Local Partnership Delivers World-Leading ‘Smarts’ to Shipbuilding
July 22, 2020 | BAE SystemsEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Australia’s Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), the University of South Australia (UniSA) and BAE Australia’s shipbuilding business, ASC Shipbuilding, are joining forces to fund data visualisation research that will prepare Australian industry for a future driven by digital innovation.
The research, which will be spearheaded by UniSA, will shape the development of digital manufacturing (Industry 4.0), improve shipyard planning and add unique data analytics and problem-solving capacity to the Hunter program, which will deliver nine world-leading anti-submarine frigates to the Royal Australian Navy.
IMCRC CEO Managing Director, David Chuter, says the partnership will ensure the Hunter class frigates are built using some of the most sophisticated innovations in manufacturing, while developing extraordinary capabilities and ongoing capacity for Australian shipbuilding and manufacturing.
“This partnership will provide enduring and uniquely Australian sovereign industrial capability and advance and mobilise local manufacturers, particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to support Australia’s naval shipbuilding strategy for generations to come,” Chuter says.
Federal Minister for Industry Science and Technology, Karen Andrews say the project represents innovation at its most powerful – embracing technology and a new way of doing things to improve production.
“Not only will harnessing data visualisation research help the Hunter program itself, it will also assist critical local supply chains and future projects across the manufacturing landscape,” Andrews says.
“This type of industry-led innovation that can be applied in a range of different settings will be key to charting our COVID-19 economic recovery.”
The Hunter class frigates will be the world’s first bow-to-stern digitally designed anti-submarine warfare frigate, and each ship involves highly complex supply chains.
ASC Shipbuilding Continuous Naval Shipbuilding Strategy Director, Sharon Wilson, welcomes the opportunity to partner with UniSA and draw on the expertise of local researchers to drive innovation in digital manufacturing and find innovative solutions to production challenges.
“Digital shipbuilding is all about connectivity – not just within the physical and digital shipyard but with our supply chain and customer – and the research will support everyone and every single part and product on the Hunter program to be connected,” Wilson says.
“Together we’re creating a first-of-its-kind digital environment through the entire ship design and construction to improve productivity, quality and safety outcomes in the shipyard, and underpin growth and longevity in the naval shipbuilding industry in Australia.
“These innovations will be significant across the local supply chain so that Australian manufacturers can start their digital journey, building their capability to be involved in the Hunter program and future shipbuilding projects.”
UniSA chief collaborator, Professor Bruce Thomas, from the Australian Research Centre for Interactive and Virtual Environments, says the research will focus on how narrative visualisation and big data processing can deliver, reshape and refine the highly complex manufacturing environment across the timeframe required for each frigate build.
“Fundamentally, the research project will be changing the way processes are carried out internally and externally to the shipyard,” Prof Thomas says.
“Through data fusion, machine learning and artificial intelligence data analytics, and visualisation technologies, we will be bringing intelligent planning systems and smart ‘human in the loop’ decision making to the project.
“What we learn by adapting, trialling and testing to suit the Hunter class frigate’s design – will support the prototyping later this year, but will also build significant knowledge for wider application in Australian manufacturing.
“The work will underpin a change in the way shipyards are planned and managed by enabling integrated data insights across the supply chain.”
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/10/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineSpring is a renewal each year as dormant flora bloom, and baby ducklings and geese are ever present in local bodies of water. Even though it is beginning to get hot, I love this time of year in Arizona, with the sun waking me around 5 a.m. It fills me with an energy that I often lose in the dark winter months. Wherever you find yourself in the world, I hope you are enjoying Spring and that you are filled with energy and enthusiasm for all the great work part of our daily lives in this industry.
ViTrox Presents Next-Gen Intelligent Manufacturing Solutions at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2024
05/10/2024 | ViTroxViTrox, which aims to be the world’s most trusted technology company, is pleased to announce its participation as an exhibitor and Platinum sponsor at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2024! Join us from May 28-30 at Booth #1504 in Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), KL, to experience our advancement in technology and manufacturing.
Podcast Review: On the Line with… Designing for Reality
05/09/2024 | Duane Benson, Positive Edge LLCAs a technologist, if I were forced to come up with just one recurring theme that I might call a professional “nemesis,” it would be the difference between theory and reality. A lot of technology we have at our disposal works well in theory but falls short when reality hits. That’s not the only reason I chose to listen to and review On the Line with… Designing for Reality, featuring a series of conversations with ASC Sunstone’s Matt Stevenson, but it certainly helped that the title caught my eye.
NEOTech Positions Itself as Microelectronics Industry Leader with High-Technology Investments
05/09/2024 | NEOTechNEOTech, a leading provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), design engineering, and supply chain solutions in the high-tech industrial, medical device, and aerospace/defense markets, announces a significant investment in acquiring new Palomar 8100 wire bonder machines, enhancing the company’s positioning as a leader of cutting-edge microelectronics assemblies for mission-critical applications.
MKS’ Atotech, ESI to Participate in CPCA Show
05/09/2024 | MKS’ AtotechMKS’ Atotech, and ESI will participate in the CPCA Show 2024. The show will be held from May 13 to 15, 2024, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) and will bring together domestic and international manufacturers in the electronic circuit industry.