The Use of Collaborative and Three-Dimensional Imaging Technology to Achieve Increased Value and Efficiency in the Cost-Estimation Portion of the SHIPMAIN Environment

Abstract

Maintenance and modernization efforts of the US. Navy's fleet are essential to the US's ability to project power and deter adversaries from around the world. This maintenance and modernization requires substantial allocation of funds from the already stretched-thin budget. In order to facilitate the most cost-effective way of allocating funds, the Navy has invested substantial fiscal and human resources to standardize the processes used to accomplish maintenance, modernization and repair of its fleet. In order to realize the full benefit of the available technology, reliable and quantitative measures which capture and measure the full range of benefits provided by technology resources are essential. The Knowledge Value Added (KVA) methodology will be used in this thesis to identify and quantify the benefits that can be realized within the cost-estimation portion of the ship maintenance and modernization (SHIPMAIN) program. In this discussion, a proof-of-concept case is developed to analyze the current cost-estimation process within SHIPMAIN. After the completion of the baseline as-is process, the KVA methodology is applied to a notional scenario which uses 3D laser scanning and Product Lifecycle Management to reengineer the current cost-estimation process. The notional scenario demonstrates positive returns from the reengineered cost-estimation process, and the KVA methodology establishes evidence which suggests that operating costs will be reduced by over $176 million and that cost-estimation efficiency will increase.