Samsung transforms on a digital shipyard

Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea is investing US$5million over three years in a digital manufacturing process engineering research project, with software developer Dassault-owned Delmia and the Digital Shipbuilding Innovation Centre (DSIC) of Seoul National University, to transform its operations using a full scale digital shipbuilding simulation. The system will simulate and optimise the entire shipbuilding lifecycle process in a virtual environment, with a goal of developing the next-generation digital shipbuilding system. It will cover from the initial development stage to the launch. SHI says it hopes to “make significant contributions” to improving productivity and quality of engineering, while also reducing shipbuilding costs through the project – also strengthening the competitiveness of Korean shipbuilding. Delmia’s three-dimensional manufacturing processes engineering tools, Igrip and Quest, will be implemented, and integrated with industry best practices, for the task. Dr. Jong Gye Shin, professor of the Department of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering at Seoul National University, and head of the DSIC, said: “The future competitiveness of a shipyard comes from the innovative digitalization of its products, processes, and resources. Delmia’s digital manufacturing solutions enable us to easily model the complex processes and resources associated with the SHI shipyard. “Thanks to SHI’s involvement, this digital shipyard will be very realistic and practical so as to fit SHI’s requirements. Eventually, SHI will operate two shipyards, one physical and the other digital, in Koje.”