Digital shipyard the way forward

THE emergence of the digital shipyard is an exciting prospect for major shipyards. By connecting workers, docks, tools and supply chains, the digital shipyard offers improved information sharing and substantial efficiencies over traditional shipbuilding environments.

To ensure the viability of the product lifecycle management (PLM) solution in use, meet the unique requirements of the shipbuilding industry, and to manage every stage of a customer project to achieve profitability, the supporting enterprise resource planning (ERP) software must go beyond traditional ERP and PLM software.

Kenny Ingram, Global Industry director of engineering, construction, and infrastructure at IFS, identifies the key areas that must be supported for digital shipyard success:

Proper PLM when building a huge vessel requires a unified approach to data across an operation, which means the system of record—ERP software—is the primary vehicle for PLM thinking. Bestof-Breed PLM software generally prioritises computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D modeling, but product lifecycles go much further.

PLM must be able to extend through manufacturing, fabrication, procurement, commissioning, overhaul, refit, maintenance, repair, and decommissioning.

The digital shipyard needs a complete project and assetcentric ERP system that can support this broad vision and contain the master records for all data.