PROVEN BENEFITS OF ADVANCED SHIPBUILDING TECHNOLOGY: ACTUAL CASE STUDIES OF RECENT COMPARATIVE PROGRAMS

This paper documents the transformations that have occurred and the benefits that have been realized as a result of the implementation of advanced shipbuilding technology at Avondale shipyards in the period from 1976 through 1986. The vehicle for this evaluation is the in-depth study and comparison of two pairs of similar construction programs. Each pair is characterized by one program being performed by traditional shipbuilding design and construction methods and its comparative vessel program being developed utilizing advanced ship design and construction methodology. The comparison of these ship construction programs includes discussions of the transformations that have occurred in each of the major shipbuilding disciplines, including engineering, production planning, material manufacturing, quality assurance and facilities, as well as an in- depth quantification of the benefits derived from the overall shipbuilding process. The evolution that occurred in this ten-year period includes not only the changes in methods and procedures solely for improved shipbuilding productivity, but also the extensive material, procedural and organizational changes required to perform under full U.S. Navy contract requirements as compared to the pure commercial environment that existed at the shipyard at the start of the period.