MARINE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

Throughout the shipbuilding industry a variety of dedicated IT-systems are employed to direct specific workflows. Apart from PID, CAD, ERP and planning systems also MES-systems are playing an import role. Floor2Plan is such an Manufacturing Execution System exclusively focus on shipbuilding operations.

The shipbuilding industry has distinctive characteristics that differentiate their operational processes from other industries. 

High variety low volume versus low variety high volume 

The aerospace or automotive industry are oftentimes used as a comparison or example of industries with a high degree of operational maturity. But these industries are characterized by their high volume low variety products. Whereas shipbuilding in contrast is low volume high variety which brings obviously totally different requirements for developing operational maturity. 

In these knowledge base paragraphs we explain how and why the nature of shipbuilding demands specific solutions dedicated to specific shipbuilding challenges and by which processes and sequence they should be developed. 

The IT-landscape in a shipyard and the positioning of a Manufacturing Execution System  

To fully support the PDCA-cycle of processes the existing IT-landscape needs to be synchronized. Since this ensures that all the latest, relevant and insightful data is available instantly for all operational roles.

The IT-landscape in a shipyard

Every shipyard is unique 

Shipbuilding is often looked upon through a variety of perspectives. Some yard owners reflect on their yard as a factory that burns and sells hours. Others emphasize the highly complex logistical challenges to manage the explosive number of parts, dependencies and external parties together. Then there is the consideration of a yard as a project organization in the upper echelons and the process organization through the lower ranks and the shop floor.  

How to apply integrated planning 

Obviously all yards carry with them similarities such as the engineering to order character or the challenge to develop a project control framework together with transparent processes. But it’s also very true that even though the more generic processes like engineering, procurement and finance are often quite similar. From yard to yard the specific setup of the yard impacts the best way forward to control projects and operations.

A context driven approach to the control framework  
As some yards don’t employ own craftsmen but outsource all activities and just focus on coordination, others have their own plate cutting facilities while some do everything in-house. So  to the determine where the emphasize should be put when setting up control frameworks is a yard specific topic. To assess this properly specific shipbuilding industry knowledge is a real benefit and carries with it great potential.

Control frameworks for your shipyard 

As the planning tools have the potential to significantly reduce the risks of the shipyard whatever the emphasize of the business model it is important to choose the right tool for the right purpose. 

The IT-landscape in a shipyard

Financial tools or ERP-systems in shipyards 

A variety of systems like Enterprise Resource Planning tools with vendors like SAP, Sage, Deltek, Costpoint, IFS, JD Edwards and more locally ECI Software with Inventiv ERP, Trimergo ERP and Ridder ERP are used. Or even Microsoft Dynamics Navision ERP or AMS ERP. These systems are oftentimes the financial backbone of the shipyard making it a sound decision to accommodate all financial yard planning available from these systems. Also by connecting the ERP with the project plans to recognize financial impacts from the key milestones and consumption of materials and hours. It’s obviously crucial to have periodical pre- and post-calculation comparisons. 

Project control framework IT-tools or IT-systems in shipbuilding

To accommodate the project planning needs we come across Open Plan, Microsoft Projects, Microsoft Excel, Oracle Primavera P5, Oracle Primavera P6 and obviously Floorganise with Floor2Plan. Setting up the project plan is obviously a crucial task as it has the potential to mitigate many of the risks that are recognized on the project level. Such as the critical chain for the project and the parts or components to buy early in time. But many of the challenges in shipbuilding are only materialized on the project level as they originate from operations. 

 

Production or operational planning for shipyards  

Issues, challenges and deviations are oftentimes only recognized when they are brought to production. The wrong specifications, drawings, materials or other difficulties. As the shipbuilding project is heavily dependent on the consumption of many hours of skilled craftsmen, the logistical chain of activities and other interdependencies from internal and external parties it is crucial to also control the process level of the yard. Detail planning activities are put in place to assure that the processes are streamlined and aligned with the project plan. Through the early recognition of deviations in the process (for scarce resources, insufficient progress or shifting timelines) the financial impact for the project can be limited greatly. Tools that are often used for this purpose are Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Projects or Floorganise with Floor2Plan. 

Resource and time tracking tools for shipbuilding  

To control the resources for the yard it is crucial to have insights in the availability of individuals (shifts, holidays, hours per week) their skills (i.e. certifications,licenses, trades), their department allocation and obviously the time they spent on the yard (shop time, clock times) as well as time spent on jobs (job time). A variety of tools are used for this purpose and since no other system than Floorganise with Floor2Plan can accommodate all these needs in one system a variety of systems are used on conjunction with each other. Examples are Kronos Autotime, Kronos Workforce Timekeeper, GPS Timetracking, Integritime, EpicFlow and B4ICT or Modest. 

 

Tracking progress within your yard and subcontractors 

Since the number of departments and teams involved in your shipbuilding project is manifold it is crucial to receive periodical or ideally weekly feedback from them. On where they stand with their level of progress, tasks completed, hours to go, issues and so forth. In daily practice shipyards are oftentimes using Microsoft Excel, paper processes or Oracle Primavera Team member tools to accommodate these needs. To really integrate the planning with the control cycle Floorganise’ Floor2Plan is capable of providing the users with one platform accommodating all the various progress needs. 

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