In Episode 69 of Razorleaf’s Stay Sharp podcast, Navigating the Digital Seas of Shipbuilding, co-hosts Jonathan Scott and Juliann Grant welcome another Razorleaf colleague, Pat Coulehan. A 30-year industry veteran, Pat works with Razorleaf Government Solutions, and in recent years has guided U.S. shipbuilders in their efforts to advance their digital capabilities. The impetus behind this discussion, Jonathan explains, is that while digital isn’t new to the shipbuilding industry, there’s a lot still ahead for them to explore and implement—and the industry as a whole seems to be on the precipice of big changes. The trio’s conversation covers the unique characteristics that define shipbuilding, as well as what makes the industry a challenging prospect for digital transformation.
Shipbuilding is Like Other Industries
Pat begins by explaining that, on one hand, shipbuilding is similar to many different industries. “That’s one of the problems with shipbuilding,” he says, “you have people doing HVAC, have people doing piping, you have people doing structures, you have people that are doing every domain you might possibly run into … you have to be able to master them all to some extent.” In some regards, shipbuilding is closest to architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) than other industries, because while you have to make something that floats, it also has to be livable.
But shipbuilding is also very much like aerospace, because manufacturers aren’t mass-producing product. They’re making small quantities, each of which will be in service for a long time, and you have to know exactly how each iteration is configured and built, for the purposes of traceability and servicing. “Ships are right there in the middle,” Jonathan agrees. “It’s a little bit like buildings and rooms and living quarters and all those sorts of things. But it’s a little bit like aircraft in terms of regulation, safety, weight, balance, and all those things that come up.”
Shipbuilding is Also Unique
On the other hand, Pat explains, shipbuilding is also a very, very different industry than any other, because of the huge variety of requirements involved. It has to be livable and comply with regulations for items such as fire suppression systems like AEC. But it has to float and move through water.
The scale of building ships is also unique on a variety of levels. “There is no assembly line,” Jonathan points out. “Shops, suppliers—you might need them to be nearby because of the size you’re dealing with.” Pat notes that builders also need incredibly large equipment for assembly that can not only handle the weight and size of hull pieces, but also get them where they need to go safely and with some level of precision. He says, “You also have to think about things like when you put wiring in, you don’t put it in at one end and try to pull it all the way through. You have to start in the middle and pull it from both ends because you’re not going to be able to get it that far.”
Challenges for the Industry in Going Digital
The first obstacle Pat identifies that shipbuilders face in a digital transformation is generating the catalog for all required parts, with all the necessary models and attributes. “You need all the attributes on that part that say how much does it weigh, what’s the density, where’s the center of gravity,” Pat says. “And then what if you’re on a military ship? You have shock testing too. Is it going to rattle loose because a bomb went off outside the hull somewhere? There’s things like that that that are a little bit unique.” Shipbuilders also need to configure their digital world with established standards for parts that will be designed—and that setup can be another hurdle.
The other challenge is the very different timelines of a ship’s lifespan and an ever-evolving digital tool. Pat says it’s often the case that by the time you’re done building a ship, “you’re using completely different tools than you started with.” That means changes need to be made incrementally, not by any hard change-over. “You have to be careful about planning out what your moves are,” Pat says. “And you also have to plan for your product so it’s more modular or more upgradable.”
Learn More About Shipbuilding in the Digital World
The full podcast contains more discussion and details on a variety of topics, including how data management gets exponentially complex when you’re dealing with individual ships, why scheduled and preventative maintenance are more critical for shipbuilding than for other industries, when and how shipbuilders are going to save money by taking their processes digital, and more.
Check out the full conversation in Stay Sharp Episode 69: Navigating the Digital Seas of Shipbuilding, and join us each week for a new podcast.
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