A Case for Continuous Concept Development in Ship Design

Abstract

Prevailing in a competition, especially a strategic competition, requires agility greater than your competitor. This agility is needed across the spectrum of operations, including acquisition, but the current acquisition process takes at least ten years to deliver modern, relevant ships to the Fleet. A measurable portion of this time is spent in the early stages with Capability-Based Analyses, Analyses of Alternatives, and conceptual designs. These analyses and concepts are often less relevant at the vessel’s delivery because of the added time for preliminary design, concept design, detail design, and construction. As an alternate approach, this paper suggests using a continuous analysis process coupled with Set-Based Design methods, just as Toyota did, to reduce these timelines and have relevant concepts ready to transition to design and construction, potentially cutting the cycle time for ship design in half.