AVEVA Net – AVEVA’s Open PLM Platform for ShipbuildingDavid Thomson, Martin Gwyther, AVEVA, Hamburg/Germany, [email protected] Abstract This paper examines the PLM needs of the shipbuilding industry and how this technology can be used both to enhance the design process and complete lifecycle of ship information. It goes on to detail the key design criteria required of a system targeting this sector and presents the basic design philosophies and practical capabilities of AVEVA NET, an open PLM solution developed specifically for the shipbuilding industry. 1. Introduction The current financial crisis and economic slow-down is highlighting the changing role IT is playing in the modern shipbuilding industry. Due to increasing operational costs and environmental pressures we are seeing a re-focusing on the importance of good design. Ship owners, design offices and yards are working together on the design of new ship types to ensure they will run longer, use fewer resources and incur less maintenance costs during their lifecycles. For the shipbuilders this means ever more changes during the design and construction phase as last minute changes are made to meet the owner’s requirements. All this leads to a strong need for integrated IT solutions which address the industry’s lifecycle information management needs. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a mature technology that has been used successfully in a variety of manufacturing industry sectors to store and manage product definition data and to integrate, control and optimize product related business processes. However, in the shipbuilding industry there are few shipbuilders actively using conventional PLM systems and those who have tried to adapt them to shipbuilding design processes have had limited success. In response to this, AVEVA has developed an industry specific information management toolset, to meet the needs of their Shipbuilding and Plant operations customers. The resulting toolset offers a set of functionality which not only allows them to control and manage their data during the design phase but goes further by allowing them to exploit this rich data model in the later stages of the ships lifecycle. The following chapters take a closer look at the specific PLM needs of the shipbuilding industry and how AVEVA have approached them with their AVEVA NET Enterprise solution. 2 The Shipbuilding specific PLM Needs Perhaps one of the most unique characteristics about shipbuilding is the need to concurrently run the various phases of the design process at the same time the production is beginning. In no other manufacturing sector does are there changes made to the very fundamental aspects of the design at the same time as the materials are ordered, and even assembled. Shipbuilding PLM must above all deliver suitable performance to concurrently visualize, and manage the evolving Design Bill oOf Material or Tree AND the Assembly or Manufacturing Bill Of Material. This means not only working with Millions of individual parts in their designed configuration but being able to add the all important layer of assembly data. Only with this concurrent view of design and manufacturing data can serious attempts be made to optimize the various processes in the yard. 576 cost and schedule. including fabrication and assembly. materials and design variation. and manage the workflows employed to ensure the integrity and quality of information. the benefits of this technology can be considerable. productivity. In addition. large scale commercial and naval shipbuilding is fundamentally project based and physical prototyping is neither logistically nor commercially viable. monitoring and controlling project execution parameters including.1: Evolving BOM 2. To meet both schedule and cost constraints. in practice. but also designed to control the flow of product data across departmental and organizational boundaries. 577 . their status and their availability to dependent project participants are well managed. it is critical that component design iterations. the product design is based on a complex network of inter-connected component designs. Although a single basic ship design may be used to produce a series of vessels. which evolve through a series of iterations into the final product configuration. it frees up resources sooner for the next revenue-earning project and puts the finished vessel into service sooner. commence as soon as appropriate iterations of the designs they are based on are available. To support these requirements a PLM solution for shipbuilding needs not only to be tightly integrated with any and all design authoring systems used on the project. This has a multiplying effect. For shipbuilders.1 Concurrent project execution and Control As we know. In this model. eliminate unnecessary duplication of tasks and optimize resource loading. it must also support best practice processes and tools for defining. each ship is unique and detailed design and production is generally executed as a one-off capital project. During any concurrent design and fabrication process individual component designs undergo rapid refinement and change. all downstream activities. progress. Workflow management that delivers the right information at the right time to the right people can save time. eliminating inefficiencies and managing information effectively not only saves direct costs.Budget Estimated E-BOM Calculated Design Time ERP ASSEMBLY PLANNING Existing Assembly Structure Budget Estimated M-BOM Calculated Design Time Fig. increasing overall project efficiency. Given the impact that working with erroneous or out-of-date information has on project efficiency. and in using common information management tools. ensuring that even the most