THE SMART K-YARD

concepts in the shipbuilding industry and the overall value chain with the supplier and shipbuilders.

Moreover, small and medium sized shipyards have limitations in human resources and capital capacity compared with large shipyards. Consequently, their competitiveness is gradually weakened in terms of specialized technical skills to achieve future goals due to increase in the technological gap. To secure competitiveness in the shipbuilding process, small and medium sized shipyards need to improve their planning and management capabilities and develop core technologies for future shipbuilding process.

Korean shipbuilding companies are seeking to reduce construction costs by upgrading their shipbuilding technology through automated process management, production automation, and big data. Moreover, they are proposing a smart shipyard business model to enhance productivity and cope with low-cost orders, increased global competition, and oversupply.

The development of information service support system, such as the establishment of optimal wired and wireless communication infrastructure within the world's first commercialized 5G-based shipyard, is needed to maximize productivity and cost savings. This is also useful for the provision of knowledge-based optimal production management services using big data technology, as well as real-time sharing and integrated management of information among workers.

In addition, technological advancement in the global shipbuilding industry over the past few years have resulted in increased effort to improve the performance of ships and secure technological competitiveness while establishing the concepts of smart ships/intelligent ships using new technologies such as digital twin to enhance the safety of ships and reduce operating costs.

Furthermore, significant progress has been made in the automobile industry as a result of the fourth industrial revolution, such as self-driving cars, smart cars, and connected cars.

In addition to the shipbuilding industry, various technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), big data analytics, cyber security, simulation, remote maintenance, real-time monitoring, and integrated control are also required. Although minimal cooperation exists between the shipbuilding industry and the shipping industry, cooperation with the shipping industry has been recently expanded in the form of smart ships considering operational efficiency and safety.

However, there are high restrictions, relatively high communication costs compared with land-based systems, and difficulty in securing connectivity due to slow communication speed in remote sea communication environment, unlike self-driving cars in land-based wireless communication environment.

In addition, maritime transport should comply with strict standards from the International Maritime Organization (IMO); these international standards and regulations are a relatively slow factor for derived solutions and services to be commercialized. To address this problem, we proposed plans to secure the competitiveness of Korean shipbuilding companies through a smart shipbuilding process and Korean small and medium-sized autonomous ships.

Figure 1: Components and strategic plan of Smart K-Yard

2.2. Smart shipyard assessment model

To transform a shipyard into a smart shipyard, the concepts of lights out factory for automated production systems and information systems, and connected factory for connecting shipyard products and resources should be employed. Digital twin, machine learning, and cyber-physical system (CPS) are also important to maximize production capacity. In addition, shipyard-focused enterprise management systems such as ERP, MES, SCM, and APS should be employed.

The final goal of the Smart K-Yard is to build the level 4 smart shipyard in the smart shipyard assessment model presented in Table 1. It will be developed with an integrated production system that combines simulation-based engineering system, connected, automated, and intelligent technologies. It has four major technology fields and sub-core technologies to implement the smart shipbuilding process and enhance the smart level.

Table 1 Smart shipyard assessment model Production &

Planning Facility

Automation Logistics

Automation Factory

Operation Supply Chain Management Level 5

Integrated intelligent/connected/automated-based process life cycle operation Factory integration automation

DT-based forecasting operations

Web-based DT network collaboration Level 4 Simulation batch

automation

Integrated control automation of production facility

Integrated control automation of logistics facility

Real-time factory control

Web-based collaboration

Level 3

Automated full-process production information

Automated full-process production facilities

Automated full-process logistics facilities

Real-time decision making

Dedicated app-based collaboration

Level 2 Automated part-process information

Automated full-process production facilities

Automated full-process logistics facilities

Individual system operation

Product/production information sharing

collaboration Level 1 Manual operation Manual operation Manual operation Manual operation Wire/email

collaboration

The four major technical fields are: 1) intelligent shipbuilding production design platform, 2) shipbuilding process automation technology, 3) shipyard operational efficiency improvement technology, and 4) simulation-based virtual production platform. Intelligent shipbuilding production design platform technology utilizes the latest ICT to support advanced intelligence in the production design environment, which strengthens the global competitiveness of locally made three-dimensional production design software, and effectively supports the production activities of smart yards to prevent loss of materials, malfunctions, and errors in the design phase.

