Maximizing Shipbuilding Production by Modernizing Facilities ...004-13...Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding...
Transcript of Maximizing Shipbuilding Production by Modernizing Facilities ...004-13...Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding...
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Maximizing Shipbuilding Production by Modernizing Facilities & Processes
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eneral Dynamics NASSCO shipyard began to transform the way that it
produced ships in 2008, a change that took more than three years to
complete. After this transformation, NASSCO was able to produce five
ships in 2010 compared to previous years of only two to three ships on
average. One of the major facility changes that helped make this possi-
ble was the introduction of a blast and paint facility.
Surveying the LandscapeNASSCO’s management team decided to benchmark other shipyards in order to
determine how NASSCO compared. Efforts were focused on two shipyards in
Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) and STX
Offshore & Shipbuilding. South Korea is known for having some of the best
shipyards in the world, with Hyundai and Samsung located there as well. NASS-
CO investigated in detail how its processes, cycle times and facilities compared
to those yards.
The Korean shipyards had facilities set up so that a piece of ship or block
could more completely be finished prior to it going to the dry dock, where the
ship’s overall structure was taking shape. This process enabled the shipyards to
increase their efficiencies and reduce the amount of work that had to be done at
the end of construction. Also, the Korean shipyards do not require the tanks be
blasted and painted as a whole piece, which further reduces the time before
going pier side. They were able to eliminate this step because they processed
blocks through blast and paint booths prior to being erected to the ship.
The team discovered that NASSCO was missing two key stages in the ship-
yard; the inverted block outfit stage and the block blast and paint operations.
The inverted block outfit stage allowed as much outfitting as possible before the
ship block was turned upright. Once upright, personnel would need to work with
the block above them instead of below them. Basic ergonomics concludes that
anyone who works with their hands above their head is under more physical
stress than one who works on something positioned beneath them.
Blast and paint operations at the block stage, is a process that moves or elimi-
nates work that would traditionally be done at the full ship stage. This eradicates
the need for heavy, noisy blasting and painting equipment to be stored on or
near the ship and reduces the cycle time of the ship. Reducing cycle time per-
mits delivery to the customer sooner, enables production of more ships at the
shipyard and reduces the ultimate cost of a ship.
By Katie Urbas Planning Supervisor – Blast, Paint, General, and Temporary ServicesGeneral Dynamics NASSCO
T-AKE 12, newly christened the USNS William McLean, is launched in San Diego Bay.Photos courtesy of General Dynamics NASSCOPhotographer Ken Wright
G
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Shipyards are constrained by the
number of dry docks they have, which
is normally where they erect or build
the ship prior to putting it into the
water. Ships spending a shorter
amount of time in the dry dock allows
for more ships to be built.
Once the benchmark study findings
were finalized, NASSCO moved for-
ward with building eight inverted-outfit
positions with overhead cranes, two
blast cells and five paint cells, along
with a storage area.
Building SpecificationsMembers of the paint team had visited
Asian shipyards on previous trips and
had seen the necessary equipment,
machinery and buildings. This knowl-
edge was used to help develop the
specification, along with the technolo-
gy in the United States. Blast and paint
facilities in the U.S., including four
shipyards on the East Coast, were also
visited. Once the specification was
completed it was sent out for bid local-
ly, nationally and to suppliers in Korea.
After a detailed review, questioning
and rebidding, the management team
chose a Korean company to build the
turnkey blast and paint facility.
Construction at the shipyard began
with the demolition of older buildings
and moving current operations else-
where. Structural construction of the
actual blast and paint facility began in
the summer of 2008 and began opera-
tions in March 2009. The new facility
was designed to be able to fit a block
that was 60 feet wide, 80 feet in length
and 45 feet in height. Each blast and
paint cell has the same dimensions on
the inside except the fifth paint cell,
which had to be shortened because of
an internal shipyard roadway and a
property line.
Full BlastThe blast cells were outfitted with 250-
ton-capacity hoppers that could handle
16 blasters for two operating shifts.