widelyspread project team can work efficiently. This is a true business strategy enabler. Workflow automation routes information quickly and correctly.2. the results of the highly iterative Naval Architecture calculations. the vessel will undergo a series of modifications designed to extend its capabilities or prolong its service life. the production process employs capital project execution techniques to deliver a single product instance. These modifications may range from routine refit through to complete product overhaul and are each executed as one-off projects involving different project participants and varying product design tools. but must do so within a data management environment that supports the evolution and re-use of product data independently of the applications used to create it. for example. During this operational phase. and. the handover of a ship from the yard to its owner was a clearly defined cut-off point. so projects may be scaled by bringing in resources wherever they are available. ship owners. Such information management can provide considerable business advantages in responsiveness. To address these requirements a PLM solution for shipbuilding must not only support the project management and information workflow requirements outlined above. offering a new level of flexible. for example. Any viable information management system must be able to integrate such disparate content. operation and 578 . class societies and regulatory bodies. in many instances. managed by disparate systems. the variety of CAD models and service information provided by equipment suppliers. However. regardless of which programs originally created that data and where that data actually resides. It must form an application-neutral environment for all data. an increasing amount remains unmanaged or. suppliers. flexibility and scalability. using a wide variety of software tools and producing a vast amount of information to be managed. multi-partner projects may operate as a single entity. Properly exploited. collaborative working. providing the ability to share all types of information – not just design data – effectively between distributed resources. The majority of this information is typically created in the main CAD/CAM system in the form of 2D schematics. Collaborative projects are not new in shipbuilding but. at best. 2. of course CAD data delivered from subcontractors or sub suppliers not using the shipyards main system.4 Through-life product support In shipbuilding. frequently requiring compromise. Only with this consolidated view of information can any attempt be made to validate or compare information. processes and engineering disciplines are involved in building a ship.2 Capture and Validate Many different companies. Multi-site. 3D models. Traditionally. PLM technology must be able to overcome this. The product is typically extremely complex and has an operational lifecycle spanning decades. drawings and production information. even while individual participants join or leave the consortium as requirements dictate. workarounds and significant management overheads. Teams across different locations or time zones can work in parallel on a common database. these can greatly magnify the individual productivity gains achieved by upgraded design or operations software tools. There is considerable advantage in shipyard and owner working in partnership from the earliest stage. multi-site projects provides a real competitive advantage.3 A collaboration platform With the world’s shipbuilders working ever closer with design offices. 2. However these days it is clear that single-point handover is no longer an efficient way of working. This allows. the ability efficiently to run collaborative. solutions to the information management needs have had to be home-grown. this data pack consisted of physical documents. adding intelligence. owners increasingly insist on electronic handover of information. a lubricating oil pump. and tools for easy access. in fact. Information access ceases to be detective work and becomes as quick and easy as web browsing. But the usefulness of an electronic data pack is limited if it is no more than a collection of digital documents. To appreciate how a modern information management solution might be used at sea. examine the system schematic to 579 . a colossal data pack – all the information created and gathered by the shipyard and added to by the owner. could be a Hosted service AVEVA NET GATEWAYS Connection Infr ERP/CRM PLM Enabled Shipyard Connection Infr Attributes PLM Business database AVEVA Marine AVEVA NET Engineering Data Engineering Process data Business Process Data PLM data Engineering Data Supplier Information Maintenance Information Integrated Information View Rich PLM Database With AVEVA NET for Supplier input With AVEVA NET for Computer aided approval Class Approval Fig. so the engineer might examine this to diagnose the problem and assess its priority. either by navigating a 3D model of the ship or by clicking on ‘hot spotted’ photographs. tight control and efficient cross-referencing. handover and commissioning can thus become concurrent processes. or visually. transforms it into a value-adding asset. Originally. beginning well in advance of launch date. by selecting it from an intelligent system schematic. An efficient PLM solution will offer a choice of ways to do this. with AVEVA NET Specifications Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Specifications Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Attributes AVEVA Staging area Application/ checks all required data is there in the right format. by entering the pump’s tag reference directly. Reliable studies in the engineering industries have shown that up to 60% of the