identify the dimensions that determine whether different shipbuilding activities are carried out as market operations, within the hierarchy or through cooperation agreements. In order to achieve this goal, we have studied Spanish shipyards in the area of Vigo, since Spain, before the petroleum crisis, was the fourth most important worldwide shipbuilding country and Vigo was, and still is, the most important city for the sector in this country.

The Role of Maritime Passenger Shipping in the Restructuring of Shipbuilding Industry and Economic Growth of the Republic of Croatia

Abstract: The Croatian shipbuilding industry is undergoing technological reconstruction. National shipbuilding will not be abandoned, as it is the strategic industry of Croatia. The Government has undertaken to define the tasks of the management boards in all the Croatian shipyards and the tasks of the Government itself. The goal is an urgent restructuring of the Croatian shipyards and their reorganisation in terms of profitable operation as well as in terms of the larger share of domestic equipment in-built in ships. This was stated by Mr Branko Vukelic, the Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship at the press conference held in Split on 3 February 2004. One of the largest Croatian shipyards where the state is the major owner, Brodosplit from Split is subject to the projects of technological reconstruction and restructuring i.e. separation of technological units that are not directly related to shipbuilding. The spin-off firms could easily find new customers and be more profitable. This restructuring started on 1 January 2004 when the first spin-off enterprise Brodosplit-TDM started its operation. This company builds engines for the ships built in Brodosplit. In spite of being an autonomous company TDM will participate in shipbuilding by 10 to 15%, and thus will be one of the most important partners of Brodosplit. The Government is investing considerable funds that should be paid back in 7 to 9 years, which is quite favourable in terms of project profitability. The final goal of the Government is to shorten the shipbuilding period. During 1999 and 2000 the Government invested 17 million kunas in the first stage of technological reconstruction, while in 2004 it will invest 20 million in the second stage. This stage involves purchase of technological equipment such as automotive lines for profile cutting, micro-panel lines, 90-ton transporter, 25-ton dock crane, submarine cutting equipment. The investment will ensure higher productivity and competitiveness especially in relation to the Far-East shipyards. . This restructuring model has been already applied in the EU aiming to reorganise operation in a number of smaller technological units allowing them to be better organised, profitably engaged and better controlled. The management of such companies are responsible directly to the owner for their financial performance. Organised in this way they will also be allowed to negotiate contracts beyond the scope of the shipbuilding market. As the Government plans to privatise the entire shipbuilding industry, it will be easier to achieve that with smaller firms. The capacity of the Croatian Shipbuilding industry will be fully engaged in the next 2 to 4 years mainly for the foreign customers. The number of workers will not be reduced, as blue-collar workers are getting scarce in all the shipyards. They have ample possibility to work overtime and earn good wages. The surplus of administrative workers was eliminated by early retirement programmes or by retraining programmes.

Ships and the Sailors Inside Them

Abstract: : Wooden warships sickened and killed their own crews due to poor food, disease and dangerous work. Iron shipbuilding allowed safer and healthier ships but their internal compartmentation created communication problems which were gradually solved with mechanical systems Ships developed their own "nervous system" allowing a central director to fire every gun. The creation of high-powered machinery meant that small ships were driven into seas up to the limits of human endurance. Coal fuel created its own back-breaking workload and industrial hazards until replaced by oil The displacement limits in arms reduction treaties forced Navies to study trading-off crew quality with carrying more armament. The adoption of the peacetime-forward- deployment mission meant sending ships to sea for 100-200 day periods that hadn't been seen since the days of sail. The loss of overseas bases and the threat of terrorist attack has greatly complicated going ashore for liberty compared to the 1950-60s. The long term trend of sailor's job has been changing from providing muscle to brains. On submarines, aircraft carriers and low-signature surface combatants, sailors have lost places topside to quietly view the sea and sky. The seaman is gradually losing the pleasure of the contact with the ocean.

The von Karman-Gabrielli Diagram Analyse for the Purpose of Choosing the Direction of the new Form Ship Dedign in Croatian Shipbuilding

Abstract: The paper presents the analytical rewiew on Von karman-gabroelli diagram for the different vehicles as the diagram of force-weight relations to vehicles speed, related to "technological line" of today's vehiclws possibilities. Namely, the domain of optimal relations force-weight to speed is determined, and the domain of efficiacious activities of a different "new generation vehicles", applicable in Croatian shipbuilding, i.e. the domain in which there is a chance to do research work in new vehicles design. At the end, some of new design of vehicles is presented either in classical or new forms, which, according to the Von Karman - Gabrielli diagram, could be successfully developed and designed in Croatian shipbuilding.

Achieving Health and Safety in the Building and Repair of Ships and Boats

Abstract: Bureau of Labor Education " ... to assure as far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources: Each employer shall: (1) furnish to each of [their] employees, employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm; (2) comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act; (3) provide proper safety and health training and education to employees; Each employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders pursuant to this Act which are applicable to [their] own actions and conduct. " — Public Law 91-596, Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Bureau recognizes and thanks the following individuals and organizations whose assistance and resources were very helpful in the development of this publication: In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and in pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability, or veterans status in employment, education, and all other areas of the University. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. Questions and complaints about discrimination in any area of the University should be directed to