A STRUCTURED METHODOLOGY FOR THE SHIP PREDESIGN PROCESS

Informations projet

N° de convention de subvention: BREU0489

Projet clôturé

Date de début 1 Decembre 1991

Date de fin 1 Decembre 1994

Financé au titre de

• Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the fields of industrial manufacturing technologies and advanced materials applications (BRITE/EURAM), 1989-1992

Coût total € 0,00

Contribution de l’UE Aucune donnée

Coordonné par

FINCANTIERI - CANTIERI NAVALI ITALIANI SPA
Italy

Résultats exploitables

ArgoShip: a structured methodology for the ship predesign process

AgroShip provides an explicit structured framework for a rationalized ship predesign process. In this the successful utilization of modern information technology tools, techniques and methodologies play an important role. Improvements in the ship predesign process and predesign quality are also achieved through rationalization and the resulting reduction of the areas of uncertainty. Basic features of ArgoShip, implemented in the prototype include: top-down decomposition of the process to identify and define essential functions and tools; user driven recomposition of such functions and tools to converge to a ship product (SUD) with specific features which are defined in the requirements tender form (RTF). In this bottom-up approach the blackboard is the global data storage, the agenda contains the functions eligible for execution at any stage of the design, whereas in the journal the complete history of the process is stored; the kernel of the prototype system is neutral and independent of the physical problem. The kernel simply provides all the necessary utilities in order to handle design functions and tools; a process monitor and a control mechanism is built into the kernel. This validates the actions of the user, checks the blackboard parameters for consistency and, if necessary, provides a backtracking mechanism to be activated on user's request; the kernel includes facilities to provide guidance to the user, necessary for selecting the correct design steps towards convergence; integrated interfaces with functions and tools are outside the scope of the project. Interface with tools is effected from files, simply for the purpose of demonstrating the software system capabilities. The ArgoShip prototype is essentially a tool able to manage any kind of technical information, suitable not only in the shipbuilding industry, but also in other industrial environments.

A structured methodology for the ship predesign process

Some of the basic features of the AGROSHIP project, and of the prototype tool developed in its framework, are the following: top down decomposition of the process to identify and define the essential functions and tools; user driven recomposition of such functions and tools to converge to a ship product (SUD) with specific features which are defined in the Requirements tender form (RTF) (in this bottom up approach the Blackboard is the global data storage, the Agenda contains the functions eligible for execution at any stage of the design, whereas in the Journal the complete history of the process is stored); the kernel of the prototype system which is neutral and independent of the physical problem (the kernel simply provides all the necessary utilities in order to handle design functions and tools); a process monitor and a control mechanism which is built into the kernel (this validates the actions of the user, checks the Blackboard parameters for consistency and, if necessary, provides a backtracking mechanism to be activated on user's request); facilities to provide guidance to the user, necessary for selecting the correct design steps towards convergence (the kernel includes these facilities). Integrated interfaces with functions and tools are outside the scope of the project. Interface with tools is effected from files, simply for the purpose of demonstrating the software system capabilities.