DESIGN OF A GREENFIELD SHIPYARD IN INDIA

Narayana Prakash, Project Manager,GTRC Marine Consultants Ltd,Nassau.

Abstract:

It is understood and believed by all the

S hipyard building and shipbuilding are no
doubt – “steel-intensive” investments. The
shipyards, ship owner and all unanimously
industry remains highly consolidated with the
agree to time-lines, which can be planned and
Asian shipbuilders accounting for a major
simulated on computers but difficult to achieve
chunk of the global order books. Of the Asian
on group from a Greenfield Shipyard.
nations, the Korean, the Chinese and the
Japanese shipbuilders in particular dominate
In the current scenario the Indian Shipyards
the global shipbuilding arena.
have to put in place their project execution
skills and troubleshooting mechanism to save
The shipbuilding activity in the European
other orders from cancellation. In a market,
nations has witnessed a downtrend owing to
where asset prices has fallen and a dim view
the unavailability of labor and the
of charter rates, cancellation for delayed
corresponding high labor costs. Even though
delivery could be the worst nightmare a
Japan still remains one of the top global
shipyard can face.
shipbuilding nations in terms of order book
position, the country’s shipbuilding prospects
This paper describes on line with Korean or
appear bleak. Countries such as India,
Chinese or Japanese Shipyards who are the
Vietnam etc., with an abundance of cheap
forerunner in Shipbuilding as to what is lacking
labor have recently emerged to the fore in the
in most of the Indian Shipyards. Quick
global shipbuilding arena. The industry is
execution with quality has been the order of
primarily characterized by huge working-capital
the day with added hardware and software’s.
requirements, huge labor requirement etc. The
demand for the ships may either capital based
Not much is happening in Greenfield yards in
or for replacement purpose.
India, either because of the cash flow
constraints on part of the shipyards or shipyard
wanna-bees, or on the part of ship-owners of
During boom period many shipyards came
the ships being constructed in the facilities.
taking orders from Owners but Infrastructure
The premises of the “potential” yards are
work started only after signing the contractual
typically huge, strategically located and
documents. Other existing units were shown
blessed with great natural conditions.
for appraisal of the quality and facility. Little did
the Owners knew that Greenfield shipyard
Shipbuilding is discussed most favored by
would pose hurdles in the smooth construction
“private players” in India but not any more.
phases.
Private players expanded their vision without
performance and Public Sectors polished the
The global shipbuilding industry has witnessed
performance.
many crests & troughs in its growth story from
the period spanning the 1960s. With the
First part of the article discusses the plan and
industry dominance shifting from the European
layout of the Infrastructure .Second part
to the Asian nations such as S. Korea, China
discusses the production process in today’s
and Japan, the industry has undergone
demanding schedules.
massive changes in terms of construction
technologies, new demand for various ship
types etc.

