Nsrp Ase News

The last barrier to robotic shipbuilding has just fallen. What comes next will be truly exciting. It wasn’t too long ago that SSI and Wolf Robotics demonstrated some co-development which automatically drove a fully autonomous welding robot to weld several ship panels. SSI develops Autodesk based solutions for the shipbuilding and offshore industry including ShipConstructor software, an AutoCAD based CAD/CAM product line; and EnterprisePlatform, a tool for sharing product data model information. For its part, Wolf Robotics has been integrating robotic welding and cutting systems since 1978. The collaboration was part of a National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Computer Aided Robotics Welding (CAR-W) project with U.S. shipyards.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) plans to issue a research announcement in August, 2013 & in the meantime issues this pre-solicitation notice in order to facilitate teaming arrangements. In making this announcement NSRP aims to solicit summary proposals that respond to priorities in the program’'s Strategic Investment Plan, including areas of particular interest that will be identified in the Research Announcement. The NSRP ASE program goal is to reduce the cost of building and maintaining U.S. Navy ships. To accomplish this, NSRP ASE is focused on industry‐wide implementation of solutions to common cost drivers and consensus priority issues that exhibit a compelling business case to improve the efficiency of the U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair Industry.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) issued a new Research Announcement (RA) on September 24, 2010. The RA is posted on the NSRP website (http://www.nsrp.org/Solicitation/ra0901_solicitation.html), along with associated proposal guidance, forms, and sample contracts. The RA is also being published on FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov). Proposers must submit a project abstract no later than October 25, 2010. Full technical and cost proposals are due no later than 12:00 pm Eastern Time on February 11, 2011. An on-line Proposers Conference using GoToMeeting® has been scheduled for October 12, 2010 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time; access to the conference will be open at 1:30 pm. Details on the Proposers Conference and a required registration form are posted on the NSRP website.

A pre-solicitation notice has been released for the NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program. Upon reasonable assurance that FY11 funds will be provided (expected late summer 2010), the NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program plans to issue a formal Research Announcement on the research effort described below. The NSRP ASE program goal is to reduce the cost of building and maintaining U.S. Navy ships. To accomplish this, NSRP ASE is focused on industry‐wide implementation of solutions to common cost drivers – solutions to consensus priority issues that exhibit a compelling business case to improve the efficiency of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry.

This is a pre‐solicitation notice for the NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program. Upon reasonable assurance that FY11 funds will be provided (expected late summer 2010), the NSRP Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (ASE) Program plans to issue a formal Research Announcement on the research effort described below. The NSRP ASE program goal is to reduce the cost of building and maintaining U.S. Navy ships. To accomplish this, NSRP ASE is focused on industry‐wide implementation of solutions to common cost drivers – solutions to consensus priority issues that exhibit a compelling business case to improve the efficiency of the U.S. Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Industry. Solutions include both leverage of best commercial practices and creation of industry‐specific initiatives.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) issued a new Research Announcement (RA) on October 12, 2009. The RA is posted on the NSRP website (http://www.nsrp.org/About_Us/solicitation_information/solicitation_information.html), along with associated proposal guidance, forms, and sample contracts. The RA is also being published on FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov). Unlike previous NSRP solicitations, proposers must submit a project abstract no later than November 12, 2009. Full technical and cost proposals are due no later than noon on February 12, 2010. An on-line Proposers Conference using GoToMeeting has been scheduled for October 27, 2009 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time; access to the conference will be open at 1:30 pm.

In its first public statement on the Jones Act, the Bush Administration has declared the law must be maintained as “an essential element of U.S. maritime policy that provides important economic and national security benefits to the nation, such as support of the U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta made the statement in response to a written question following his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. The Jones Act requires that cargo moving between U.S. ports be carried in vessels that are U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed. Similar U.S. cabotage laws reserve the movement of passengers and the performance of marine services such as dredging, towing and salvage to U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed vessels.

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) announced the selection of eight new Ship Production Panel Projects, totaling approximately $500,000. The Navy’s sponsors this program as a means to help reduce the cost in building and maintaining its fleet. Business Case Outline and Commodity Material Standardization Process: The intent of this project is to create a consistent, verifiable business case outline and process that can be applied to any specific situation that requires analyses for cost benefit and investment. Shipyards need a standard detailed business case outline and a repeatable process that can calculate the costs and benefits of making changes.

