Co-designer technology for global ship design project distribution

Distributing design and engineering projects among locations that offer the best knowledge and cost efficiency has become a necessity, rather than a luxury. Many companies have offices in several different countries and there is often price pressure to source labour from low cost countries. The best skills for specific tasks may be located in different locations from main design sites.

Advanced software technology is required to handle large globally distributed projects seamlessly. The system has to be built so that it does not require excessively fast internet connections to operate. On the other hand, reliability is a key factor in guaranteeing success in projects that need to be completed on tight schedules. Nupas-Cadmatic software has been designed to offer a robust, yet resource-friendly distribution system that suits both large multinational operators and smaller companies.

The V5 technology was introduced by the company some years ago to facilitate distribution of marine design and engineering projects. The Nupas-Cadmatic CoDesigner product has been designed for efficient global distribution of marine design projects to remote sites. CoDesigner is claimed to offer seamless Internet-based online and offline sharing of 3D product models and to shorten project design and review times. It also supports use of the same 3D product model database for the life cycle management of vessels from early design to operation and decommissioning.

The CoDesigner solution is based on a smart database-centric client server system that efficiently stores 3D models, project data and documents in databases hosted by a database server. It is possible to distribute design work globally or to add new design teams to a project. It enables design work to be distributed to several locations such as design offices, construction sites or shipyards. The main features of CoDesigner are replication of Nupas-Cadmatic product model databases and document files and control of the ownership of project data. The system handles automatic data backup, event logs and other features that are required to safely distribute the design project globally to several locations.

Ensuring the integrity and security of project data at all times is the primary priority of the system. In globally distributed projects, data is updated at set intervals between remote design sites via an online network such as the Internet, or by simply exchanging the file in an email attachment. The automatic replication system takes care of data synchronisation, thereby minimising risk of wasting design hours due to incorrect information.

The distributed design features of CoDesigner are, in brief:

• It allows users at multiple remote sites to work online together on the same project 24/7;
• It provides a resource-friendly and intelligent 3D design distribution concept;
• It balances engineering capacity and control cost;
• It maximises efficient use of resources;
• It distributes design work to the most effective location;
• It automatically synchronises project data between project master and replica sites;
• It provides access to the latest approved project data;
• It protects data from unauthorised modification; and
• It uses standard internet connections with average bandwidth

When one of the consulting companies involved in a project routes pipes, makes any other changes to the design or creates new components in the database, the user saves the model to a local server and the results are automatically replicated via the project’s master server for other consultants to see. This speeds up the design process, ensures that all the project partners have updated and relevant information, reduces risk of error and eases design co-ordination.

A globally distributed design and engineering project consists of two or more sites, which can be located anywhere. The term ‘site’ refers to a geographic location such as an office. Each site has a number of users that are connected to a local area network and can share resources in that network. They usually cannot, however, easily access resources at other sites. Individual users that have a laptop computer and do not always work at the office will have their own personal site.

CoDesigner software is installed at each design site. The object storage servers provide database and file replication services for Nupas-Cadmatic applications. The sites and their servers are connected in a star- or tree-like structure. There is usually one site where the project is managed; this is called the main site. It is the first site in a project and is implicitly created when the project is created. Other sites - subsidiary offices, subcontractors, etc - are known as satellite sites, and are connected to the main site or other satellite sites. Sites exchange data either via automatic updates or manual file transfers.  

Online servers are usually updated automatically. This means that the replica server contacts its master periodically, sends updates to the master and receives updates from the master and other servers that are connected via the master.

Manual file transfer is necessary when a good data connection is not available between the sites.

Projects where the software has been employed include the design and engineering of Royal Caribbean International's ‘Genesis Project’, where the distribution of the design was managed across several engineering companies - STX Finland’s Turku Shipyard used some 32 design suppliers in addition to its own design staff. Nine companies used the CoDesigner functionality for the design of a large part of the machinery areas, AC rooms and public spaces.

The Dutch Damen shipbuilding group is another customer which uses distributed design inside its large company network and selected subcontractors. In June 2011 Damen had more than 100 active Nupas-Cadmatic projects. The replication of design work is done between 11 sites around the word, including shipyards and design offices in The Netherlands, Ukraine, Romania, China, Vietnam, Qatar, Scotland and Poland.

At Wärtsilä Ship Design (WSD) distributed design with Nupas-Cadmatic software has been used long-term and is accepted as the normal way of working. New projects are generally set up with a master server, from where replica servers are created at Wärtsilä’s various global offices and, when needed, also at subcontractor’s offices. With the master server and distributed sites updated every few minutes, the effect is that replication appears to occur in real time.

Although WSD attempts to keep design resources on each project in one place, to keep communication lines as simple as possible, this cannot always be achieved. When several sites have to be involved, for whatever reason, the distributed design system has been shown to significantly reduce travelling, accommodation, and other costs, as well as time, when personnel had to move between locations.

In addition to the daily distribution of design and engineering projects to the different WSD offices and subcontractors, end customers often request designers to work on site during the erection and installation work on board. In this case there is a replica site installed at the building site, where the designers cooperate with the client and make changes according to their wishes.

WSD also employs the Nupas-Cadmatic eBrowser tool, and encourages end-clients to purchase eBrowser licences forviewing projects, Through document management systems, ship owners, project management and installation personal have access to the latest eBrowser model and can comment on design aspects. WSD says many clients prefer this method to use of drawings.