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Shipyard Projects: Planning and Management

Insights, Lessons and Guidance

Finally – a first for the maritime industry:

An all-in-one, practical, portable and easy-to-use manual designed specifically for the unique challenges of this industry. Created by maritime expert, project manager, naval architect and marine engineer Ken Fisher – recognized worldwide – this manual is based on critical insights generated from 40-plus years of hands-on work and analyses. It provides critical time- and money-saving solutions to challenges that adversely impact nearly every shipyard project. This invaluable information was derived through lessons learned from a multitude of shipyard projects involving disputes and misunderstandings.

The presence of a ship or new construction at a shipyard each creates the potential for costly, schedule-impacting blunders. Often those adverse outcomes could be avoided by improved project planning and management. Marine industry professionals can choose to learn these lessons at great expense to their employer – or benefit from the past experiences of others, as described in this manual. By absorbing the information in this book, professionals can easily save their organization tens of thousands of dollars on each new project – if not much, much more.

Author Dr. Kenneth Fisher is highly regarded for his three-day training course, “Contract Management for Ship Construction, Repair and Design,” which has been presented several hundred times worldwide. This manual gives readers who have not attended the course a thorough understanding of many key factors that must be addressed and monitored from project conception to completion. For those who have attended the course, this essential manual expands on examples and lessons learned there.

This manual provides hundreds of lessons learned at great expense to others. Readers will learn of many potential obstacles to a successful shipyard project, plus insights to eliminate such impacts. Based on hundreds of shipyard projects and more than a thousand interviews involving adverse impacts, this 140-page manual covers a range – from complete technical failure of three ships (with loss of several hundred million dollars) to project delays due to late owner-furnished equipment (with loss of a critical charter and subsequent bankruptcy).

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View Table of Contents

Many lesser impacts of project mismanagement also are described and analyzed. Some key observations, supported by dozens of project descriptions, include:

  • Optimism is not a substitute for research and planning.
  • Mismanagement of any one topic, no matter how small, can destroy the project’s economic benefits for either or both the ship owner and contractor.
  • Remember the purpose of a contract.
  • Project success is dependent on having appropriate staff.
  • Excellent designs get compromised by insufficient contracting strategies.
  • A test is a test – something might go wrong.
  • Hope and prayer are never an adequate substitute for thorough engineering analyses.
  • Nearly every shipyard project today is essentially an undertaking of cables and the equipment to which they are attached.

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Who Would Benefit?

This compendium of proven marine knowledge will benefit:

  • Ship owners
  • Designers
  • Shipyards
  • Major vendors
  • Government agencies
  • Major subcontractors
  • Consultancies
  • Classification
  • Contract preparers
  • Risk insurers

Additionally, this unique book provides enormous value for every:

  • Project manager
  • Project planner
  • Superintendent
  • Maintenance supervisor
  • Owner’s representative
  • Port engineer
  • Ship supervisor
  • Specification writer
  • Naval Architect
  • Inspector
  • Marine Engineer
  • Estimator

The Details

Shipyard Projects: Planning and Management provides access – at your fingertips – to hard-won wisdom collected through thousands of experiences and expert analyses that, together, enable you to avoid pitfalls, unnecessary expenditures and costly waste of time. The knowledge gained from lessons learned will prove invaluable in your maritime work. This 140-page hardcover manual’s compact 6” by 9” (15 x 23 cm) size was designed specifically for your convenience – to keep on hand for learning, quick reference or review anywhere: on the road, on site, at lunch – wherever you happen to be, providing insights to save considerable time and money in hundreds of situations your project may well encounter.

All marine industry professionals will benefit from having their own personal copy of this manual to consult as needed. It is not intended to be read all at once. Because it expands on training courses or partially replaces them, organizations would be wise to order multiple copies for all their staff involved in shipyard project planning and its subsequent management. Funds for purchasing are justified from the training budget.