man-hours involved in dealing with such maintenance problems can be spent tracking down the correct information. He can quickly find spares lists and locations. hand over and control. however. owners need operating manuals to allow them to operate and maintain their vessels efficiently. Once in service. say. imagine that a problem arises with. Engineering. Such a manual is. PLM Overview.2: Possible Enterprise application of PLM Where available. difficult to use efficiently and hard to share between the different disciplines involved in operating a ship. 98% is typical of current best practice in offshore and Naval projects. To overcome these problems. With a PLM system. providing valuable feedback into design and reducing the subsequent time to bring the vessel up to full operational status. for example.maintenance procedures to be developed as the design evolves. Supplier to Shipyard Suppliers’ Staging Areas GATEWAYS used to convert CAD models and link documentation to Objects for use directly in the PLM Engineering DB. bulky to store. the ship’s engineer may obtain all the pump’s associated information within minutes. select the correct maintenance procedures. costly to create. real-time and historical data from system instrumentation may also be presented. And when the maintenance work is completed. when required again. Not only can this level of information access cut maintenance costs and time. Astute ship owners are already seeing the commercial potential of exploiting the powerful information technologies which formerly never went beyond the shipyard gates. speed of putting a ship back into service is important. if that solution is to adequately address the needs of the shipbuilding industry it must: - 580 Provide an information management infrastructure through which the various organizations involved in shipbuilding projects can optimize their project execution capabilities. which in turn can be synchronized with the on-shore management’s business systems. allowing a crew (who may be unfamiliar with the vessel) to carry out the recommissioning process efficiently. PLM Operations Database ShipDEX SpecTec With AVEVA NET for Ship Hand over filtering of PLM Engineering database Rich PLM Database Integrated Information View Subset of data required for Operations On Shore Management Maintenance Add on Ship operations Fig. FPSO projects now routinely implement PLM solutions from the earliest stage and these are seen as ‘mission critical’ to efficient operations. it is easy to visualize the importance of rapid information access in combat situations. it is common to decommission vessels and lay them up against future needs. while cruise ships contain not only many complex systems but a ‘cargo’ that will complain loudly if they do not work properly. A good PLM system preserves the ship’s information assets ready for use immediately. AVEVA NET Connection Infr Specifications Neutral Export Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Attributes Connection Infr Specifications Attributes With AVEVA NET for Supplier Add on.0 PLM System Design Criteria Given the complexities of the shipbuilding process and the unique lifecycle information management characteristics outlined above.check the shut-down sequence.3: Possible Enterprise application of PLM 3. However. thereby allowing them to deliver higher quality products and to do so faster and more cost effectively. the engineer can use the PLM system to record the work done and the parts added. In naval vessels. . Given the scale of the revenue streams involved. and even view the ship’s schedule to plan the best time to carry out the work. it is not surprising that generic. it is not surprising that the oil & gas industry has been quick to grasp the benefits that such powerful technology can deliver. What is required is a solution that embraces the best principles of PLM and then carries these forward into a targeted. bulk manufacturing focused systems have struggled to fulfil industry needs. Inevitably. industry-specific solution. In naval practice. it can also enable better preventive maintenance and reduce the risk of costly unplanned stopovers. a final check that supplied data is up-to-date. 1 Data Objects AVEVA NET technology provides unique mechanisms for defining. These differences are outlined below. 581 . like documents. Simplistically. yet still support the management of the information these systems author. standards-based lifecycle management platform that has been designed.1 AVEVA NET Design Concepts 4. data objects can be easily searched. it allows users the freedom to select the applications that best suit their business needs. - Not only provide a strong foundation for managing the storage and flow of information throughout the enterprise. AVEVA NET is an open. to support the business execution models and operating characteristics of organisations that create. operate or maintain large-scale maritime vessels. real-time access to a single source of correct and consistent. these objects are "lumps" of structured data that. report synthesis. evolution and re-use. access controlled and workflow managed. from the outset. by allowing data to be accessed.1. - Support multi-disciplinary concurrent engineering by enabling controlled. data transfer and design data re-use. By separating product and project data from data authoring applications in this way the system facilitates two fundamental objectives. context-specific user interface designs. can be versioned. Introducing AVEVA NET To provide a system which addresses the key design criteria outlined above AVEVA has pioneered an object-centric approach to product lifecycle management and has created AVEVA NET. - Allow project participants to interact and collaborate. whether