Proceedings of the REAPS Technical Symposium. Paper No 3: Navy Manufacturing Technology Program.

An investigation of an approach to a U.S. Navy sponsored shipbuilding technology program is discussed. An approach is recommended, and a detailed project plan for a shipbuilding technology program is proposed. The U.S. Navy has announced its intention to initiate a major program for the enhancement of shipbuilding technology in the United States. The objectives of this program are to improve the quality, cost, and construction time for future U.S. Naval Ships, and to strengthen this country s shipbuilding industrial base. This motivation is heightened by the Administration plans to increase the Navy s fleet to 600 ships by 1988. This program is currently budgeted as a six-year, $80M effort, though its format has not been defined. Previously the Naval Sea Systems Command had contracted with SofTech, Inc. to assess Air Force initiatives in manufacturing technology with respect to Navy needs. Both the Navy and the Air Force have established programs to promote computer-aided manufacturing which have differed markedly in budget, in approach, and in industry involvement and acceptance. SofTech was directed to consider the applicability of the ICAM (Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing) Program approach to a Navy STP (Ship building Technology) Program. This paper recommends an approach to the planning, management, and integration portion of a national, participative Shipbuilding Technology Program (STP). These recommendations are SofTech s, and are not to be construed as government policy. They are based on SofTech s initial analysis, and on pertinent comments received from individuals in the Navy and the shipbuilding industry.

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.

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.

The Ship Production Committee is made up of representatives from approximately twenty-four shipbuilders plus the American Bureau of Shipping, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy Research and Development and, of course, the Maritime Administration whose budget is the backbone of this vital project. We poll the industries to see who would use the results of a research project. The more yards that would use, the higher the priority; the higher the potential saving, the higher the priority. We then list the projects in priority sequence, see how far the budget reaches for the year, and submit those to the Maritime Administration for approval. When approved and a shipyard agrees to act as sponsor, a suggested contract is worked out between the sponsor shipyard and the Maritime Administration. The most valuable result of this program is that the shipyards are talking to each other at the working level for the betterment of our industry.

In March of 1976, the decision was made at Port Weller Dry Docks to purchase an in-house computer system to expand our use of computer programs and to update our present systems. At that time two systems were in operation at Port Weller. The accounting and labor distribution programs were executed on a Litton-McBee paper tape oriented computer system, and the production planning and control, numerical control, and design programs were executed on a UNIVAC 1108 time sharing system using a remote batch terminal for data transmission.