2.3. Business model of Smart K-Yard

The environment of shipbuilding production is changing rapidly owing to the introduction of the fourth industrial revolution technology and the beginning of an aging society. As a result, shipbuilding automation technology is needed to develop production and logistics automation system technologies that can innovate complex shipbuilding production environments to minimize gaps in expertise and maximize production efficiency.

Today, the Korean shipbuilding production environment, which relies on the experience and knowledge of experts, lacks a proactive system to predict and manage high levels of volatility and uncertainty. In addition, a system that can objectively judge and verify innovative efforts for technology development is lacking.

In the field of shipbuilding automation technology, sub-core technologies consist of an intelligent production system for hull and profile, block assembly process automation, piping spool, and outfitting production system and smart logistics system.

Next, the shipyard operational efficiency technology field aims to reduce various waste elements by improving the current operation system of the shipyard, and to develop technologies that can systematically integrate comprehensive supply network business processes encompassing the shipyard and its business partners through acquiring real-time production information. Figure 2 shows the concept of the Smart K-Yard business model.

Figure 2: Business Model of Smart K-Yard

2.4. Digital twin-based modelling and simulation platform

Digital twin technology for verification and optimization of shipyard production process, construction method and yard operation is implemented to predict the effect of production, verify efficiency, optimize simulation-based process, validate and verify a new construction method. The digital twin shown in Figure 3 offers a solution to integrate digital models and physical models for diagnosis and prediction of performance, efficiency, and longevity of machinery, equipment, plants, etc. The concept aims to identify the current status through data entered from virtual reality modeling and to improve operation value by responding to changes in real time.

Figure 3: Digital Twin-Based Platforms and Simulation Flatform

Therefore, optimal production and supply chain planning management technologies for pre-production process using cyber-physical pre-production system (CPPS) and IoT, enterprise quality management technology, and real-time integrated control automation and advance intelligence technology, are defined as lower technologies.

Digital mock-up support system: To build a three-dimensional digital mock-up of a shipyard environment such as production equipment (cranes, welding machine, steel cutting equipment), it is possible to identify the assembly conditions and processes in real time in connection with the CPPS platform and to prepare immediate countermeasures in the event of unstable processes.

Control—identify the operation status of a shipyard: Platforms can be employed to build digital twin yards or factories in virtual environments to obtain information about current production methods, facilities, utilities, and workers. In addition, the physical features, status, and properties of production facilities in the yard or plant can be implemented in the digital twin virtual environment and monitored using the product's production information. The current production status can be utilized to detect abnormalities, and formulate corrective response measures in digital twin yards or factories that employ physical production environmental factors and attribute information in virtual environments.

Operation—remote control of shipyard production facilities: It is possible to control the physical production facility by the setting parameters on the digital twin, as well as prevent accidents and achieve energy saving by controlling the crane's emergency stop, lighting or dust air conditioning system by establishing remote control and failure prediction platform.

Optimization—verification of shipyard improvement measures: The effects are verified by applying measures to solve the identified problems and change the production methods in an actual application such as digital twin yards. In addition, a simulation support system is established to optimize production operation by utilizing functional parameters and contextual data of targets.

Figure 4 and Figure 5 show real-time monitoring and failure rate after new application.

Figure 4: Realtime Monitoring in Facility Layout

Figure 5: Application of Failure Rate

A set of simulation engineering-based technologies, from the problem diagnosis stage to the development stage and the operational stage, are required to improve productivity, including hardware and software for all the process stages of shipbuilding.

In this project, we defined the field of simulation engineering-based virtualization production platform technology where we intend to create a foundation to eventually build a digital twin yard through the development of shipbuilding CPPS and to sustain the innovation system of the shipbuilding production system.