They also had individual vacuums for
each of the 16 vacuum inlets allowing
for continuous vacuuming after the
blast operations. All grit was designed
to be filtered through a dust collection
system to remove debris or small parti-
cles that would not be suitable for recy-
cling.
The blast-cell machinery is located in
a three-story-high space between the
two blast cells. As the location of the
facility has limited square footage avail-
able the design uses as much vertical
space as possible. The blast-cell interi-
ors are temperature and humidity con-
trolled to help with the comfort of the
personnel and to moderate the steel,
dew point and air temperature critical to
blasting operations.
ApplicationThe paint cells were also designed with
temperature and humidity controls
allowing for more accurate prediction of
the paint-drying cycle. The paint cells
have air and breathing lines that run
along both sides of the cells creating
areas for multiple setups for the
painters, depending on the block config-
uration. Each cell can support eight
painters spraying simultaneously and
each cell has its own volatile organic
compound (VOC) burner that destroys
97.5 percent of the VOCs emitted during
painting operations. At maximum
capacity, up to 200 tons of solvent emis-
sions are eliminated per year.
While the facility was being construct-
ed, the master planning team worked
concurrently on multiple items, includ-
ing planning production work from one
stage to an earlier stage, looking at
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Layout of the blast and paint facilityCourtesy of General Dynamics NASSCO
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capacity analyses and transportation of
support blocks without cranes. The
Steel, Outfit and Paint Group (SOP)
was formed to re-examine each of the
blocks that would go through the outfit
and blast and paint areas. If a block
was to go through the blast and paint
facility, it needed to have 100 percent
of its hot work, such as welding, com-
pleted so that the paint would not be
burned later on.
The industrial engineers within the
master planning team deliberated on
an approach to transport the blocks
into and out of the blast and paint
cells. In Korea, they moved the blocks
with heavy-load transporters. NASSCO
had smaller transporters to move block
pieces, but not heavy blocks. Based on
existing production schedules, the
team concluded that NASSCO needed
two transporters with the capacity of
300 tons each. The tonnage capacity
was part of an analysis of current and
future block designs. The transporters
were designed to have 360-degree
wheel movement to be able to handle
some of the tight turning areas in the
shipyard. The team also used another
Korean concept called trestles, which
support the block from underneath and
allow it to be transported to each loca-
tion, an improvement eliminating the
need for individual stands to be set up
for each block.
Working Out the KinksWhen production in the blast and paint
facility began, operations did not run as
efficiently as planned. NASSCO worked
with the resident paint expert from
DSME (Daewoo Shipbuilding) to ana-
lyze the current processes and deter-
mine why expected efficiency or pro-
ductivity returns were not being real-
ized.
A detailed analysis was conducted
beginning with a comparison of the
blasting and painting processes at
DSME and NASSCO. It was determined
that NASSCO was working at a third of
the productivity of its Korean counter-
part.
One suggestion was to create
detailed blasting-production instruc-
tions to moderate over-processing in
some areas. Improving the air circula-
tion and visibility by pulling air out of
blocks with ventilation was also recom-
mended. Prior to blasting, the blasting
team struggled with the cleanliness of
T-AKE 13, USNS Medgar Evers, nearing completion in August of 2011
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the blocks because of the oil or debris
that was left behind after months of
construction work. This was not an
issue in Korea because blocks were
being manufactured so quickly. Insight
acquired from the analysis helped
improve NASSCO’s shipbuilding pro-
duction to such a degree that by June
2010, NASSCO was surpassing its pro-
ductivity goals.
While some of the recommendations
were easily incorporated at NASSCO;
others were more difficult, or hindered
by customer requirements particular
to the U.S. For example, a suggestion
was made to use dark-colored paints
to hide the flaws that can be seen in
lighter paints but this was not possi-
ble as the company was building
ships for customers who needed their
paints to easily reflect light.
