REDUCING COSTS at U.S. SHIPYARDS

Improving Ship Design, Construction & Repair

	An ATI-managed shipyard collaboration has generated nearly $400 Million in cost reduction.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), an ATI-managed collaboration of U.S. shipyards teamed with the Navy, is discovering and implementing advanced technologies and improved processes that drive down the cost of building and repairing U.S. Navy vessels.

Sharing Component Data

The Navy, and the shipyards that provide its ships, are realizing savings from sharing data about the component parts that are installed in the ships the Navy operates. At the Navy’s request, ATI is leading the development of an industry-wide common parts catalog. The catalog is enabling the Navy and shipbuilders to begin standardizing the component parts across the fleet, reducing inventory costs and repair time.

Improving Manufacturing Processes

Ship construction and repair involves maneuvering into tight places and welding components. One shipyard’s leadership identified this manufacturing activity as one needing improvement.
An ATI-led team of shipyard and welding engineers designed a small, man-portable, welding machine that can be carried into tight places, eliminating the need for expensive crane lifts, rigging, and interference removal.

ATI-led implementation of an enterprise-wide shared parts database at U.S. shipyards is accelerating parts standardization in Navy ships. Development of a light-weight, portable, welding machine enables shipyards to complete welding tasks faster and with lower risk of injury. ATI is helping achieve a common, interoperable IT framework for the ship construction and life cycle management enterprise.

Enterprise-wide Cost Saving

ATI leads a collaborative effort to reduce the costs of business operations at the shipyards that build ships for the Navy. Under this project, shipyards first work as a team to rationalize variations in common business processes, then develop an electronic web-based process that embodies the best practice model.

For example, the vendor payment authorization process that documents receipt of goods and services as a means of authorizing payment has historically been laborious (30-day cycle time) and paper-intensive. A cost per transaction of $90 for 35,000 transactions per year was documented at one shipyard. A streamlined electronic process eliminated paper, increased accountability, reduced cycle time to five days, and cut the cost to $33 per transaction. The results of the e-Business processes developed and implemented have translated to over $20M in annual cost reductions in the Nation’s shipbuilding programs.

Leveraging Information Technology A Navy ship is an incredibly complex engineered product. Over a thousand engineers, from more than a hundred companies, create the design and manufacturing information. ATI is leading an effort to develop an integrated data environment for these ships. The integrated data environment will enable the Navy to collect the design, manufacturing, assembly, and procurement data in a manner that allows it to be accessed and used to design, operate, repair, resupply, and upgrade the ship over its 30-50 year life.

Reduced Shipyard Costs through eBusiness Using the collaborative structure provided by the ATI-led National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP), shipyards have combined “Lean” process improvements with internet technology to significantly streamline transactions between the yards and their suppliers. Under this project, shipyards first work as a team to rationalize variations in common business processes, then develop an electronic web-based process that embodies the best practice model. For example, the vendor payment authorization process that documents receipt of goods and services as a means of authorizing payment has historically been laborious (30-day cycle time) and paper-intensive, with a cost per transaction of $90 for 35,000 transactions per year at one shipyard. The streamlined, electronic process created through the NSRP project eliminated the paper, increased accountability, reduced cycle time to five days, and cut the cost to $33 per transaction. This translated to over $20 million in annual cost reductions in the Nation’s shipbuilding programs.