Overview
Product Model Driven Weld Management (PMDWM) (2012-434)
Project Team:
- Newport News Shipbuilding
- Ingalls Shipbuilding
- General Dynamics Electric Boat
- Northrop Grumman Technical Services
- Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software
January 2012 - December 2013
NSRP ASE Investment: $4.8M
Industry Investment: $3.4M
Objective:
To develop and manage structural weld information within a commercially available product model environment.
Summary:
The primary objective of the PMDWM Project is to develop and manage structural weld information within a commercially available product model (PM) environment. This will supplant an existing process where weld information is managed through a series of labor-intensive processes which require information to be re-entered in several different systems. This project will fundamentally change the way shipbuilders address structural weld management activities by developing and implementing a state-of-the-art Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product model that includes geometric data, metadata, and technologies to create, store, manage, and access structural weld data for the lifecycle of Navy ships.
The PMDWM project team will leverage and integrate with the ongoing PM replacement activities (PLMNeXt Project Team) being performed at NNS for the Ford Class Carrier Program with immediate application to CVN79. In addition these tools will be used for the ongoing product model replacement activities on the VIRGINIA Class Submarine and will be applied to all weld management on the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP) at Electric Boat.
The PMDWM Project will address immediate shipyard and Navy needs to manage design and manufacturing weld joint data through knowledge rules, and improve data access and process efficiency through automated workflows. The reduction in effort to create and maintain the weld documents is the most compelling benefit of this project. Based on analysis from process improvement workshops and follow-on activities we estimate savings of over 100,000 man hours per ship (over $6M per ship) by implementing weld data management in the product model for CVN21Class Carriers. Similar types of savings can be expected in submarine construction for both the VIRGINIA Class and Ohio Replacement Program.
Key Deliverables:
Request Final Report from NSRP – Limited Distribution authorized to U.S. Navy yards and NSRP ASE Program representatives
Point of Contact:
Mark Debbink, Newport News Shipbuilding