they are a physical component of the ship. a work process that needs to be planned. extensible. However. To achieve this. version managed information For a PLM system to meet these criteria it must provide sophisticated data management capabilities that work independently of the applications used to create and edit the information. the basic principles and approach AVEVA NET employs to manage product and project information throughout the lifecycle are fundamentally different to conventional document centric PLM solutions. - Combine internet communication standards and technologies with intuitive. where required. compared and cross-referenced and their data content can be used to support a variety of activities including integrity checking. re-assembled. it provides a neutral data management platform for genuine through-life product support. irrespective of geographical location. 4. monitored and controlled or a person or organisation responsible for executing a particular task. Secondly. associating and managing data objects.- Help reduce the lifetime cost-of-ownership of marine assets by providing a persistent foundation for information integration. This ultimately protects the huge intellectual and commercial investment made in designing and constructing large-scale maritime vessels. unlike documents. creating. but also integrate seamlessly with other applications which author or work with product and project data. evolved and shared throughout the vessel's entire operational lifetime and. revised and reused in future product designs. both within and across enterprise boundaries. Firstly. 4. Within AVEVA NET all “things” of interest are represented as objects. to allow project teams to retrieve and work with project information. 4. and the information and workflow management facilities needed to share. AVEVA NET incorporates intuitive tools for modelling objects and their associations. the individual data structures and relationships between data elements are built into the database schema and application logic. status. control and protect this information throughout the entire product lifecycle. This has four principal limitations: - it restricts the product and project structures (configurations) that can be supported it requires an upfront understanding of the data compositions of individual items and the relationships between them it typically requires database and application programming skills to extend / amend the structures and relationships it generally requires the roll-out of new software versions to accommodate changes to database schema and application functionality In contrast. To support the complex and varied data structures needed to describe shipbuilding components and systems and to provide complete flexibility with respect to product structure definition and presentation. Because there is no limit to the number and / or nature of associations that can be supported.1. These associations represent a multi-dimensional network of relationships which link together individual objects and define.3 Information Modelling In most conventional data management systems. rather than system level views such as database tables and columns. and because the associations can be classified. 4. store and organize all forms of project and product data. they can be simply re-defined or extended at anytime to accommodate additional data properties and associations. AVEVA NET is entirely data driven and completely shields its users from the complexities of any internal database structures and constraints.2. It incorporates the infrastructure components needed to assemble. product and project information can be presented and accessed via any number of hierarchical views. AVEVA NET provides a unique environment for managing product and project data throughout the product lifecycle. By exploiting these fundamental capabilities and supplementing them with a variety of sophisticated tools to define. This encompasses: 582 . establishing and managing the associations between data objects. or a complete upfront understanding of the data structure and range of relationships required for each object. security. sorted and searched.2 Associations AVEVA NET technology provides uniquely flexible and extensible techniques for defining. not only physical structures. history and workflow of individual data objects. control and manage the integrity.1. Because the data models defined and supported by AVEVA NET are data driven. 4. application users and administrators work with information sets representing “real-life” objects and their associations to one another. but logical dependencies and behaviours. These allow object data compositions and associations to be defined and evolved without the need for conventional database modelling skills. This allows information to be made available to different users in different contexts without changing or duplicating the underlying content or structure.2 AVEVA NET in Practice AVEVA NET comprises the following core components: 4. Throughout the system.2 AVEVA NET Work Hub The Work hub is the basic information management platform that underpins all AVEVA NET solutions. activities.applying formal change management techniques to allow users to identify and assess the impact of changes to product or project information and then controlling the implementation of the identified change to ensure information integrity and change auditability - Work Management .hosts data entry screens. documents and work processes and managing the application of these rules during all relevant system transactions - Configuration Management . controlled and baselined configurations and controlling the update of these configurations to provide change history. data. Structures can be created for any class of data held in (or referenced by) AVEVA NET.managing the assembly of objects. modify and maintain product and project information and then controlling and monitoring the transactions involved in executing the identified work 4.