The subject of this conference is automation and productivity in shipbuilding. I am going to talk about automation and productivity in the general context of discrete part batch manufacturing, which includes shipbuilding, to try to provide a wider prospective on the technical strategies that are being used in applying automation in manufacturing, their impact on productivity enhancement, and the wider economic implications of enhancing productivity.
The Research and Engineering for Automation and Productivity in Shipbuilding (REAPS) program aims at increasing U.S. shipyard productivity. The organization, activities and current and planned development projects of the program are reviewed. The 1980 symposium focuses on developing a consensus on a format for long range facility plans, with an emphasis on cost effectiveness and environmental impacts.
A growing amount of attention has been turned to Group Technology which deals with the area of batch-type manufacturing for those who are engaged with small lot sizes and a variety of products. Development and implementation of integrated computer aided manufacturing (ICAM) will lead to rapid changes in U.S. manufacturing industry. It has been recognized that Group Technology is an essential element of the foundation for the successful development and implementation of ICAM through the application of the part-family concept.
Proceedings of the REAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No. 24: Group Technology and Automated Process Planning, a Change in Management Strategy. The trend toward increased customization is increasing the problems associated with batch manufacturing, both in design and manufacturing itself. Group technology helps to solve these problems and is thus attracting great interest. The benefits of group technology in such applications as design retrieval, design standardization, standardization of machine tool routings, automated process planning, and machine tool investment can bring about dramatic savings in the multibillion dollar manufacturing industry. Three or four years ago, only a handful of companies were interested in group technology. Today, many companies, including a number considered to be highly conservative, are seriously considering or have adopted group technology systems. This increased interest is a reflection of a growing awareness of the potential benefits of group technology, particularly for batch manufacturing. These advantages can apply to both design and manufacturing.
Computer assisted process planning can be a first step toward the integrated use of computers in the design and manufacturing process to improve productivity in batch manufacturing. The key to the process of integration is a part feature recognition method to analyze and retrieve manufacturing processes and arrive at least-cost designs consistently linked to "best" manufacturing processes. Major problems are incompatible computers, software; and people.
The primary purpose of this discussion is to introduce a new version of the REAPS Program. In 1971 a Maritime Administration (MarAd) Advisory Group recognized a void in the area of computer aided shipbuilding. In response, MarAd acquired rights to the AUTOKON-71 system, the most widely used system in Europe. MarAd and the participating shipyards recognized the need to provide maintenance and support for the AUTOKON system. That effort was sponsored and paid for jointly by the industrial users and the government. It soon became apparent to all concerned that there was much more to be gained from computer applications in the shipyard than just running the AUTOKON system. A total shipyard program for computer automation beyond AUTOKON was needed. It was this decision that gave birth to the Research and Engineering for Automation and Productivity in Shipbuilding (REAPS) program; a joint participation program involving five shipyards, MarAd, and IITRI. Its purpose was to identify and address common problems in ship construction. The advantages were obvious. Participants could pool both the technological know how in identifying and solving problems and their resources to solve a common problem only once not repetitively at every shipyard. The REAPS program, a new concept in cooperative developments among several shipyards, was working. One thing began to change--the objectives of our development projects. Originally, they were oriented to a specific computer system, AUTOKON; now they were becoming non-system oriented, standalone modules with no relationship to a specific computer system or software package. A new concept was needed. The "new" REAPS program as it has evolved to date is a non-systems oriented program with the separation of all AUTOKON related activities. The overall concept of the new REAPS Program consists of five basic elements: Advance Planning, Technology Assessment, Development Program, Technology Information Services and Discretionary Development.
The shipyards in this country have spent a sizable amount of money to modernize their methods of fabrication to increase construction. The shipbuilding industry is a labor intensive business based on small orders of ships that does not allow for total automation in the near term, if ever. One area of a shipyard that has minor or limited changes is the structural design office. The manual drafting of working drawings is basically the same as the methods used in the 1950's. A number of yards have restructured the working drawing to assembly type drawings. This is a major change assisting in the construction of the ship, but is still limited in scope. The present method does not allow for an orderly progression into the application of computers. The development of working drawings to assist construction is-poor and this stagnation has restricted the design office from converting drawings to computers. The problem stems from false economy values. The idea that a limited budget for the development of working drawings will increase the yard's profit margin is a false one. Every effort, or person hour, used in design should have a direct savings in production manhours. The goal of the designer's output should be a necessary and direct part of the construction program. Many design offices may not even realize that they are not only reducing costs, but are driving them up due to poor detailing. (A complete study of the working drawing process should be made objectively by design, production and planning people). This paper may give the basic outlines for consideration. Thomas P. Gallagher, Surface Ship Structures, Head, Research, Dynamic/Highedr Performance Craft Section, Phone 202-692-9107, Naval Ship Engineering Center.
The Institute for Research and Engineering for Automation and Productivity in Shipbuilding (IREAPS) is an organization which conducts an industry/government cooperative program for enhancing U.S. shipbuilding capabilities through development and implementation of improved systems and manufacturing technology. The primary thrust of the IREAPS program is the conduct of research and development projects for a variety of design and production processes in the shipyard. Such projects are initiated and pursued only upon consensus of the participating organizations and are not considered complete or successful until they have been implemented under actual shipyard production conditions.
