Shipbuilding is a unique industry and yet few take note of this in the context of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). Its culture, processes and leadership hamper the adoption of commonly available technology and realistic, pragmatic implementation strategies
It should be recognized that a PLM environment is not reserved to shipyar[ds_preview]ds. On the contrary, it is immensely useful for all companies running parallel and/or large projects.
A true digital transformation and a clear vision of the current status and future goals are sine-qua-non prerequisites for a successful PLM initiative. A symbiotic corollary is that monolithic toolsets might not address the complexity of the multiple concurrent processes spanning the ship design and ship building ecosystem.
The simple essentials of a successful PLM implementation include (but are not limited to): identifying and how to pursue the end goals, assessing available and required resources, where to start, what to do and who to call, recognising the multiple and parallel processes involved and remaining very alert to changes and equally flexible.
Identifying and pursuing the goal
The end goal – the »vision« -is defined by people and its feasibility based on resources. The vision can be abstract, for example »increase turnover by 10 % in three years’ time«, but achieving is a practical exercise, for example by establishing an asynchronous data processing automation PLM environment.
The backbone of a PLM effort it to create value out of the ecosystem by exploiting the significant (and in general equally fragmented and disconnected) amount of digital information already present while developing and integrating the missing mosaic tiles and links.
Evolving from the generally misunderstood Business Process Assessment (BPA), a Value Creation Process (VCP) will pursue the end goal by cross-matching processes and resources over a number of major business objectives and identifying the corresponding information flow and deliverables.
A working PLM environment requires many software tools to work together: 3D CAD, ERP (enterprise resource planning) /MRP (material requirement planning), MES (manufacturing execution system), HR (human resources) , Planning, VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality), PLM, etc. – and, realistically, an AGILE and LEAN approach will select software from several sources.
Each tool can be considered to be a Platform and a multiple tool environment is generally referred to as a Platform-of-Platforms. Each tool must provide the required functions and be capable of communicating with others out of the box, but also to be developed further as will often be required. In some cases, two similar platforms actually operate in parallel (ex. local and global strength FE tools sharing the same model).
The successful pursuit of the vision will be valuably supported by adopting AGILE and LEAN principles form the start of the digital transformation which, in this case, is symbiotically embedded in the implementation of the PLM environment. Possibly surprising, the bigger the organization the shorter should the initial, progressive steps be.
Assessing resources
The inefficient reality is that information is often difficult to find and its reliability unknown, work handoff procedures rely on people’s manual actions, deliverables are not composed using consistent procedures, errors are found late in the game, change orders are hard to manage, various stakeholders repeat work »just to be sure«, etc.
The key paradigm is Availability replaces accessibility (availability not accessibility: expression coined by Denis Morais (SSI) about ten years ago, this concept is discussed by the author in several conference papers). Availability means managing the delivering the appropriate data and information to the intended recipient in a purpose-specific format – the »M« in PLM. »M« may also stand for Master: people must know, monitor and control what is happening, especially if processes are automated.
An objective VCP and a realistic digital transformation strategy are the first, crucial steps towards satisfying such data and information transparency. Ironically, some commonly available technology negates availability: content-rich e-mails, unmanaged documents, WhatsApp chats, SMS messages, notes scribbled on drawings (included digitally) and all similar information »silos«.
Where to start, who to call
The vision is the lighthouse, but a moving one, and I like to resume and refer to the above as the steam-roller approach: go slowly, never stop, change directions if needed, and compound the power of AGILE and LEAN increments. A little like in disrupted optimization processes, the digital transformation efforts will keep on pointing towards the lighthouse while navigating in only short-term predictable environmental conditions.
Bottlenecks and inefficient processes are very often due to human factors. Identifying the easiest ones, a »local«, low-level approach and fix them by evolution, not revolution. This is in fact a form of »industrial meditation« that reveals the most hidden aspects of why a company works the way it does (objective vs subjective constraints, etc.). Rallying people to the cause will lubricate the machine and everyone will benefit, e.g. the company.
A PLM implementation is therefore tailored to the objective environment of each shipyard, and it takes time and an objective perspective to prepare appropriately. Moreover, although it is a »forever« process, significant milestones can be met in a matter of weeks or months (or, in some cases, days).
For example, agnostic sharing of stakeholder tailored 3D models that includes integrated meta-data, better still interactive and collaborative reviews, etc. are easily achieved with off-the-shelf platforms like Autodesk Navisworks, Aerys SmartShape, etc., which also serve the Digital Twin Approval initiatives of various Class Societies. SSI’s ShipbuildingPLM provides the ability to trace the history of a given part with a couple of clicks in a web client (ex. on a smartphone via the LAN or the cloud).
Experienced »fresh« eyes are especially useful during a VCP but the analytical contribution of a Shipbuilding-specific PLM expert will soon be required. Field experience and hands-on knowledge of software tools along with the ability to see the big picture are decisive discriminating factors. In the author’s experience (not meaning to exclude anyone), successful PLM have been achieved by PROSTEP , Hamburg, SSI , Canada and their respective partners.
Conclusion
Digital transformation and PLM implementation require a committed management and their realistic vision. An honest VCP, small practical steps and expert support will support the evolution towards a high performance, adaptive design bureaus and shipyards. To begin is easy, tools and ways are readily available, but one must want to do it.
Author: Nick Danese, founder of NDAR and SYRRKLE
