THE PROJECT 21 SMART PRODUCT MODEL: A NEW PARADIGM FOR SHIP DESIGN, COST ESTIMATION, AND PRODUCTION PLANNING

Pre-production ship design, cost estimation and production planning are traditionally carried out in U.S. shipyards through a process of extensive design work, followed by contacting multiple vendors, and coupled with production planning. This process has long been recognized as time consuming and expensive. In an effort to save time and cost, a number of synthesis models have been developed. These models are collections of trends gleaned from similar vessels. The trends, when combined, provide an estimate for initial discussions with customers, but the estimate is not sufficiently accurate for contract negotiations. An alternative is for shipyards to offer stock designs on which contract design, costing, and production planning work have already been carried out. However, most customers demand designs tailored to their particular needs. The MARITECH ASE Project 21 Smart Product Model (SPM) provides a new paradigm to meet the needs of shipyards and their customers. The SPM is initiated with a parent ship for which design, cost and production data are well known. The parent is then modified to match the customer ship's specifications. The SPM incorporates the modifications by means of an integrated set of first principles programs (e.g., FastShip for hull design) and databases (e.g., of various makes and models of main propulsion engines). The SPM provides shipyards with the speed of the synthesis models, the accuracy of the stock ship approach, and substantially improves the shipyards' competitive position.