Page 46: of Marine News Magazine (November 2017)

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TECHNOLOGY

A Sea Change for Shipbuilding:

Digital Integration and Automation are Critical to Meeting Rising Demand

By Tom Hennessey hen it comes to shipbuilding, the numbers are Global Dynamics Drive Historic Change staggering: Hundreds of millions of parts in In the U.S., historically a worldwide leader in commer-

Wone aircraft carrier. Billions of dollars proposed cial and military shipbuilding, the pressure is on. Growing for Naval ? eet development in the latest NDAA. Hundreds international threats, a recovering economy, and the ongo- of thousands of private sector jobs in the U.S. alone. A ing rise of global trade have combined to fuel an increasing 2015 MARAD report, for example, pegged the total eco- demand to build new ships – and to build them faster. nomic impact associate with the industry at 400,000 jobs, Existing ships need to be upgraded to incorporate the lat- $25 billion in labor income, and 37 billion in GDP (based est defense and automation technologies and kept in an on data from 2013). optimal state of repair to extend longevity and ef? ciency.

When the ? nancing, jobs, technological developments, Stealth, multi-mission capability, e-navigation, cleaner and supply chain trade dedicated to shipbuilding around emissions, energy ef? ciency, and modular ship design en- the world are added in, the global economic impact is as- hancements are high priorities for naval forces around the tonishing. Epochal state-driven shipbuilding programs al- world. Pending vessel obsolescence, rival ? eet expansion, ready underway in Australia, India, China, South Korea, and unpredictable threats are converging to spur on the

Britain, and right here at home in the United States, are build-up, stimulating a global market expansion. certain to reshape the industry and push technological ad- The drive to drastically improve both productivity and vances to the very boundaries of human knowledge. technological sophistication has intensi? ed alongside in-

November 2017 46 MN