Pilot Tool for Linking Ship Design to Shipyard Simulation - Final Report

Hill. T. W., Walden, C., Holt, R., Greenwood, A., & Saunders, C. (2011). Pilot Tool for Linking Ship Design to Shipyard Simulation - Final Report. Charleston, SC: National Shipbuilding Research Program, Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise.

Abstract

The objective of this project is to develop a Pilot Design Simulation Tool (PDS Tool) and develop a pilot outfitting prototype simulation model. The PDS Tool is intended to enhance existing engineering software tools and enable the linkage of key elements of a ship’s design to a simulation model. It is proposed that this tool will enhance the value of and extend the life of future and existing simulation models by incorporating up-to-date design data into the simulation model. In addition, this tool targets the elimination of a substantial data entry step that is currently required to run simulation models of shipyards. This is particularly a challenge for the shipbuilding industry due deep and complex product structure. Therefore this project focuses on developing a tool that which targets minimizing this problem in the DSS and other simulation model and analysis projects. For example, the design data for a new mid-size ship (e.g., barge) could easily require one week or more of data entry time in order to fully populate data required to support a fabrication shop simulation model. Of course, frequently yards deal with more than one ship hull in process at any one time, which makes the data requirement even more daunting. Also, the data entry problem is increased when developing simulation models of outfitting activities, which are highly dependent on design custom requirements. Therefore, there is a significant need to develop a Pilot Design Simulation Tool (PDS Tool). While numerous simulation models have been developed over the last several years, most have focused on developing models of fabrication. Very few examples are available regarding how to best model the highly variable processes supporting outfitting. Since outfitting is represents a major element of the shipbuilding enterprise, it is very important to the industry to develop an approach for modeling this labor intensive processes. Of course, in order to develop a shipyard wide simulation model both fabrication, erection and outfitting are required. This project proposes to evaluate and develop approaches to address the outfitting modeling challenge.