Simulation for Shipyard Performance Analysis

Abstract

Shipyard management operations require a continuous balance between ongoing vessel repairs and scheduling, while maintaining the best possible service levels in response to owners' needs and high rates of facility utilization. To maintain this desirable equilibrium between service demands and plant capacity, operations needs to monitor daily work loads and to develop a larger planning horizon. Simulation is presented in this paper as a tool employed to gain an overall operations perspective by analyzing, from a macroview, the utilization rates for shipyard facilities and attendant service levels provided to ship owners. The effects of market shifts or facility orientation are investigated in five "what if?" scenarios and analyzed by computer-based discrete simulation methods to predict how demand variations will be reflected in yard performance levels. The results show that simulation is a valuable information source for management during the planning and operation of a ship repair facility, providing a concise look at overall operations and focusing on bottlenecks affecting shipyard performance.