The period spanning 2000-2007 has been a
‘golden era’ for the global shipbuilders with the
global order book position growing at a
Compound Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of
24%. The investments in the industry too have
kept pace with the order book requirements.
However the deliveries of the ships have not
been able to keep pace with the growing order
books and as such, the order books of the
major shipbuilding nations are booked up to
2012.
Before taking any orders for Ship construction
in Greenfield Shipyards, New or Old players in
the Market must complete the Yard
Infrastructure.If Infrastructure is not ready due
to whatsoever reason, Infrastructure still must
be “one step ahead” of Production Process.
The forgotten fact is that ship construction is a
business venture and must succeed financially
as well as technically.
SHIPYARD PLANNING:
Review of the Systematic Layout Planning
Design Method
Until the advent of systematic approaches in
the 1970s, layout planning was perceived as
an abstract achievement, and most of the
approaches which were undertaken resulted
from a combination of experience, customs
and established procedures.
Richard Muther is the first designer who ever
formalised in a well structured pattern the
layout planning design process (Muther, 1973).
It is quite evident that such an approach
helps avoiding obvious insignificant mistakes
that might yield unwanted consequences over
a long term.
Layouts are designed to satisfy existing
demands in defined contexts. The proficiency
in
designing good layouts is ineffective if the
demand is ill identified and defined. There
could be no good solution to a false problem,
for too simplistic assumptions would represent
an unrealistic situation leading to a useless
answer (Apple, 1991).
Two questions are central:
• What is to be produced?
• How much is to be produced?
A great attention must be paid to the initial data
which must be reliable and accurately
defined and estimated. The basic data that are
required as input to the procedure amount to
five, viz.: the Product P, the Quantity Q, the
Routing or Process R, the Supporting Services
S, and the Time T (figure below) .
SITE SELECTION AND LOCATION
Most Shipyards do not have the luxury of
establishing themselves on a “green field “ site
and adopting an ideal site. Land as a factor of
Production plays a major role from the
selection point of view.
There are several uncertainty associated with
a Greenfield shipyard, starting with regulatory
clearance, land issues and more so project
management issues.
The upcoming sites are established building
smaller vessels and slowly increasing in size to
accommodate increase in orders. What is often
observed is the restriction by river bank and
requirement of modified production flow lines.
Few questions during Preliminary site survey
must entail the following?
Is the area consolidated?
Is the area planned to be enlarged by way of
reclamation?
Ideal Shipyard Layout should manifest:
• Free flow of Materials (no bottlenecks).
The Advantages in fully agreeing stand at:
• Uniform work Load
• Shorter ship build cycle.
• Economies in Construction practices.
The scope of activities of the Shipbuilding
organization to be planned before hand for
smooth flow of the Production process.
What techniques have to be followed in
Production? What parts have to be
manufactured in the factory itself and for what
parts should depend on other firm?
Should all the process involved in the
production be carried in the factory or some to
depend upon contracts?
Has the firm produce raw materials or should
depend upon other firms?
How far firm should specialize in production or
should depend on other firms?
Should all the connected goods with the main
product be manufactured by the firm itself and
the business scope to be expanded?
Should be after sales service to the consumers
be undertaken by the firm itself or should firm
itself or should firm enter into some agreement
with other firm for this important responsibility?
Site Planning is very Important as the when the
plant becomes too large, certain diseconomies
may set in. Sheer size of plant may cause
bottlenecks in the production process. The
movement of men and materials inside the
plant may become more costly. Transportation
costs outside the yard may also become
excessive.
Selection of Site ; 9!=9 X 8 X 7 X 6X 5X 4X 4X
3X 2X 1=362880 METHODS.
All we need is = 1!=1X1
=000001 METHOD.
DESIGN OF A SHIPYARD FACILITY
LAYOUT FOR SHIP PRODUCTION
To be economically viable, the development of
a new shipyard requires the fulfilment of five
basic requirements: existence of potential
customers, availability of skilled workforce,
financial funding, selection of a suitable
product mix, and implementation of an efficient
production process.

The shipyard in project may be assumed to be
equipped with building capacities to handle
simultaneously three or more ships in
progress. The erection area may be expected
to comprise of at least three distinct building
platforms, which may consist of berths, graving
docks or even a synchrolift depending on the
site configuration and the future prospects of
the shipyard.
In the final analysis, it is clear that the
comprehensive test of efficiency is survival.
Production Layout Main Components
Shipyard Layout - Factors effecting the
development
• Type and quantity of ships to be built
• Area requirement
• Existing area
• Degree of mechanization
• Material handling and transfer systems
• Production methods adopted
• NC processes
• Panel Lines
• Block and sub-assemblies
• Shotblast and painting
• Covered space .
Operations relate mainly to: Steelworks,
Outfitting and storage operations, Pre-erection
activities, Ship construction and outfitting.
1. A steel stockyard
2. A steelwork hall
3. An Outfitting centre
4. A pipe shop
5. A general-purpose shop
6. A Blasting and paint shop
7. A warehouse
8. A units and blocks storage area
9. An erection area consisting of three
platforms
10. Outfitting quays
11. Lifting and handling installations
12. One building accommodating the
production supporting services
13. One building accommodating the
management and administrative offices
14. A health and medical service
15. A training centre
16. A building accommodating the catering
services
17. A transportation station
18. A parking
In any shipyard flow analysis is of the utmost
importance in the framework of a layout
design. Flow analysis deals with quantitative
and qualitative assessment of movements of
materials, personnel and information between
facilities. Yet the emphasis is on the flow of
materials since the layout must be optimized
for the most efficient flows of products. Below a
typical arrangement or layout is shown as in a
planning phase so as to study the movements
and time consumption.
Activity Relationships Diagram constitutes an Finally a LAYOUT for Mitsubishi Kyogi
anticipated broad configuration of the final Shipyard is shown below.
shipyard layout. See below the legendary path

GREENFIELD SHIPYARDS PLANNING

PROCESS:

BUILDING ALTERNATIVES:

A) Building berth :
1) Low initial cost
2)No shelter from weather
A crude layout, i.e. the basis that requires 3) High cranes requirement
adjustment and rearrangement to obtain the 4)Launching costs are high
final layout configuration is to be planned. 5) Possibility of structural damages
Establishing the rates of the desired closeness during launch
between all the facilities is a laborious process.
It is a subjective approach, which requires B) Building Dock:
minimum background and experience about 1) High Initial cost
the activities to be implemented within the 2) No shelter from weather
projected facilities. The flows of materials, 3)Access may be hard
personnel and information were taken into 4) lower cranes requirement
consideration. 5) lower possibility of damage during
launching

C) Building shed and Ship lift :

1) High Initial cost
2) Shelter from weather
3)Good access.
4) High cranes requirement
5) Low launching costs
6) Low possibility of damage during
launch

THE SHIPBUILDING PROCESS:

Shipbuilding is an assembly process, involving

hundreds of thousands of individually
prefabricated elements and items of
machinery, equipment and outfit. The secret of
efficient shipbuilding lies in how efficiently we
can put them all together.

