TECHNICAL • SHIPBUILDING
creativity. Having decided on a 3D solution, they participated in the user- centred design of NAPA Steel, an integrated design tool.
3D design software comes of age
The following article was submitted by Tapio Hulkkonen, project manager at NAPA Steel.
The expectations and needs of the modern ship designer are rapidly changing when it comes to the software they use. It’s estimated that naval architects can spend nearly half of their waking hours using ship design software, making it no surprise that their demands are high when it comes to usability and ease of learning. Their software must also empower them to deal with the challenging nature of the early-stage design process, when designs can change quickly, as the innovations that will underpin future generations of ships are shaped and redefined.
This need for software to adapt accordingly has not gone unnoticed by maritime software experts NAPA. In 2013, they observed the huge leaps in consumer software pioneered by consumer technology such as the iPhone, and realised that users of their own software would soon come to demand similar levels of usability. They also realised that great leaps in software performance could be unlocked by shifting design from two to three dimensions.
Designing in 2D, separate software had to be used for rule checks and to create 3D models to export. When it was time to check designs, hours were spent manually checking designs with structural databases and drawings. Also, any changes that needed to be made had to be made in 2D first, before being applied to a 3D model. This added up to a huge investment of time spent manually checking and
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exporting models, that wasn’t being spent on innovation.
Creating software that would deliver the advances necessary in usability, while helping designers cope with the shift from 2D to 3D however, presented a significant challenge. NAPA had to rethink their approach to software development. Taking cues from Agile methodology, an ongoing and iterative approach to project management, NAPA began breaking the stages of software development into small, fully functional chunks – known as minimum viable products. This was combined with the creation of early prototype mock-ups that could validate whether assumptions about usability were correct without having to wait for a final product.
For this to work, NAPA needed to put its users at the centre of their design process, as their feedback was integral to shaping each iteration of the software. This began with an ‘empathise phase’ where NAPA observed users around the world interacting with their software, and identified the issues they faced when using the product. Each version of the software was then tested with a new group of users, who helped shape the next iteration. The result was a product that designers used to working in 2D could easily adjust to, and quickly get up to speed with the new capabilities of the tool.
One group of users who contributed to the software’s development in this way were the naval architects of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the world’s largest shipbuilder. They realised that innovation was the key to retaining their competitive edge, and the value that new software could bring in unlocking their designer’s
HHI’s engineers worked closely with NAPA to test various iterations of NAPA Steel, and gave valuable insights to shape the finished product. Once they began using the new software, they found that related drawings and analysis models were already created within the tool, which meant that checks were easier – and that any changes made were synchronised throughout the design, leading to fewer errors. It also enabled designers to collaborate more closely on single 3D designs.
In addition, using NAPA Steel meant that designers could create more complete ship design models earlier on. This allowed designers to estimate hull lightweight and required man power more accurately, which reduced ship design and cost margins. Altogether, throughput time on design at HHI in the early stages was reduced by 30%. This meant that the time spent on repetitive tasks could be redirected to innovation, developing new ship designs and improving engineering processes.
Another company to benefit from this shift to 3D design is DORIS Engineering, which trialled NAPA’s software in a precise recreation of a completed Floating Production Unit (FPU) project to evaluate the potential savings. The reference time for basic engineering stability analyses of the real-world FPU project had been estimated as 68 man-days using industry standard 2D design tools. By using NAPA’s 3D design tools to replicate the project, the total number of days spent on the stability studies of the FPU was reduced to 22 man-days.
The early design stages are critical in defining new generations of vessels; changes made here will significantly affect the future of the global fleet. As NAPA’s work with HHI and DORIS demonstrates, the tools used by designers can play a vital role in unlocking their innovative expertise, allowing them to spend time testing and visualising new solutions to address the future needs of the industry.
Seatrade Maritime Review • Quarterly Issue 2 • June 2017
PHOTO: NAPA
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