- Content Management . When an object is selected. data. The Content Viewer supports standard data presentation / editing media such as form.managing the definition and configuration of all roles. grid and list based property views. the Content Explorer presents a hyperlink style list of data sets or documents pertaining to the currently selected item. Each item is displayed as a separate tabbed page and there is no limit on the number of items that can be simultaneously accessed. Through a range of intuitive user interface features and functionality. responsibilities. rights and permissions to be applied to objects. history and availability of all product and project information.provides the principal mechanism for organising and navigating product and project data.managing the creation. control what tools are used for visualising and creating / editing information and manage real-time interaction and collaboration between multiple parties. storage.2 AVEVA NET Dashboard The Dashboard is the default user interface for accessing and interacting with information controlled and managed by AVEVA NET. update. irrespective of its format and location - Security Management . Selecting an entry in the links pane opens the corresponding data set or document in the content viewer. tasks and resources) required to create. A variety of features are provided which allow information sets to be defined and their associated structures to be represented as conventional explorer based hierarchies. project documents and specific applications accessed by the user. It provides a customisable browser based workspace which allows users and administrators from all the various organisations and departments involved in project execution or plant operations to access and work with the information they need.2. plus any meta-data defining the nature and / or status of the information represented by the link. as well as more specialised viewing components for visualising and collaborating on schematic and spatial (CAD / CAM) models. it also supports interaction with standard Microsoft Office products such as Excel and Word and hosts standard browser controls to allow internet access from within AVEVA NET 583 . In its default configuration. version comparison and change highlighting - Change Management . the AVEVA NET Dashboard provides facilities to configure how information is arranged and presented to different users. documents and structures into identified. AVEVA NET Dashboard encompasses the following basic application components: - Enterprise Explorer . In addition. and both public and private “folders” can be defined - Content Explorer .acts as a secondary navigation aid by displaying a series of categorised links to the various sets of information which describe the current object and its associations. using appropriate viewing technology - Content Viewer .defining the work (processes. provides a fully integrated search facility to allow users to find and retrieve objects meeting designated criteria. structures. There are various search modes which provide a range of search capabilities.provides a series of specialised views that allow users to access personal tasks and messages generated by the system and visualise the current status and history of any associated actions. so that any required data structure can be accommodated - the relationships between objects to be modelled. 4. because the data models defined and supported in AVEVA NET are data driven. so that the complex network of interconnections and dependencies between the various components. whilst explorer folders and grid style data views can be configured to automatically display the specific data and documents of interest to the user. the various panes making up the Dashboard support re-sizing. thus providing a readily accessible audit trail of all work related events. they can be simply re-defined. delegating. dialogues. Because the system must be able to manage complex product structures and support sophisticated work process execution. For example. Saved searches can be defined as “private” or “public” and can be secured by defining access rights which determine who can use or modify the search. messages and prompts can be re-configured to support the required local language. These systems are linked to the AVEVA NET environment via application “Gateways” which allow information to be read from. Whilst this helps facilitate rapid and repeatable implementation of AVEVA NET solutions.- Enterprise Search . 4. To allow document content to be searched. or registered in the AVEVA NET 584 . AVEVA NET offers an optional full text searching facility - Work Exchange .4 AVEVA NET Gateways Gateways are the interfaces which connect data authoring and data consuming applications to AVEVA NET.2. In addition to the above functional components. all GUI components including: menus. re-directing or re-working task assignments. searches can be saved and re-used. AVEVA NET Dashboard provides a number of “runtime” based configuration capabilities that allow administrators and / or individual users to customise their workspace.3 AVEVA NET Modeller The Modeller is the basic administration tool used to define and maintain the information content and behaviours that are controlled and managed via AVEVA NET. All user responses and actions are recorded and automatically "filed" in the Work Exchange archive. and allows any number of search criteria to be combined. To facilitate internationalisation of AVEVA NET. AVEVA