Preparation for production

Milestones in Shipbuilding Activity:

Milestone
Event Construction Activity

Execution
of Preparations of Approved
Contract drawings
Preparations of Production
drawings
Steel
Cutting Preparation for Production
Prefabrication and block assembly
Keel
Laying Block assembly
Hull Erection
Launching Testing and commissioning

Handing over the vessel to

Delivery Owners

Ship Construction Cost Estimating:

To succeed commercially, shipyards must

be able to accurately estimate costs. Cost
estimating is necessary for the bid process,
for change orders, and for trade-off
studies. Numerous cost estimating
approaches exist. They are based on
extrapolations from previously-built ships,
detailed bottoms-up parametrics, and
integrated physics-based analyses.

•Computers and software’s–allow detailed
definition of every part, integrated purchasing,
detailed planning and scheduling of every
construction activity, resource levelling
•Dimensional accuracy checks and
Precision steel cutting –results in better fit,
robotic welding, reduction in rework, improved
quality
•Pre-outfitting–prefabricating outfit material in
a shop and fitting it on a hull block in another
shop is more than 3x more efficient than fitting
it piece by piece on board ship and more than
9x more efficient than fitting it on a ship that is
afloat
•Goliath cranes–building a ship in 900-ton
blocks is a lot more efficient than building it in
60-ton blocks
•Megadocks–building five ships at a time in
one dock is a lot more efficient than building
one ship in each of five docks.
The biggest difference between shipbuilding
today and shipbuilding 30 years ago is that
today we spend a much greater proportion of
our total effort preparing for production.
As a result, modern shipbuilders take much
less time to build a single ship: as a result, they
produce more ships from a single building
position than old-style shipbuilders.
For example, a Korean or Japanese
shipbuilder can deliver as many as ten big
ships a year from a single building position. As
a result, modern shipbuilders get a much
higher return on their investment in fixed
assets and can spread their fixed costs over a
much larger volume of business.
•Design and engineering –two steps:
–Functional design is the detailed specification
of all structure, material and equipment,
meeting all the relevant regulatory
requirements
–Production engineering is the development of
all the detailed drawings, sketches, instructions
and other documentation needed by the
shipyard to build the ship.
•Production planning –three steps:
–Build strategy: how are we going to build this
ship?
–Scheduling: when are we going to build it?
–Resource allocation: what manpower/facilities
do we need?
•Procurement –three main areas:
–Major and long-lead-time machinery and
equipment
–Commodity materials, such as steel, pipe,
cable and paint
–Subcontractors.
Prefabrication:
Hull Steel:
–Just in Time(JIT )delivery of plates and
structural shapes to a storage area
–Blasting and painting with a primer
–Cutting, marking, shaping, labeling
–Manufacture of two-dimensional
subassemblies (panels)
•Outfit:
–Just in Time (JIT) delivery of pipe and other
material to warehouses
–Cutting, marking, shaping, labeling,
palletization
–Just in Time(JIT)delivery to the appropriate
work stations for attachment to or installation
on hull structure
Production/Fabrication Activity:
Unbalancing Problem will cause idle time,
bottleneck, and increasing of Work In
Progress(WIP). Analyzing the activity network
using PERT /CPM method to get the critical
path .Work Stations to be reduced bringing the
result to a halt duration of activity.
Hull Erection
Flat-Panel Blocks:
–Three-dimensional assemblies of flat panels
–Pre-outfitted: everything that goes into them –
piping, vent ducting, cable trays -is installed in
the shop
–Fully painted except at the butts
•Curved-Panel Blocks:
–Three-dimensional assemblies of both flat
and curved panels –involving the complex
shape of the hull structure fore and aft and
requiring computer-set jigs
–The processes are the same as for flat-panel
blocks but are much more complex.
•Equipment Modules:
–Three-dimensional, self-supporting, self-
erecting assemblies of equipment, mounted on
foundations or temporary skids
–Everything in a module is tested and
operational: only the external connections
remain
Completion and
testing:
Most big ships –tankers, bulkers and
containerships –are 90% to 95% complete
when floated out of the dock.
•Final outfitting and system testing is
conducted once the ship is afloat and at a pier
.•Trials are then carried out to confirm each
ship’s performance characteristics: a naming
ceremony usually precedes delivery.
•LNG carriers are different: they are only 60%
to 65% complete when floated out of the dock,
because the cargo containment system cannot
be installed until the hull is complete
.•Final outfitting and system testing of LNG
carriers is conducted in parallel with the
installation of the cargo containment system.
•Trials of LNG carriers include rigorous testing
of the cargo system with actual LNG, in
addition to all the standard procedures.
Most of the large cargo ships can be built in 16
months or even less of which actual
construction requires about 10 months .
Because of the containment system ,an LNG
carrier requires five times the time in the water
that is needed for other big vessels.
As a result the shipyard needs a lot of
expensive pier space.

