Maximizing Shipbuilding Production by Modernizing Facilities ...004-13...Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. South Korea

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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


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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Maximizing Shipbuilding Production by Modernizing Facilities ...004-13...Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. South Korea