CONDITION-BASED MAINTENANCE -- A TOOL FOR IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY IN SHIPYARDS

The National Shipbuilding Research Program's 2001 Strategic Investment Plan cites reduce overhead costs associated with maintenance as a key issue in responding to difficult Facilities and Tooling challenges. The Plan goes on to state that balancing the proper amount of preventative maintenance with reducing overhead costs is a constant struggle and recommends that studies be performed to help determine the impact of equipment downtime. However, a clear trend is already emerging that points to condition-based maintenance (CBM) as an important means to help reduce shipyard maintenance costs. In fact, CBM is being successfully applied in industries ranging from open pit coal mining to nuclear power production, as well as on board naval and commercial ships and oil production facilities. In some instances, CBM has been providing substantial equipment and facilities cost savings for over twenty years. U.S. shipyards are already implementing important aspects of CBM and have the opportunity to further this systems-oriented trend as a way to continue to trim costs through enhanced technology, improved processes, and cross boundary interactions between management, maintenance personnel, and production staff.