NET Modeller allows: - an unlimited set of object classes and association types to be defined - the data composition for each class of object to be modelled. The most sophisticated of these allows searches to be performed on virtually any of the attributes which define an item or its associations. written into. or extended at anytime to accommodate additional data properties.2. The various views support all forms of messages. To facilitate repetitive or frequent searching. from simple event notifications through to workflow and change controlled requests for action. the Work Exchange provides standard mechanisms for acknowledging notification messages and for progressing. associations and behaviours. rearranging and re-docking. To aid users in work execution. processes and resources can be constructed - attributes and associations to be mapped to appropriate reference data library entries to support consolidation and cross referencing of information from multiple sources To accelerate the modelling process AVEVA NET Modeller employs a set of modelling standards and intuitive tools for mapping to these standards. and.1 Use Case 1 Integrated Engineering. AVEVA MARINE is an example of a system designed with this in mind. executing. AVEVA NET Studio.2. AVEVA’s developer toolkit. Although AVEVA has created a range of Gateways. provides a set of software tools that support customisation of the components to meet the user organisation’s specific needs. the core components described above. and any given module may be used in its entirety or in discrete parts. All this can be global distributed and controlled via the AVEVA Global technology. AVEVA NET Practical use cases 5.repository. to AVEVA NET. time. monitoring and controlling specific activities and their associated deliverables and resources. the AVEVA NET developer’s toolkit. are complemented by a series of Solution Modules. yet at the same time modular and open. Built in Rule based design and consistency checking. to the attribute level. to dynamic peer to peer transactions involving tailored application plug-ins. This allows the functionality they provide. Combine all this with complete integration to AVEVA NET’s Enterprise functionality and the PLM strategy is off to a good start. an Integrated Schematic Model and 3D Model to ensure data consistency. such as user and role based access control. Because these Modules are fully integrated with one another. Achieving an accurate and perhaps more importantly a consistent engineering model will have a profound effect on the quality of all Lifecycle related information requirements down stream of this process. 4. These Solution Modules plug-in to the AVEVA NET environment and provide a variety of advanced tools to facilitate planning. In many cases. the Solution Modules themselves are designed to support end-user customisation. Gateways apply all data security constraints (access rights. To allow AVEVA NET to control the quality. they offer considerable operational flexibility. Each Module comprises a set of modifiable software components. and commonly encountered third party applications. In addition. to be implemented as either a total solution or a partial solution alongside other in-house or third party software. Gateways can vary from simple XML based data publishing. 585 . database driven drawing production ensuring consistency and facilitating automatic change highlighting and comparison in drawings and 3D. which connect both our own. integrity and availability of information. Gateways involve sophisticated data processing to translate or transform information and derive additional “intelligence”. Modules may be used on their own or in combination. AVEVA NET Developer. so that the data being processed is validated and authorised before the transaction is allowed to complete. incorporates a variety of features for constructing custom Gateways. It has a unique database technology tailored to the needs of shipbuilders. In addition. to provide complete flexibility. ensuring high performance and efficiency for large complex models. validation criteria etc) and record all transaction details (date. object status control. AVEVA MARINE itself has many of the functionalities associated with PDM.5 AVEVA NET Solution Modules To offer "out-of-the-box" solutions for specific data and workflow management issues encountered during shipbuilding design and production. any data import / extract process can be made part of a workflow. user etc). customisable and preconfigured product breakdown structures. featuring a data centric modelling system. 5. Design and Production The highly concurrent and complex work of designing and building a ship places high demands on the Engineering system. Identification and Linking with gateways.4: Automatic change highlighting 5. 586 .5: Classification. such as the Tribon M3 gateway or the Xmplant gateway. AVEVA Gateways Documents Publish Fig.2 Use Case 2 Data Capture and Validation Before any full blow PLM system can be deployed an enterprise must have good control all their data and its quality. Moreover with some simple configuration the associations between different data can be made at the same time. A relatively simple but very effective application of AVEVA NET is to capture and validate data coming from multiple sources. Certain gateways are focused on reading CAD data.Fig. which can read a variety of CAD formats and create a application neutral format for viewing in a portal as well as a XML file detailing the objects and their associations contained within the files. AVEVA NET Gateways provide the technology to read multiple data types and automatically identify and categorise the date held within. However with AVEVA NET Enterprise a solution can be built. which can quickly highlight any inconsistencies. This situation can be eased by outsourcing pipe spool fabrication to shops with more bending machines with perhaps the ability to bed pipes of a larger diameter. Exploiting this requires the definition of workflows and processes. Firstly any given yard will have at its disposal a fixed number of bending machines with their own fixed operating parameters. 