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) selected seven new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio. The seven new projects, valued at approximately $20 million including industry cost share, were in response to the latest NSRP ASE solicitation released in February and continue the successful implementation of the Program’s Strategic Investment Plan. Common Parts Catalog (CPC) Implementation: This project will provide full scale testing…

The National Shipbuilding Research Program – Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP-ASE), the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) responded to continuing shipyard and Navy interest in Lean manufacturing by hosting a Lean Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Forum in Norfolk, Va. on May 11-13, 2004. The third forum to be held under NSRP’s Lean Shipbuilding Initiative (LSI), the event served to facilitate the advanced joint learning necessary to accelerate U.S. shipyards’ efforts to incorporate Lean Manufacturing principles throughout their operations. The deployment of Lean in U.S. shipyards directly supports the NSRP mission of reducing the cost of Navy ship acquisition and repair.

One of the maritime industry's premiere annual events, the 2004 SNAME Maritime Technology Conference & Exposition, is scheduled to grace scenic Washington, D.C., scheduled from September 29 to October 1, 2004. Washington, D.C., the center of U.S. political power, is an appropriate host for the event, as the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) annual meeting and exhibition are well-renowned for bringing together an enviable gathering of the maritime industry's elite minds. The technical program consists of two SNAME tracks and two Ship Production Symposium tracks, with a first time ever one-hour time slot on Thursday dedicating all four tracks to student presentations.

NSRP ASE sponsors a variety of R&D projects that address lean initiatives — some focusing on new construction and others on repair. One notable lean repair project that has demonstrated rapid payback and implementation involves the surface preparation process. Traditionally, about 25 percent of ship repair work has focused on surface preparation processes, and roughly 67 percent of surface preparation work involves non-value-added activities, according to industrial engineering time studies from Atlantic Marine. Through an NSRP-sponsored Ultra-High Pressure Water Blasting (UHPWB) project, Atlantic Marine is achieving substantial process improvements and related savings in time and money.

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) has announced the selection of eleven new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio specifically designed to save taxpayers money in Navy shipbuilding and ship repair. The projects -- valued at approximately $32 million, including industry cost share -- were in response to the latest NSRP solicitation released in August.

Over the past 25 years CAD and CAM have become a vital part of shipbuilding. The individual tools have evolved into highly capable products of today. This has included the change from 2-D to 3-D CAD, a dramatic increase in the level of usability (example: from batch mode to fancy 3-D GUI's) and increased functionality within the tools themselves. With the development of these tools has also come improved integration of the CAD and CAM data. While 2-D CAD drawings were originally entered into the CAM system manually, it has now become commonplace to utilize a fully integrated product model environment from vendors such as Dassault Systems (Catia), Intergraph (ISDP), Nupas-Cadmatic, Sener (Foran) and Tribon Solutions (Tribon M1).

Over the past 25 years CAD and CAM have become a vital part of shipbuilding. The individual tools have evolved into highly capable products of today. This has included the change from 2-D to 3-D CAD, a dramatic increase in the level of usability (example: from batch mode to fancy 3-D GUI's) and increased functionality within the tools themselves. With the development of these tools has also come improved integration of the CAD and CAM data. While 2-D CAD drawings were originally entered into the CAM system manually, it has now become commonplace to utilize a fully integrated product model environment from vendors such as Dassault Systems (Catia), Intergraph (ISDP), Nupas-Cadmatic, Sener (Foran) and Tribon Solutions (Tribon M1).

The National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise (NSRP ASE) announced last month the selection of four new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio of 33 projects. The four new projects are valued at $10.3M, including industry cost share. Project: A Lean Enterprise Model for U.S. Participants: Atlantic Marine Holding Co., Todd Pacific Shipyards, Bath Iron Works, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, and five others. Funding: 3.8M NSRP ASE, $3.8M industry cost share. Description: The principal objective of this project is to complete a comprehensive model for the application of lean manufacturing concepts to multiple market segments of the U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry.