Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP
Tailored digitalisation: Lürssen and Fraunhofer improve efficiency and schedule reliability in shipbuilding.
How can Germany’s specialist shipbuilding sector remain competitive? The Lürssen shipyard and Fraunhofer IGP demonstrate how targeted digitalisation delivers measurable improvements in efficiency, quality and schedule adherence. Rather than technology for its own sake, the project focuses on clear performance indicators: shorter throughput times, reduced rework, and balanced utilisation. The result is a scalable, shipyard-ready information and control system that supports personnel from the shopfloor to the office and brings transparency to complex processes.
Challenge
German shipyards construct highly customised vessels under considerable cost and time pressure. Efficiency is hindered by complexity, communication gaps and significant coordination efforts. In shipbuilding, one-off production, concurrent engineering, varying manufacturing principles and harsh environmental conditions intensify these challenges.
Standard BDE/ME systems rarely accommodate these specific requirements. At the same time, ERP, PLM and CAD systems must be integrated and data silos dismantled. What is needed is a scalable, user-centred solution to close the gap between ambition and actual Industry 4.0 maturity.
Objectives and Approach
Following an initial process analysis, a continuous digital information flow was designed. Status information and timestamps are generated along the process chain by scanning 2D barcodes applied through direct part marking.
Stationary and mobile terminals provide context-specific access to drawings, bills of materials and work orders. The planning tool orchestrates ERP, PLM and CAD data together with shopfloor information.
During execution, continuous target–actual comparisons ensure process stability. Components subject to design changes are automatically flagged and blocked to avoid rejections and minimise rework.
Benefits
The project achieved substantial productivity gains:
- Reduced costs due to shorter process and auxiliary times
- Consistent quality through up-to-date information
- Improved schedule reliability
- More predictable capacity utilisation
The shipyard-ready solution removes data silos and accelerates decision-making across all organisational levels. It strengthens competitiveness in specialist shipbuilding and provides the data foundation for the next step: forecasting and simulation in planning and control.