Page 54: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2026)

SHIPYARD TOOLS 20

COMMON AUTOMATION

PITFALLS IN SHIPBUILDING

All images courtesy ESAB

By Dan Colvin, ESAB Vice President, North America Robotics & Digital Solutions and Gino Martinelli,

ESAB and GES Consultant with 35 years in submersible and surface shipbuilding experience merica, not just shipbuilding, needs automation. PITFALL 1: Starting with the Solution

To meet the U.S. Navy’s goal , we need to build Before automating, start by identifying the bottlenecks and 1 85 manned ships and 134 unmanned surface/ problems that hinder work? ow, cause rework or consume ex- subsurface vessels to achieve a ? eet strength of cess human or ? nancial capital. Establish baseline metrics for

A 515 vessels. Overall, the U.S. only builds about your current welding and cutting processes, as well as associ- 0.1% of global shipbuilding , a decline from about 5% in the ated activities. Once you establish what you could improve, 2 1970s. If we are to learn from history — much less current then start looking at associated automation technologies. events — America needs to recognize that we face an existen- tial threat that requires a strong shipbuilding strategy. Given PITFALL 2: Judging Productivity by Welding 3 the chronic shortage of welders (80,000 jobs to be ? lled an- Speed nually ) and 439,000 open manufacturing jobs in February Welding speed is just one metric. Also consider joint prepara- 4 5 2026, reinvigorating our defense industrial base requires us- tion, ? ller metal and consumables use and post-weld cleaning ing digital manufacturing technologies as a workforce multi- like spatter removal. Advanced robotic GMAW processes can plier. However, what we don’t need to do is to throw a robot travel faster, but they also o? er greater process stability for more at everything — and that’s the ? rst among common pitfalls in repeatability and little-to-no post-weld clean-up. There are also automating shipbuilding applications. processed that concentrate the arc to reduce bevel angles from 60 to 40 degrees and can complete welds from a single side, even on ¾-inch plate. Bene? ts include fewer passes, reduced weld 1

Source: U.S. Naval Institute time, lower consumable use and lower overall cost per joint. 2

Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies

To stay on the leading edge, consider working with non- 3

Source: U.S. Naval Institute biased third-parties to assess new GMAW and other joining 4

Source: Weldingworkforcedata.com processes. Large defense contractors routinely work with or- 5

Source: BLS ganizations such as the Edison Welding Institute.

54 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2026

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