Identification of Technology Performance Criteria for CAD/CAM/CAE/CIM/CAL in Shipbuilding Industry

Abstract

There has been considerable activity regarding the current computer-aided design, computer aided manufacturing, computer aided engineering, computer integrated manufacturing, computer aided lofting {CAD/CAM/CAE/CIM/CAL (C5)} capabilities in the past five years in shipbuilding industry. There are a huge number of reports and papers that provide a detailed description of the deployments at yards, including items such as the network infrastructure, operating systems, databases, and C5 capabilities of yards. However, none of them defines performance criteria for the selection of technology. The objective of this paper is to identify the performance criteria for the C5 technologies in shipbuilding industry, which is a traditionally managed and a highly design related custom-made production process. In this pursuit, two basic questions have been asked: 1) in what ways do firms decide to implement a certain technology? 2) after implementing the selected technology and software how do they decide about their level of satisfaction? Two major groups of C5 performance criteria have been identified and a model is illustrated as a result of performing forty worldwide interviews. Finally, the major groups of C5 technology performance criteria are weighted. Acronyms & Definitions ? CAD: computer-aided design ? CAM: computer aided manufacturing ? CIM: computer integrated manufacturing ? CAE: computer aided engineering ? CAL: computer aided lofting ? Compensated gross tons (cgt): This measure refers to the comparative work content in building ships. It is based on the gross tonnage, which is modified by a compensation factor relating to the complexity of the building process.