Monday 12 September 2011

"PRODUCTIVITY OF THE SHIPYARDS CAN BE TRIPLICATED"



As a consequence of my recent article “INTELIGENCE + TECHNOLOGY IN THE MODERNIZATION AND AUTOMATION OF THE NEW AND EXISTING SHIPYARDS”, I have received a lot of responses and requests about MARTEC.

Many of them are surprised at the fact that it does exist a Spanish Company with long experience in automating Shipyards. For that reason, I have decided to interview MARTEC in order to provide some clarification for many Shipyard´s Directors and production Engineers, who still have not planned to invest in improving production/productivity or do not know exactly how to deal with, which nowadays is absolutely vital to maintain any option of competitiveness.


Pedro Otazua Mr. Galdos, when did you start with Shipyards Automation?
Miguel Galdos.- We have been in this business since 1991, when we visited the Shipyard Astilleros Españoles de Sestao (La Naval) (Bilbao-Spain) and they proposed us to study a cutting and preparation line of profiles with the aim of increasing their production capacity.
By that time, the Shipyard La Naval had a robotized oxigas cutting line, which was the first one in Spain. This operation was manually made in all shipyards. I do remember it took us a long time to design a new concept and to create a specific software, capable to monitor automatic operating of the line. We achieved a spectacular result since the production capacity of the old line was quadruplicated

P.O.- I suppose that the SY was satisfied. After that, did they ask you for any other projects?
M.G.- Yes, indeed. Since then, they took a great confidence in us and we were appointed to execute the majority of their investments made up to the end of decade. We developed many projects for different production lines that afterwards were executed: equipment for mini-panels fabrication, flat and curved sections with specific transport systems, and equipment for pipe production workshop etc. etc

P.O.- Was that confidence the only factor taken into account by the SY to place the different orders? Because you didn’t have any previous experience with these systems, did you?.
M.G.- I think we made a good impression because a robotized cutting line and the development of its correspondent software, was something as science fiction at that time in Spain. I suppose they thought that we would be able to get quite similar results in other fabrication processes. I also think they considered to be very positive the fact of proximity, providing a fast service.
Vitoria is less than one hour from the SY by road. On top of that, we speak the same language. It should be beard in account that they were used to asking quotations from America, Germany … This means that post sale service gets always very problematic and expensive, unless you have a good qualified own maintenance service. Honestly, I believe that we were a discovery for them and, on the other hand, it was a good help for us to enter into a new business opportunity. In case that our equipment are installed out of Spain, we have already decided to set up a post sale service there.
P.O. Before now, did you have any experience in the field of automation?
M.G.- Yes, since 1972, my whole professional life has been connected with automation. It is a long history during which I have seen the advantages of production in line, electronic development, the birth of the Numeric Control, the Robotic implantation and technical computing. Always with the same target: to improve productivity.

P.O.- Aren´t you surprised about the low rate of automation in our SYs ?
M.G.- Yes I am, and it is surprising for someone who is so familiar with it, seeing throughout all these years the rate of automation reached by other sectors like automotion, electronic, electrodomestic and others. Certainly, they are not comparable sectors as some of them are for massive production of the same products and this doesn’t occur in the naval sector. However, there are many things that can be done and haven’t been done yet.

P.O. How do you think shipyards should undertake the improvement of production?
M.G.- Assuming that the SY has already come to the conclusion that this has to be done, the first thing to do is to draw up a Director Plan which clearly defines the objectives to be reached. This Director Plan might be done by the SY or with assistance of some expert advisors.

P.O.- Can MARTEC assist SY in elaborating such Director Plan?
M.G.- Yes, of course.


P.O.- To my understanding, the automation equipment is rather expensive. Is it possible to draw a plan in terms that require step by step investment?
M.G.-   Well, the equipment has a high price because it is big and built in high tech technology in many cases and, of course, the investment can be intelligently done step by step, introducing at first place that equipment providing the SY with higher profitability. It should be emphasized that during the first phase with only ordering/arranging streams, storing, internal mobilisations, huge results can be reached with relatively reduced investments. Actually, at the end of the automation process is where higher investments are required to obtain a longer-term return of investment (ROI).

