875. Control of Marine Vehicle Weight by Applying the Proven Techniques of Aerospace Weight Control
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Paper
Abstract
The products of the marine industry are among the most complex systems developed by man; they usually advance the state of the art and, more often than not, are produced under almost impossible schedule conditions. Shipbuilding today is encountering many of the problems which the aerospace industry faced a decade ago.
Total package procurement, contract definition design techniques, multiple ship contracts, modular construction methods, assembly line fabrication and construction all reflect the change which is required by cost reduction, quicker delivery, and competition. Because under the new procurement system the contractor is responsible for total ships performance, it is necessary to use weight-control techniques to hold their weight to reasonable values. This paper will describe application of those techniques, with special emphasis on prediction and trend analysis. This is thought by the author to be one of the big weaknesses in present marine weight controls; weights are usually reported after the engineering design has been completed.
This paper will also describe the metamorphosis of the people involved in marine weight control from a semi-technical clerical type to a full-fledged mass properties control engineer. Some companies may already utilize some of the techniques suggested by the author, and other companies may be in the most enviable position of not having a weight problem. This paper is written for consideration by those who are still searching for more positive control methods.
