IPPD -- THE CONCURRENT APPROACH TO INTEGRATING SHIP DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION

The concept of concurrent engineering is philosophically widely accepted as the correct approach to considering all disciplines in the course of a design. The methods that are used to solicit and incorporate the input are not so widely accepted. Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) is a technique that has been successfully applied to the Engine Room Arrangement Modeling (ERAM) project. The paper addresses the experience of the (ERAM) team, which is an element of the US Navy's Mid-Term Sealift Ship Technology Development Program and will focus on issues that may be experienced in a U.S. shipyard environment when applying IPPD. The IPPD process will be discussed from two perspectives. First the team formation, training and operation will be addressed. The team issues include such elements as team formation, requirements for collocation, project pre-planning, team training, team member development, integration of new team members, maintaining team work including peer review, establishment of norms and consensus building. In general, issues differing from current practices will be addressed. Next, the application of the approach to ship design while considering 'cradle to grave' costs will be addressed from a technical standpoint. The technical approach will provide a general outline of the steps followed in developing the engine room arrangement models, using the IPPD approach. This outline reflects both the initial development and the evolution over several engine room designs. The conclusion of the paper will define what steps the ERAM team recommends U.S. shipbuilders should implement in adopting the IPPD process.