SHIPYARD DESIGN FOR PRODUCTION
AND REPAIR:
Design of a mixed shipyard facility layout
for ship production and repair
Various considerations were invoked for the
selection of the facilities that ought to be
retained for shipbuilding and ship repair
respectively, the aim is to define which might
be shared between the two activities and which
should be segregated.
Below find the activities that are involved for
Production and repair.
FAILURE OBSERVED AND IMPROVEMENT
REQUIREMENTS IN GREENFIELD
SHIPYARDS IN INDIA:
1. Production –Planning- Control:
In the 21st century, economy globalization
is inevitable and international trade by
ocean shipping is increasing greatly, so
there is a fastigium in the ship market for
shipbuilding industry. The shipbuilding
logistics management system based on
MRP-II and JIT is built up, which has three
kinds of plans and controls, i.e. MPS
(master production schedule), MRP
(material requirements planning) and shop-
floor production schedule. The shipbuilding
logistics management system is important
and applicable for shipbuilding to build up
the logistics mode fitting modern
shipbuilding so as to improve the
technology and management level and
increase the competitive power.
 The Outfitting scheduling and production
and production control need to be
improved within the context of the system
as a whole. Evaluating and reorganizing
outfit work and the development of metrics
for outfit work content are part of this effort
.The Frame work could include:
a) The overall planning process.
b) Design modeling software pertaining to
planning and scheduling.
c) Organizational planning and scheduling
function including manning levels.
d) Sequential planning and scheduling
outputs.
e) Organization of production with hybrid
matrix structure.
f) Work content measures with respect to
outfitting.
g) Progress monitoring and review that it
satisfies the planned phase .
established setup may lose heavily including
cancellations due to non delivery of Quality
vessels.
For a New Shipyard, Yard Infrastructure must
go hand in gloves but “one step ahead” of
Production.
Shipbuilding requires more of project
management skills than fabrication.
The New trend found in few of Indian shipyards
is building the vessel up to Keel laying stage
and then hang around with improvement in
Infrastructure. The reason for this is the stage
payment that they receive from Owners. The
day is not far when these types of Builders will
land in real trouble.
Below find an alternative for a Greenfield
shipyard setup with no proper Infrastructure.

2. Yard Infrastructure:

As mentioned before Yard Infrastructure plays

an important role, which is being ignored at the
first level of decision making. Orders are taken,
contract executed and then failure to deliver
the ships in time has become the order of the
day.

The delay in delivering non quality ships may

put many shipyards to hold the rope around
their neck and slowly tightening by themselves.

Value of the ships has fallen along with the fall

in ship earning driven by economic recession.
Ship Owners reeling from this asset price
decline could either

