Neelam Mathews
Sept 3, 2014
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Brigadier (Retd.) Prakash Tolani, Senior Director,
Siemens, kick started the event with a roundup on two previous summits, linking
the sequential flow to the subjects chosen for the ISES3 round table discussions.
These topics were based on continuity with the previous ISES, in addition to current
imminent issues concerning the Indian shipbuilding industry.
·
Shipbuilding Design, Development and Production
Competency
·
Reliable Technologies and Reduced Maintenance
·
Training and Skills Requirements for the
Shipbuilding Industry
·
Enhancing Fuel Efficiency of Modern Marine Vessels
·
Design for Safety
The discussions were designed to arrive at a
formulation on how to project before the government’s Ministries of Commerce
and Industry, and Shipping to work in tandem to benefit the industry.
Ship Building- Opportunities and Challenges
Manufacturing has consistently performed below par,
contributing only 15% to the GDP, having fallen 1% in the past five years. “A
link has been established between Ship Building and Manufacturing- both are
concurrent streams,” said Vice Admiral Ganesh Mahadevan, former Chief of
Maintenance, Indian Navy. “Upto $5 trillion is up for grabs,” said Mahadevan,
pointing out the potential of manufacturing in India.
Shipbuilding plays a prominent role in the sector, though
there is a need for augmentation in training. India’s National Maritime Plan
2010-20, though well intentioned, has not fructified and requires ratification.
And that shall be the immediate challenge before various chamber of commerce
and industry associations,” Mahadevan said. Commodore (Retd) Ranjit Rai, IMF,
talking of global trends, questioned the slow growth of procurement even as
shipyards have made large investments, awaited orders.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have played a role in
promoting shipbuilding in India and the quest for indigenization has resulted
in private sector involvement. “It is essential to keep the industry informed
on capability,” in order for them to plan ahead, Mahadevan explained.
Presently, almost 50% of manufacturing related to the Indian Navy is being done
by the private sector. Examples include large-scale titanium castings made in
Jalandhar in the Northwestern state of Punjab.
Educational Training Updates
A platform for continuing education training is no small
task. “We want to promote the core platform, for which classes are available
online,” said Capt (Retd) Glenn Ashe, American Society of Naval Engineers
(ASNE), the seventh oldest US professional association. “Continuing education
is a central aspect. We want to begin with a core platform of courses for
training that can be accessible to anybody online and can be used as a basis
for certification for a naval engineer. We will also provide more advanced
courses in cyber and combat system.” While ASME will not certify an officer as
level 1, 2, it will provide training, and the Coast Guard technical authority
will issue a certification. “We hope next year to offer an opportunity for
courses in India.”
While ASME is working to help provide forums for
interactions, “Naval engineering is not just naval architecture… (it) includes
electronics, information systems cyber, combat systems….” said Ashe.
Rear Admiral (ret.) Craig E. Bone Vice President, Corporate, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), spoke about how rules were
evolving as a result of growing capabilities. With changes in ship design
occurring, “We are looking at revising subjects.” ABS International Naval Ship Guide in development since 2012,
intended to be available worldwide to designers, builders and owners, is
applicable to ships owned and operated by Navies and Governments with missions
related to safety, security, or defense. “It is applicable also to
cruisers and destroyers,” added Craig. It uses ABS Steel Vessel Rules as the
foundation, and includes additional requirements from open sources. An
emphasis is being made on how to apply it to international designs.
Shipbuilding Design, Development and
Production - Gaps
As the marine sector transforms to a
more efficient one, and modernization takes place, keeping low operating costs
and environmental considerations in view, ships have to be designed faster and
better. For this, it was recognized a different approach to ship design and
construction, needed to be adopted urgently.
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·
Shipyards
bring large overheads and use of good sub-contractors available with expertise
in cable laying, and pre-outfitted hull systems were becoming the norm in
outsourcing. Cochin Shipyard Ltd., for example, reduced its strength from 2700
to 2000 people, had 300 CISF staff. “Why can’t we shift to a private security
agency?” queried a participant. A debate expected to take off in the near
future as government security personnel get more in demand.
·
Given
high costs and high turnover of talent, the need for system availability to
take a program forward with digital mockups, was expressed by a private sector
official. “The design has to fit into a matrix and data has to be preserved
through its lifecycle. Citing the Korean shipbuilding industry that uses the
cluster concept, it was noted, “design should follow a modular construction.”
·
Time
consuming and cost issues related to practices, such as being unable to work under
cover in bad weather, need to be addressed.
·
3-D
modelling should be available at site, said an Indian navy official. The
private sector seemed to have dealt with this issue.
·
It
was pointed out connectivity between design and supply chain and the process of
excess inspections added to delays.
·
A
definite attitude to design between commercial and naval ships was noted, with
the former addressing design at the start. “The navy needs to freeze design at
some point instead of conceiving design as it goes along.” Changes midway, have
in the past, lead to higher costs and delays.
·
Material
management lacks procurement planning. There is a need for pricing agreements
to enable better deals. Constrained by procedures, procurement has become
costly for Government shipyards. Standardize kits and fittings to get better
deals. Minimize storage requirements.