Using a universal primer was anoth-
er useful idea that could not be imme-
diately implemented until a new ship-
building contract commenced. The uni-
versal primer simplifies the setup by
reducing the need to follow complicat-
ed instructions for each compartment
and reducing the inventory of coatings
needed.
An additional suggestion involved
taking blocks out of the blast cells and
continuing their vacuuming in the paint
cells to free up precious space and
time in the blast cells. However, there
was risk of contaminating the paint
cells with grit or having to buy large
vacuums to be used in that location.
Using similar logic, once a block had
been blasted, pre-paint activities (such
as masking) were started while the
block was waiting to be moved to the
paint cells, which reduced dead time.
After completion of the detailed
analysis NASSCO continued to
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improve its blast and paint facility and
processes with ideas from production
supervisors and employees. The team
strategically placed certain items inside
the cells in designated locations for the
ease of the workers, such as a kanban
tape system (colored markings that
provide information such as quantity,
part or sequence), step ladders and
brooms. Some of the pre-blasting
activities, which were formerly com-
pleted inside the blast cells, were
moved to be done prior to the block
arriving at the cell, using the space
inside for only blasting or vacuuming.
The team also added extra fans to
push air into the painted blocks to
reduce the drying cycle.
Changing PerceptionThe establishment of NASSCO’s on-site
blast and paint facility has changed the
mindset of what “paint” means to the
other production employees in the
shipyard. Painting used to be the last
thing that was done to a ship and it
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Block in blast cell
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was thought to be accomplished only
to make the ship look good. Paint was
considered a less important part of the
production process when compared to
Block in paint cell
the equipment outfitting of pipe
spools, motors, electrical wire ways
and other shipboard components. The
shipbuilding industry has since real-
ized that paint is an integral part of a
ship’s design, knowing that it can pre-
vent corrosion that can lead to cata-
strophic failures.
Today when NASSCO engineers
design ships they have the paint and
the painters in mind when placing
equipment on decks, bulkheads or
overheads. The use of small padeyes
(devices that provide an attachment
point) has been introduced to reduce
paint burn damage to tanks. The steel
and outfit groups’ goal is to complete
all hot work with only mechanical
hookups after painting. The overall
vision of doing work earlier to reduce
the work needed later has moved
beyond the paint team, with the entire
shipyard adopting a culture of continu-
ous improvement.
Whenever possible, NASSCO’s blast
and paint facility has pushed some of
its own boundaries by processing not
just ship blocks, but grand blocks,
which are blocks welded together to
form larger sections. The building was
designed to fit the normal width of the
blocks produced and accommodate the
length of some of the larger house
blocks. On NASSCO’s PC Program (a $1
billion contract from U.S. Shipping
Partners L.P., for the construction of five
double-hulled product tankers for U.S.
coastwise trade), the facility processed a
block that utilized the maximum length
of the facility with the edges of the
block less than five feet away from the
curtain at the front wall. The bow of the
ship was also processed at maximum
height limits, with the handrails on the
top of the block removed during its
transportation into and out of the cell
for clearance.
The blast and paint facility has been
flexible, taking on work that normally
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would be done outside or in a costly
temporary facility. In addition to sup-
porting NASSCO’s new construction
activities, the facility has been utilized
to process some of the larger parts for
ships being repaired at the shipyard,
such as large bulkhead pieces, stern
tubes and rudder stocks.
ConclusionThe addition of the blast and paint
facility has changed NASSCO’s ship-
design methodology and the process
by which a ship is built and painted at
the shipyard allowing NASSCO to max-
imize production. By incorporating
some of the best industry practices, the
facility and the team have become a
benchmark for other U.S. shipyards.
Katie Urbas has
worked at NASSCO
as the planning
supervisor for blast
and paint for the
past six years and
has worked at
NASSCO for 10
years. She has a Bachelor of Science in
mechanical engineering with a minor in
manufacturing management. Urbas is a
NACE Level 3 Coating Inspector and will
receive her MBA in December of 2014
from the Rady School of Management,
University of California, San Diego. She
is an active member of the Society of
Women Engineers. JPCL
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