a) Cancel the contract at the above market

price.
b) Reduce the contracted price
c) Delay the delivery of the vessel.
It is difficult to streamline project management
The above considerations are NOT valid for a issues at a newer yard, leading to delayed
well established shipyard, but those on lines delivery. The above chart shows “one step
with the “Greenfield “nature without
ahead advancement “of yard Infrastructure
compared to Production process.
Thumb Rule is:
OPTIMIZE the facilities and layout
ECONOMIZE the capital expenditure
MAXIMIZE the production efficiency
MINIMIZE the building cost (yard and ships)
Looking at the above ,yard management skills
needs to be changed in the coming years with
respect to planning ,scheduling ,coordination
and communication.
3. The Job Training Act and
Shipbuilding:
The Shipbuilding Industry’s main challenge is
the shortage of Skilled Managers at the Junior
and Middle level management who can be
groomed to take up higher responsibilities. The
Training facility has to be developed by the
Organization so as to provide education,
training and re-training of workers.
The Company must have a “Training Policy
“which entails in promoting each individuals
personal involvement in maintaining high
quality standards.
Yard must maintain an apprenticeship
program, and maintain a level of Training
expenses in each calendar year no less than
Base Training expenses.
New requirements from Classification societies
and regulatory bodies and the rapid
development of technology means modern
ships are increasingly equipped with modern
complex integrated system bursting with
information technology the focus being safety
and security, fuel efficiency and protection of
the environment.
Promote awareness of true costs of non added
value work through training, seminars and
workshops for all levels of workforce. Re-
training for flexibility is not widespread in the
present scenario which needs to be looked
into.
4. Project Management:
Builder to provide following to Buyer:
1. Construction Schedule-within 60 days of
the contract signing with the builder shall
be submitted to Buyer a construction
schedule.
2. Quality Assurance Programme- Quality
Assurance Programme shall be made by
the Builder and submitted for the Buyers
reference.
3. Any amendment, modifications and/or
changes in Rules and Regulations is to be
treated as a change to the contract.
STEEL PLATING CUTTING
Before steel cutting can be accepted, the
main structural drawings together with
construction monitoring plan should be fully
approved by Classification and BUYER,
10% of the steel plates and profiles should
be in the Builders warehouse and
inspected by all parties. Shipyard to
provide Buyer with 30 days notice prior to
steel cutting along with their planned
schedule for purchase of the remaining
steel material
KEEL LAYING
Before Keel laying, all major drawings
should be approved by Classification and
BUYER and a minimum of 20% of the
double bottom blocks including outfitting
and painting to be completed and
accepted. Shipyard to provide Buyer with
30 days notice for keel laying.
LAUNCHING
Before launching, main hull, crane column,
hatch coamings, deck cranes, propeller &
rudder installation to be completed. All
underwater tightness tests are to be
completed and all painting works in ballast
tanks and fore peak tank to be completed.
Preliminary notification to BUYER for
launching is to be provided 30 days in
advance.
SEA TRIAL
When the vessel is substantially
completed, sea trial is to be carried out.
Before Builder request for sea trial,
construction and testing of all hull,
machinery and electric part has to be
completed including all machinery,
equipment and systems, all electrical
equipment and systems, hull equipment
and system including accommodation.
Painting work shall be in the final coat
stage only on exposed decks, with all other
areas complete.
5. Organization Chart:
In Shipbuilding Industry, the matrix
structure is a hybrid organizational form
containing characteristics of both Project
and functional structures. This structure
allows operational responsibilities with one
part containing responsibilities associated
with the management of an independent
business. The other part contains
responsibilities related to the management
of resources to get the job done.
The Overall responsibility lies with Project
Manager.
6. Material handling :
Material management in the shipyard
industry has aroused considerable interest
in recent years. It has been emphasized
that the effective handling, storage, and
flow of materials determine the successful
operation of a warehouse. Production,
planning, and scheduling are also
important and vital in determining shop
floor schedules because they minimize
processing cost and material inventory
cost. There is a need for proper planning
and control of processes and materials,
including procurement, storage, and
inventory, making the process cost
effective. Monitoring and tracking in the
industry are thus very important in fulfilling
the aforementioned objectives. Group
technology also plays an important role in
material management for grouping and
coding. It has been reported that proper
grouping and coding of materials not only
reduce labor and material handling, but
also reduce time and the shifting of parts to
different places.
 7. Material /Product Transfer within
Shipyard:

The main point of shipyard construction is the

smooth flow of logistics.

Most of the time is wasted in material handling

and movement which leads to delays of the
vessel as per schedule. Any design of Panel
lines /Transfer lines for Block fabrication etc
minimum time for handling the product in
whichever form is a must.
Following must be considered:
• Shipyard layout and shop
arrangement.
• Shipyard Production management.
• Shop equipment supply.
• Shipbuilding Equipment
arrangement.
• Ship Design flow for Production,-
flow of clean drawings.
All these prerequisites yield the flows of
elements, comprised of personnel,
materials or parts. This stage of the planning is
capital since it underpins the efficiency of the
Shipyard in specific context. A great emphasis
is put on the evaluation of the flow of materials,
since an imperfectly appreciated flow of
materials would likely lead to an unsuitable
solution. Therefore it is of the utmost
importance for the flow pattern to be planned
and not left to develop in a haphazard way.
8. Maintaining Schedule:

The above schedule shows the competition
schedule which if adhered can do wonders in
Indian Shipbuilding. Public Sector Cochin
Shipyard Ltd, Cochin has delivered 6 Bulk
Carriers ,30K and delivering 4 months ahead
of the schedule. This is the beginning in Indian
Ship building in competition with Korean and
Chinese Market.
9. Clean Production drawings:
Yard should have a formalized and
consistent shipbuilding strategy from the
design rules and guidelines are developed
for each stage of the design process in
order to optimize production performance.
The Production drawings that are sent to
Production Department must be clean with
no mistakes. Handling a drawing mistake
takes longer time than shifting an element
from one unit to another unit. The Delay
comes due to multiple approvals-Design
(internal) /owners/classification societies.
10. Dimensional Accuracy and Quality
Control: A lack of Understanding
between accuracy control often gives a
low priority and is not generally
recognized as being a key aspect of
performance improvement. There is a
general acceptance of rework such as
removing excess material and distortion
removal in assembly processes.
Shipyard must establish norm for
dimensional accuracy,prepare check
sheets and measure accuracy at
different stages of construction of
Blocks and at erection stage.
11. Priority for Improvement:
Priority for Improvement varies from
Shipyard to Shipyard but to give
importance based on time frame
following must be taken into
consideration. a)
Clean Approved drawing and design for
production. b)
Production Engineering.
c) Master Planning –Steel and outfit
scheduling.
d) Outfitting at Block Stage.
e) Dimensional Accuracy and Quality
assurance.
f) Storage and Warehousing.
g) Pipe shop and other manufacturing
activities
h) Management of Workforce.
i) Steel work and Outfit production
information
j) Steel work and Outfit Coding system.
12. Coding Systems: Each yard
should adopt a standard, hierarchical
coding system that enables the clear
definition of parts, elements, interim
 products steelwork, outfit systems and relatively high labour costs, and having the
shipboard zones. need for rework.

Block Construction:
13. Block Assembly:
Block assembly is seen as an opportunity
to reduce the work content at the
construction point.
BLOCK SHIP-CONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIES Block construction, common for large vessels,
also is used for some smaller ones. Blocks can
Until about 1950, ships were generally built vary in size from approximately 50 tons for
piece by piece (similar to a building site), an small vessels to up to 400 tons for large
approach with a very low investment cost, vessels such as very large crude carriers
minimum crane requirements, and small-scale (VLCCs).
transport. Today, the piece-by-piece approach
is rarely used, except in undeveloped Block construction has advantages that are
countries, where the labour cost is low, and in more dramatic than those for assemblies:
developed countries for some small craft and higher productivity and, therefore, lower labour
one-of-a-kind ships. costs. But blocks also entail disadvantages:
the need for highly accurate assembly, a larger
Shipbuilders have recognized the advantages investment cost in facilities, and a very high
of building larger portions of ships in covered reliance on control of accuracy and on on-time
production facilities, then assembling those delivery of materials.
portions in a dry dock or on a slipway.
As larger numbers of similar ships are built,
standardization, repetition, and automation
lead to economies of scale and production
efficiencies, and, in turn, to lower costs and
reduced schedules. But, as the size of the
modules built in production facilities grows,
more investment is needed for larger cranes
and transporters, and much more attention is
required for configuration control to maintain
the build tolerances between the modules.

