Maritime Design Process Improvement Through a Lean Transformation

The maritime industry has been working to apply unique solutions capable of improving design and development performance to ensure competitiveness [ 1–4]. Over the past several decades, the industry has faced changes related to the increasing complexity of the dynamic global market. Activities to meet these challenges have been carried out in the marine space (e.g. aquaculture, renewable energy, environmental monitoring, accident response and clean up), however, design methodologies have remained rather unchanged, regardless of demand for the incorporation of new technologies and materials. Literature and multiple case studies have been utilized to present a design methodology and its preliminary results, which aim to help transform the design process for the extension of serviceability and reduction of design time. This paper describes an innovative maritime design framework, based on the comprehensive usage of design methodologies and advanced technology integration in vessel design.