P.O.- Is the production improvement the only reason for automating the SY?
M.G.- It is generally the first reason but not the only one. In a SY, big and heavy loads are handled and a lot of welding and cutting work is carried out. To handle big and heavy loads represents risk and slow work if you can’t make use of proper systems for transporting and mobilisation. With regards to the welding job, when executed manually, this is a very hard job, submitted to breathing dangerous gases, to the action of ultra violet rays, heat and to non-recommendable positions of the welder. The welder needs more rest times during the job and his efficiency will be very low in comparison with a machine. This kind of job, because of its danger, is one of the most demanding in automation as in other industrial sectors.
P.O.- And, what can you tell me about quality?
M.G.- Effectively, quality is enormously improved. The assembly work made in the slip way is very unpleasant and normally unpredictable. For that reason, we will try to minimize those problems reducing the job in the workshop but with the maximum possible precision. The suitable dimensional accuracy can only be achieved by using modern machines capable to obtain it. I would also like to emphazise that automatized welding is much more reliable than when manually executed. Although we have qualified and homologated welders, we should be conscious that welding represents an unpleasant job and the adverse emotions are also a handicap for a worker, all which affects to the state of his mind, making this job much more irregular than a well programed and optimized machine.

P.O.- You have mentioned “ in line production “. Can you explain me what is the real meaning and what are its advantages? 
M.G.- The production in line means the change from the artisanal production to industrialized production and it came from the hand of automotive industry. Who doesn’t know or has never seen any visual reports of the current automotive production line?. Actually the question is to trace the target of how many units of production should be constructed per unit of time: hour, day, week etc. Starting with this data, the working construction of the production unit (car, naval section) should be divided into parts of whose time of execution (cycle time) should be equivalent and coincident with the target. For example, if we want to produce one section per day, it is necessary to divide the construction of the section in phases whose construction or fabrication can be executed in one day. Then the system is like a chain in cyclical motion, where the phases are produced simultaneously and when the cycle or phase time comes to an end, all the operations will be completed. That means that in each cycle, the section comes out from the last phase, ready to be sent to the slipway for assembly, every day in this case.

P.O.- Yes, this can be done by building the section over fix places and multiplying the number of them as currently or usually is done, isn´t it?
M.G.- Yes, sure, but this is the good question. When producing in artisanal way, by means of multiple fix places, every thing is mixed up: different materials are over in the air moved by different cranes from one place to another. Cranes are slow, they require a qualified crane operator and they can make only one delivery to each place at the same time, and as a consequence, other places have to wait in many cases. It happens the same with other resources. Each section, during construction, should have all human and material resources at its disposal. The manual welding, cutting, handling, are all mixed up, losing a great deal of effectiveness. The worst thing is that this kind of construction can’t be automatized and practically doesn’t admit any improvement. On the contrary, the “production in line” makes use of not only highly qualified workers, but also machines adapted for each phase and susceptible of continuous improvement, by means of a constant finding of the “bottle neck” to eliminate it in many cases through a partial or a total automation. The higher specialization of the operation together with its partial or total automation, contributes to a greatly improved productivity and quality. We are not talking about improving a 15 or 20%. We are talking about multiplying by 2 or 3. 

P.O.- You have indirectly referred to the safety. Can you explain more clearly how can safety be improved by the automation?
M.G.- 
As I said before, handling heavy and big loads by cranes implies important risks. Clear and strict standards and protocols regulate the handling of cranes and even though, it is not always possible to avoid incidents or casualties which in most cases are fatal accidents. The main rule, whenever possible, is that all loads should be moved at floor level by means of specialized equipment as the hydraulic carriages that we use to transport the sections from one phase to another in the in-line production. The order which resuls from the in-line production, together with an in-put out-put of materials safe and well defined, -without crossing and mantaining the alleyways free of materials- are essential. The replacement of welders by automatic machines will prevent them from eyes and joint injures. The better grade of skills and knowledge of the qualified staff in their specialized working field, the safer will get their environment.

P.O.- Mr Galdos, would you like to add anything else?
M.G.- Yes, I would like to set clearly, that the human being is intelligent and capable when using his brain, but physically we are very fragile. Let us make use of our intelligence and let us use machines to execute heavy, monotone and/or dangerous works as long as the state of the art allows it. There shouldn’t be used persons to execute jobs that can be done by machines. Humans can’t compete with them, but their intelligence is greater, and by using this intellingence is how the human being has highly developed and progressed.

P.O.- I am aware that many aspects about this issue have been left behind. May I contact you for any further interviews?
 M.G.- Yes definitely. I would be very happy.


Finally, I want to thank you for the interview and allow me to facilitate your e-mail (m.galdos@martec.es), in case anyone were interested in contacting directly with you.

Note: For the management of projects in other countries (anywhere in the world) we are promoting a network of after sales next to the facility.

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