Assembly Construction

The ship-construction method that erects

assemblies on building berths, is common for
small- to medium-sized ships. It has the
advantages of being somewhat faster and less
expensive than piece-by-piece construction,
requires minimal investment, and provides
greater flexibility in the sequencing of
construction.
It has the disadvantages of still being fairly Grand-Block Construction
slow, having low productivity and, hence, Grand blocks can be built from either
assemblies or smaller blocks. Blocks may be
combined into grand blocks that weigh as
much as 3000 tons especially if they have to
be assembled in Floating Dry-docks .Grand
blocks are usually outfitted and painted in
advance. The benefits attributed to grand
blocks are reduced building-berth erection time
and welding, easier access to blocks being
assembled into the grand blocks, and no need
for staging on the building berth.
One disadvantage of grand blocks is that they
need to be moved to the building berth via
large-lift-capacity cranes or other means. They
also need to be aligned to other grand blocks.
Generally used with mid-sized vessels, the ring
approach is not as common as block
construction. It has been used for some large
ships as well .
The several advantages of ring construction
are that it can be substantially completed
under cover; it improves productivity and
lowers labour costs; and it allows production
from assemblies, which provide flexibility to
recover from inaccuracies, or from blocks. The
disadvantages of ring construction are that it
requires substantial investment costs and has
an inflexible sequence of work, making it totally
dependent on timely deliveries.
MULTISITE CONSTRUCTION
Once the techniques of building ships in large
blocks were mastered, several shipyards took
the next step of building blocks at multiple
shipyards, then transporting them to a single
shipyard for assembly into a whole ship.
This technique of assembling ships from large
blocks produced at different locations is more
common than might be expected, and it has
both potential benefits and problems.
If the location is one the riverside or seacoast
then the portion of the grand blocks can be
Transported via waterways.
If the location of favorable site is on land then
the blocks could be transported using
Transporters. The distance from the main Yard
must not exceed 100 miles. This will aid in
regular visits for the Clients representatives
and yard personnel’s to check the quality
observations.
RATIONALE FOR MULTISITE
CONSTRUCTION
Shipbuilders choose to spread work among
various shipyards for many reasons..
Demanding delivery schedules may also force
shipyards to build various portions of ships at
multiple sites simultaneously. In the
shipbuilding industry, demand is highly
variable; so, too, are the odds that a shipyard
will win an order. As a result, shipyards are
reluctant to maintain workforces sized to meet
the highest demand.
The flexibility to obtain blocks from other
fabricators in such market conditions offers
shipbuilders a definite advantage.The most
compelling reason for shipbuilders to build
portions of ships at multiple shipyards is the
potential for reduced costs. Theoretically, it is
possible to generate cost savings by
concentrating specific blocks in one company
so that duplication of skills and facilities can be
eliminated. The result is lower overall overhead
costs,as well as the benefits of learning
extended over a longer production run. Some
recent decisions on the subcontracting of
structural blocks have been driven by this cost-
savings focus. Some very efficient new
facilities focused on building only blocks for
other shipyards to assemble have been
introduced in Korea ,China Japan and Europe.
The basic motivation for this strategy is to
achieve economies of scale and thus be able
to better compete in the global commercial
shipbuilding market. Concentration could
create the scale necessary to enable an
investment in new fabrication/assembly
technologies that would not be possible to
justify at a lower scale (lower level of
throughput).
Another reason for multisite construction is to
most effectively utilize a shipyard’s existing
assets as the global shipbuilding markets
fluctuate. In shipbuilding, as in the other
capital-intensive heavy manufacturing
industries, efficient capacity utilisation is a key
driver of business effectiveness. To this end,
partial outsourcing is an effective tool in
Japan’s shipbuilding environment.
POTENTIAL DISADVANTAGES OF
MULTISITE CONSTRUCTION
Multisite construction also involves possible
disadvantages or additional costs.
First, the problems of accuracy control become
more acute because design and build
tolerances must be maintained at several
shipyards.Common nomenclature, techniques,
and software packages must be used to
ensure that the blocks built at different
shipyards align correctly during assembly.
Problems with alignment can lead to potential
significant rework costs.
Blocks must be constructed or reinforced in a
way to ensure that dimensional
tolerances are maintained during
transportation. They also may require
additional bracing or structures for the
transportation process, which will incur
additional costs. Additional costs will also be
incurred by maintaining separate trades and
workforce for
transporting blocks between sites.
Finally, since processes must be coordinated
among several shipyards, management of the
schedule for construction and delivery of the
blocks becomes more difficult. Delays in block
construction at one shipyard, or delays in
delivery caused by transportation problems,
can seriously throw off the schedule for the
delivery of the ship.
During construction of the blocks at each
shipyard, quality-control functions must
examine the blocks during construction and
identify any potential distortion problems when
the blocks are completed.
Detailed finite-element analysis is also required
to understand the requirements for and
potential effects of proposed lifting and
transportation plans. All software tools,
procedures, nomenclature, and methods must
be coordinated among all the shipyards to
avoid problems in matching the blocks during
final assembly
Finally, the shipyards receiving and
assembling the blocks must have the capability
to receive, transport, and load the blocks onto
the assembly berth. Creating this capability at
shipyards that do not have it could add
significant costs to the programme, thereby
negating any total cost benefit.
Last but not the least proper communication
,Management control and coordination
between the two organizations are extremely
important to ensure that structural tolerances
of the blocks are maintained at the two
shipyards, both during production and after
transporting the blocks. Also, most previous
examples of Multisite construction have been
for commercial shipbuilding programmes.
14. Changing Mindset to Structured
Approach:
 Every Shipyard must have its on
Performance improvement program (PIP)
which envisages the following:
a) Evaluate the applied technology and
practices against international best
practice.
b) Assess the shipyards current best
practice rating.
c) Identify the gaps and imbalances in the
applied technology.
d) Establish the shipyards current
performance and competitive position.
e) Identify the areas that require attention
if overall performance is to be
improved.
f) Determine the product focus and
required performance through market
analysis.
g) Set future performance targets.
h) Define the overall characteristics of the
shipyard that will allow it to compete in
chosen markets.
i) Describe the processes and practices
that will yield the required performance.
j) Generate a prioritized performance
plan.
INDIAN GOVERNMENT POLICY:
In order to promote the domestic shipbuilding
industry, the government extended the subsidy
scheme to private shipbuilding companies.
Earlier, only state-owned companies were
eligible for the subsidy.
As per the scheme, launched in 2002, the
government provided a 30% subsidy on all
ship sales to foreign companies and for
vessels over 80 meters long sold in the local
market. Only contracts entered into before
August 14, 2007, are eligible for the subsidy
CLAIM.
THE SUCCESS STORY IN INDIAN
SHIPBUILDING:
As discussed before, Cochin Shipyard Ltd
success story is derived from the support and
adherence to building philosophies-a feat
specially contributed by G T R Campbell
Marine Consultants Ltd., Nassau,
Bahamas
Key to success by G T R Campbell Marine
Consultants Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas is
enumerated below:
1. Bringing the order and assisting
throughout the Shipbuilding
contracting process
2. Providing a preapproved Basic and
Class drawings
3. Providing Production drawings
4. Arranging Material supply
5. Supervision by highly experienced
professional supervisors
6. Prompt trouble shooting of any
hiccups during production
In Short ,Cochin Shipyard ltd ,Kochi has
worked out at par with the Koreans or
Chinese.This is the beginning in
Shipbuilding Industry other 26 shipyards
which needs to follow suit very seriously.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
Shipbuilding industry is not only manpower
intensive but also capital intensive and has a
longer gestation period compared to many
other industries.
Technological change has transformed
shipbuilding from a project-oriented, one-off
construction process to a mass-production
manufacturing process. Ships are now built in
factories.
This is particularly true of large cargo ships –
crude carriers, dry bulk carriers and
containerships –the designs of which are well
suited to standardization and repetitive work.