·
Need
good Enterprise, Resource, Planning (ERP) practices. Kitting, for instance,
should be closer to work aisles. Need for timely cost progress and value
reporting.
·
Improve
progress and cost management metrics. Need for Chain Management
·
Digitalization,
animation should be done for mission critical areas.
·
A
diagram should be made initially in design to determine how the ship will
operate.
·
Safety
standards must be incorporated in design.
·
Indian Shipbuilding Design – Focus
on Digitized World
A shipbuilding solution requires a holistic
approach that improves total enterprise collaboration, synchronization and
productivity, as well as lifecycle ship service and support, by optimizing
shipbuilding processes. “While the current technology offers opportunities, the
application on ground is zero,” said Vice Admiral (Retd) Pradeep Chauhan,
pointing out the lack of cohesion between the design, trainer and
shipyard. “Where is the yard that has a
department of ergonomics, for instance?” he queried further.
“Our designers need exposure. The industry was
cost intensive, but today, technology gives us exposure.” There was an urgent
need to move away from the mindset of “being physically there…Our shipyards are
not comfortable with digitized exposure.”
Chauhan pointed out design
deficiencies resulting due to a lack of digitalization at the design stage and
the need for cohesiveness. “We have built generations of warships without
degrade.”
Recommendations and Actionable
Points
·
Need
for codification of design of mission critical spaces- basics could be codified
for different sizes.
·
Standardization
of equipment requirements will boost manufacturing. It was noted, keeping
standards updated is a challenge.
·
A
cost rationalization study to be done on 3-4 warships was suggested to evaluate
how costs had been affected by delays due to decision-making. This could be
used to improve design and manufacture delays in future.
·
Siemens
was asked to demonstrate animation software of actual processes in industrial
complexes rather than ships.
·
It
was recommended a shipyard take up as a pilot study on addressing ergonomics at
the design stage. It was proposed the Government should look at including
ergonomics in RFPs.
·
An
analysis on lifecycle of a ship from concept through maintenance cycle was
suggested
·
There
is neither an organized multi-skill training in India nor a vocational training
for shipbuilding. It was suggested a
proposal be forwarded to the government to open three technical institutes in
India for shipbuilding.
·
Quality
of lubricants needs to be assessed.
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Gautam Dutta, Senior Director Marketing,
Siemens, who along with his team had planned and executed the smooth bearing of
the summit, ensured he would follow-up on the actionable points and conduct of
the study.
Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan and
Brigadier Prakash Tolani agreed there should be some mechanism for the Indian
Navy and Coast Guard to use animation as a safety feature and standardization
of procedures. It was essential to take benefit of available knowledge base.
They recommended adding the following to the actionable items-
As rust is a common enemy, ASNE
should make available inputs from June 25 2015 Mega Rust Naval Corrosion
Conference proceedings to IMF “so we don’t lose knowledge base.”
Siemens could suggest digitalized
training to compensate for trainer infirmity. Siemens could also tie-up a demo
with one of the shipyards to present a model of monetization related to lack of
training.
A study to be undertaken by a
private shipyard for cost audit in terms of standardization. This could then be
shown to the Indian Navy and used as basis for training establishments to
devise mechanisms for fuel efficiency.
BOX
Siemens PLM
Software- Bringing in Cost Efficiencies
The Siemens Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) for Shipbuilding solution enables a holistic approach to
shipbuilding that improves total enterprise collaboration, synchronization and
productivity, as well as lifecycle ship service and support, by optimizing
shipbuilding processes. PLM for shipbuilding by utilizing ship design software
with embedded templates accelerates ship delivery, boosts team productivity and
facilitates the use of proven best practices that mitigate potential risks and
eliminate program delays. In addition, shipyards can seamlessly track the
configuration of a ship from concept development through production and across
the ship’s entire operating lifecycle.
-
Malay Pal, Siemens PLM
BOX
A
look at Planning Commission – Shipbuilding & Repair- Strategy and key
recommendations
The
Planning Commission Report on Shipbuilding Design says:
India currently lacks design
capabilities and most of the concept designs are being sourced from a pool of
global designs. Many Indian shipyards have set up their small design centers
and some independent design centers have also been established, but broadly,
the country is purchasing conceptual design from foreign firms and doing
detailed engineering within the country.
According
to the report, key policy measures to enable the shipbuilding and ship repair
sector to meet its mid and long term goals include:
A
policy statement in clear terms should be pronounced conveying the commitment
of the Government to undertake various priority measures in the sector
Financial
incentives to facilitate the industries to achieve critical mass
Infrastructure
status to shipbuilding would help the domestic industry to utilize the tax
benefits available to the infrastructure sector and also avail credit at lower
rates for investment.
Promote
use of locally build vessels by local shipping companies
Offset
scheme for Government procurement in which the foreign yard is mandated to
source some marine engineering goods from India to help develop capabilities
Need
for State Maritime Policies
Shipbuilding should be treated as an
infrastructure industry
A renewed thrust is
required to develop education and training facilities, and R&D
infrastructure This would also include promoting applied R&D to facilitate
the development of basic design as well as standardization to encourage series
production
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