Re-post from article published September 17, 1997
I was very fortunate to join one of the most renown Classification Societies, and to participate in the construction of some world-class Passenger/Cruise Ships making headlines today. Further to my Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, my education includes courses in Non-destructive examination, Use of Materials, and Use of Electrical Equipment in Hazardous Areas. Additionally, two years of guided project assignments including 10 month with two plan appraisal departments, and constant supervision by my industrial mentor prepared me to join the surveying staff at the construction site.
Sun Princess at Fincantieri Shipyard
Even though my observations made during this time might only be valuable tools for my future work, I felt the need to share some ideas for questions to be raised by anybody striving to do better, anybody wanting to reach higher quality standards, anybody who believes in continuous improvement of engineering practice. I would like to invite discussions and hopefully trigger thoughts to my comments and opinions.
Carnival Destiny at Fincantieri Shipyard
Shipbuilding projects such as those seen on these pictures, which are Panamax and bigger, are great examples of organized teamwork and planning. From them, much can be observed and learned. To grasp the concept of how many systems are integrated on a modern Passenger Ship, a good comparison would be with that of a City…that is afloat and moves! Sound structural aspects, propulsion systems, refrigeration and air conditioning, entertainment, leisure facilities, communications, electrical & control installations, fire & safety equipments, navigation facilities, and numerous other systems blend into each other. The number of systems are so many that hundreds of flaws and problems MAY go undiscovered for too long; and therefore careful planning and organized effort are essential.
Veendam at Fincantieri Shipyard
Organization and planning is absolutely vital. Every Company involved with the project should preferably have strong organizational qualifications, and supervising authorities must have an implemented Quality Assurance System for they are taking responsibility and nothing can be overlooked. ISO9000 systems, or such, are the backbone to Corporate organization, however, anybody having experience with Quality Assurance Systems would agree that ISO9000 is only as strong as it is implemented. QA systems should be practical and allow for continuous evaluation for effectiveness. Quality Assurance Systems present an excellent tool for Companies to look out for deficiencies and a procedure to resolve them. QA is organizing
all paperwork and identifying staff responsibilities. Within a QA system I would like to emphasize the following aspects: defined personnel duties, complete procedures, and common effort towards higher quality.
Defined personnel duties. As a Supervisor it is essential to ensure that everybody knows what his/her task includes and how it will be carried out, and furthermore, it is essential for everybody to know, who will be able to answer the questions that will come up, who will assume responsibility for the completed task. A Supervisor is the person who takes full responsibility for the project he/she manages. Therefore, one crucial aspect of any engineering project is to assure that every Supervisor knows what they will be responsible for, and it is their duty to deliver on the agreed terms. If I identify a potential problem on board, I should be able to identify a SINGLE person responsible for the particular item. Likewise, anybody wanting to report a deficiency should be able to associate only one person responsible to the relevant system. I believe a simple way would be to issue a public document (for Manufacturers, Owners and Third Party) with a list associating systems on board with a person.
Princess Cruises Sun Princess at Fincantieri Shipyard
Complete procedures. Before trials, before testing, before any commissioning takes place it is essential to describe the procedures to be followed. It is also good engineering practice to include in a procedures document the results that are expected. Manufacturer, Client, and Third Party must all agree on the procedures and results in order to avoid any misunderstandings. For example while testing automation of the incinerator system the manufacturer representative will know what to expect during the commissioning trials; however, owner, shipyard, and third party will most likely not know what an abnormal behavior looks like. Every attending party will have their opinion on what constitutes a sound response during trials. The issue of documentation detailing testing procedures and expected results, will save hours of discussions and encourage trust between all parties.
Carnival Imagination at Kaverna-Masa Shipyard
Common effort towards higher quality. During construction of such an enormous project, every person on board will notice different things, depending on their background and field of interest. It is essential that every comment and observation be taken seriously and be addressed in the appropriate manner. Any defects seen by personnel on board must be recorded, assessed, and delegated to the appropriate department. A solid system of communication within all the work force must be established. It is very common that the worker in the field will be mostly aware of any deficiencies, yet will not have sufficient influence to address any problem. An open and public database of defects and alterations should be created that may be accessed by any level of management. A database of deficiencies within the shipyard will allow any problem to be addressed and make it every bodies responsibility to report areas of weakness. A simple example would be that of supervising cable layers and the route through the thousands of cable passages. Broken cable passages disrupt the Fires Zone integrity and they should be reported by anybody who identifies the deficiency. Maybe a solution would be to network all the computers within the shipyard together. One computer at the Owner’s site office, another computer at the Classification Society’s office, and a central computer within the shipyard’s offices. Every party should have user levels of access in order to add potential problems to a common database. Each entry in the database should identify the author and the responsible person who would address the problem. However, new entries in the database should be simultaneously scanned for pertinence by representatives from each interested party. It would be unfair to publicly "humiliate" anybody with unimportant issues.
Marine Engineers Surveyors at Fincantieri Shipyard
I would like to open discussions on the subject and therefore invite any interested party to please write or post a response in the user group. I believe there is always room for improvement in any engineering
project and I would like to share my observations with anybody who is interested.