Gas carriers are a bit different: they are more
complex, labor-intensive and time-consuming,
and hence more expensive. So are large
offshore vessels such as drill ships and
FPSOs, passenger ships and naval vessels.
The future? Korea will continue to dominate
the market but will shift its emphasis to higher-
value ships as China takes an increasing share
of the lower-value ships. Japan still has a large
market share but is losing ground to Korea and
China. Nowhere else matters.
Indian Shipbuilding must start with yard
Infrastructure now as when the global slump
recovers we are ready to compete with world
markets.
The Future of Indian Ship Building:
It seems that the shipbuilding world will
become a two tier market. The leading yards
can
continue to command their pricing whilst the
less well-positioned yards will have to agree to
considerable lower prices to entice owners to
take the builder risk, covering less of their
pricing. The constraint in capacity is in the top-
end whilst there will be considerable capacity
glut in the smaller sizes.
Indian Government has provided subsidy with
many lined up massive investments for
shipbuilding ventures, but must prove to be
included in Shipbuilding Industry by executing
the delivery as per schedule.
Ancillary supports must be modernized and
established with good co-ordination to
achieve quality and comparable in the World
Market.
References:
1. Apple, J. M. (1991). Plant layout and
material handling. Malabar, Fla.,
Krieger. .
2.Lamb, T., and Hellesoy, A., (2002). A
shipbuilding productivity predictor. Journal of
Ship Production, Vol. 18, No. 2, May
2002, pp. 79-85.
3.Korea Maritime Consultants co.-Design
of a Greenfield shipyard-presentation .
.September 29-30,2007
4First marine International findings for
global shipbuilding industrial base
benchmarking study.6 Feb 2007
5Future of Naval shipbuilding in Australia-
choice and strategies.2007,Allen
consultaing group.
6Shipbuilding industry 2009-research and
markets brochure.
7Muther, R. (1973). Systematic layout
planning. Cahners books.
8. Koenig, P. C., (2002). Technical and
economic breakdown of value added in
Shipbuilding. Journal of Ship
Production, Vol.18, No.1, February 2002,
pp.13- 18.
9. Design of a Small Shipyard Facility
Layout Optimized for Production and Repair
Hamid CHABANE,Commandement
des Forces Navales.
10.Conco Philips-The Big ships
Presentation.,Feb 10,2006
11. Using CPM /PERT method for path
balancing the assembly of Dust collector
20m3 machine.-Edo Santoso.
12.Building ships at Multisites-Implications
for the Type 45 programme.-Tom
lamb,Michigan.
13.Specifications of G T R Campbell Marine
Consultants Ltd., Nassau, Bahamas,For 30K
Bulk carrier,built at Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
14.Taggart,R,Ship Design and
Construction,SName,New Jersey,USA 1980
Acknowledegements ;
The Author thanks Mr.Antony Prince,
Président ,G.T.R.Campbell Marine Consultants
,Nassau Bahamas for support and guidance
for this article.
By

Narayana Prakash,
C.Eng,F.I.E(I),M.I.Mar.E.(I).
Project Manager,
G.T.R.Campbell Marine Consultants, Ltd.
Nassau ,Bahamas.

About author:

Mr.Narayana Prakash is a Marine Engineer

and a Life member of Institute of Marine
Engineers ,India.He has sailed on different
vessels in various ranks upto rank of Chief
Engineer. He has involved with shipbuilding
activities at various projects in Korea ,China
,India and Holland. Presently he is leading a
team of Naval architects and Marine Engineers
along with Coating supervisors for a Project in
India at Bharati Shipyard Ltd,for a 20K Bulk
carrier project.