587 .Others are focused on specific applications such as the Leica Tru View gateway or the SAP gateway. One example of this is the optimisation of pulled bends during the design of 3D piping. such as a database or XML file.3 Use Case 3 Project Execution Control Creating a accurate and consistent Engineering model and a complete capture and validation of all digital engineering information are only the basis of real PLM. Fig. Assuming the Project planning information. One the categorised and linked data is captured AVEVA NET provides standard tools to enable reports and queries. the Subcontractors planning information and the rules which govern where best to build a specific spool are captured via AVEVA NET . a work flow could be designed in AVEVA NET modeller to do just this optimisation. Ideally the number of elbows is kept to a minimum in any given pipe spool due to the additional material cost and labour required. However several factors influence the ability to use bends over elbows. Add to this the fact that controlling the production location of a given piping spool is not know until late in the planning process and we see why it is very hard to optimise the use of bends at the design stage.6: Data Validation Reporting 5. Giving the ultimate flexibility to read data form almost any system into AVEVA NET. Perhaps the most useful gateway is the Data Extractor capturing data form general sources. This knowledge if digitally captured can be used to automatically generate a complete drawing list with predefined views and even their content based on the drawing technology of AVEVA MARINE. This work flow could involve several other IT systems such as ERP. in a Spreadsheet or database it can be used during the design of a ship to ensure that all required deliverables are indeed accounted for. Normally this is very well known in a yard and can be detailed at the very beginning of a project. One example of that is the list of deliverables that are required for a given ship type. In response to customer and marketplace demand. data and document storage. and business need for. Knowledge reuse has the prerequisite that knowledge is captured digitally in the first place. For example if we know that a typical fire zone should result in 6 Lighting drawings.4 Use Case 4 Knowledge Reuse. This has arisen because the industry has a number of key operational characteristics which differentiate it from the discrete / repetitive manufacturing industries where conventional PLM technology originated and is most successfully deployed.e. in practice. Because these processes dominate the operational activities of shipbuilding organisations. i. workflow and process management. Even the experiences of implementing such knowledge reuse should be captured as knowledge. However. from the outset. to provide for example a dashboard for design or IT managers. 2 Accommodation drawings and a safety plan we can build up a work flow on the basis of this which would prevent the approval of that fire zone until all deliverables are accounted for. Project planning and even data from Subcontractors. If this knowledge is captured in a electronic form. there are few shipbuilders using conventional PLM solutions to address their lifecycle information management needs. monitor and control product design and construction. concurrent design processes and integrated project execution techniques to plan. AVEVA has created AVEVA NET. product structure management. 588 . It could then return with a component suggestion or even automatically modify the spool accordingly. 6. Conclusions The market experience of software suppliers has shown that within the commercial and naval shipbuilding sectors there is a strong interest in. for knowledge management purposes and automatically create the Isometric or Pipe Sketch drawing and ‘send’ it to Production. A work flow could then automatically generate the drawings when the corresponding 3D models become available. object centric concepts and technologies to meet the system design criteria and functional requirements outlined in this paper. application and data integration. 4 Piping plans. These characteristics centre on the industry’s use of sophisticated. integrated solutions which address the same spectrum of functional requirements as conventional PLM systems. AVEVA NET has been designed. they impose a very specific set of requirements on solutions aimed at these businesses. 5. an open PLM solution designed specifically for the shipbuilding industry. This includes. The final stage of such a work flow would be to mark the spool as one which has been optimised. to support the business processes and techniques used in ship design and construction and employs novel. and visualisation / collaboration. the designer could initiate a workflow upon requesting the release of spool data to production. Taking this concept a stage further the approximate content of each drawing view is known at a very early stage based on the experiences with other ships of similar type. Shipbuilders looking to deploy a PLM solution within their business should be aware of these requirements and should carefully evaluate any proposed solutions against these key criteria.As each object in AVEVA MARINE has a status and the individual components of it are known.
Report "AVEVA’s Open PLM Platform for Shipbuilding"