Table of Contents

  1. General Observations – Causes of Project Problems
  2. Assess all Risks, and Listen to the Professionals
  3. “Homemade” Ship Refit Planning
  4. Small Differences Rarely Exist
  5. Contracting Strategies Central to Success of Project
  6. Two Owners Means Two Different Vessels
  7. The Second Translation of Technical Requirements
  8. Unusual Contracting Brings Risks to Owners and Builders
  9. Identifying All Contract Deliverables
  10. Relying On As-Built Drawings
  11. Good Shipbuilding Practice (“GSP”)
  12. Oral vs. Written Specifications
  13. Remaining Responsible –– General Disclaimers Don’t Work
  14. Design Completion Responsibility — Whose Naval Architect?
  15. Pre-Contract Agreements May Be Binding
  16. Amateur Contracts: a Cause of Disaster
  17. Definitions vs. Controversy in Ship Repair and Construction
  18. The Impact of Contracts on Ship Design Preparation
  19. Identify All Project Participants In Advance
  20. Sisters, Not Twins — A Source of Specification Errors
  21. OFE for Multiple Ships – Identical Items Expected
  22. Location Change Leads to Cost Changes
  23. Owner-Furnished Equipment — Potential Contract Risks
  24. Integration Between Subcontractors’ Equipment
  25. Color-Coded Features — The Vanishing Information
  26. The Flow of Contract Information
  27. Repaired During Construction: Is it ‘New’?
  28. Installation has to Include Complete Testing
  29. Contractually, is it a Good Deed or a Misdeed?
  30. VLCCs for FPSO Conversions
  31. What Does ”Approval” Mean? (Use ”Acceptance” Instead)
  32. Damage Due to Erroneous Docking Plans
  1. False Economies Prove Costly – Safety Pays Benefits
  2. Owner’s Pre-Contract Responsibilities
  3. Shipyard Safety Concerns –– Put it in Writing
  4. Proper Staffing for Conversion Projects
  5. Weights, Costs and Revenue
  6. The “Attractiveness” of Project Mismanagement
  7. OFE Includes Certifications
  8. A Coating Supplier Defends Its Contractual Rights
  9. Conflicting Categories of Drawings in Contracts
  10. Designers Should be Indemnified Against Errors and Omissions
  11. Consultancies Need to Define Their Deliverables
  12. The Impacts on Shipbuilders of More Customer Inspectors
  13. Confirm with Vendors Before Specifying
  14. The Art (and Risks) of Managing Owner-Furnished Equipment
  15. Two Owners Means Two Different Vessels
  16. Resolving Disputes Quickly and Cost Effectively
  17. A Test is a Test – Something Might Go Wrong
  18. Emergency Evacuations
  19. Avoid Selling Knowingly Defective Products
  20. A Ship Owner’s Representative’s Authority
  21. Buying Used Vessels Creates Certain Risks
  22. Subcontractor Capability Assumptions
  23. Dispute Avoidance – Reminder to Vessel Designers
  24. Fundamental Rules for Vessel Owners
  25. Define Achievement of Design Objectives
  26. Identify Necessary Decision-Making Participants
  27. Cost and Schedule Impacts of Changes
  28. Authority For Changes And Growth
  29. Reuse Assumptions Create Risks
  30. Allowing for Multiple Locations
  31. Intellectual Property Rights – Advice to Designers
  32. Pre-Work Procedures vs. Post-Work Assessments
  33. Independent Priorities vs Project Schedules
  1. Resources to Change the Focus of a Project
  2. Contractual Information Flow: Content, Form, and Timing
  3. Lower Costs vs. Warranty
  4. Different Interpretations of “Zero”
  5. The Timing of Owner-Furnished Information
  6. Risks of Supplier Failures
  7. Managing Warranties in the Maritime Industry
  8. Commercial vs. Naval Construction Rules
  9. Unusual Vessel = Unusual Costs for Designers
  10. Optimism Cannot Replace Planning
  11. Who is Coming, and from Where?
  12. Seasonal Differences Can Be Expensive
  13. Special Note: Why is it ”Better”?
  14. Projects Start – and Some End Prematurely
  15. The Value of an Early, Complete Risk Analysis
  16. Performance Requirements and Trials
  17. Avoiding Subcontract Inconsistencies
  18. Respect the Deadlines of Warranty Clauses
  19. Wishful Thinking vs. Safety Procedures
  20. Consider the Concerns of All Stakeholders
  21. Explicit Communications Are Necessary
  22. Risks at Exposed Anchorage During Refits
  23. ”We know where it is!”
  24. Remember the Purpose of a Contract
  25. Sales Talk — Trust, but Verify
  26. Risks from Not Responding to “False” Alarms
  27. The Meaning of “Disconnect and Remove”
  28. Relying on Secondhand Information
  29. Marinization of Materials and Equipment
  30. Integration of OFE is Never Neglectable
  31. Lack of Specification Creates Costly Surprises
  32. Security — Vessels Sometimes Disappear
  33. Data Collection and Analysis is Always Essential
  34. Principles of Contract Managment