BAE Systems Australia driving next-gen shipbuilding

Shipbuilding has changed significantly over the past 70 years. Gone are the days of intense labour under the sun, inefficient manual processes and paper designs. Digital innovations and manufacturing advancements have revolutionised shipbuilding, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, in South Australia, where BAE Systems Australia’s highly-skilled workforce is using automated equipment, advanced robotics and an interactive 3D model to deliver world-class quality more efficiently and safer than ever before.

BAE Systems Australia is collaborating with suppliers, industry and academia to increase the calibre and volume of innovations and advanced manufacturing processes being integrated into the yard, making Osborne one of the most digitally advanced naval shipyards in the world.

The company is creating Australia’s first digital shipbuilding program that is informed by Australia’s new maritime sustainment model. In the past there was a gap between two distinct phases of a ship’s life – acquisition (build) and sustainment. The ships would be built and provided to Defence – and then the Royal Australian Navy and Sustainment would determine how the ships would be practically sustained and operated across its lifespan.

The new ship-building process involves creating a ‘‘Digital Twin’’ from the outset while designing the ship for maintenance and upgrades to meet the Navy’s sustainment and availability goals. This is the first time in Australia’s naval history that ongoing sustainment has been considered so fundamentally in the design and build of a warship.

The new way of building and sustainment will add weeks and months to the time that ships are ready and available to serve Australia; more time protecting our shores; more time defending the interests of the nation and its allies.

It all starts on the ground in the digital shipyard. The investment in robotics has automated the control, movement and precision of the machine tools in the build process. For example, the robotic welders inside the steel fabrication hall at the Osborne Naval Shipyard are among the most advanced used in shipbuilding anywhere in the world. These investments have created consistency, predictability, repeatability, efficiency and cost savings in the shipbuilding process.

At the Line Zero – Factory of the Future facility at the Tonsley Innovation District, in Adelaide’s south, BAE Systems Australia is collaborating with education providers, including Flinders University, industry and the supply chain, to trial new manufacturing techniques and technologies. The company’s co-investment with the Commonwealth, State Government and academia in innovation hubs such as Line Zero is providing a de-risked and collaborative environment to increase the volume and quality of advanced manufacturing that can be integrated into the shipbuilding process at the shipyard.

The Tonsley Innovation District is a 61-hectare site located 10 kilometres south of Adelaide and is recognised as a global benchmark for reimagining and redeveloping traditional manufacturing facilities. Leading-edge research and education institutions, established businesses and start-ups, business incubators and accelerators, as well as government and the wider community has formed the nucleus of a premier high-value manufacturing location with a thriving innovation community.

The work that BAE Systems Australia has undertaken at Line Zero is a real life example of how the company is realising the opportunity that investment in advanced manufacturing can bring to shipbuilding.

The company’s vision is to build an enduring and uniquely Australian sovereign shipbuilding capability that supports Australia’s continuous naval shipbuilding strategy for generations to come and the opportunity it presents for jobs and economic growth.

Crucial to that vision is building a solid foundation where Australia and its Navy have a connected ship design, a connected shipyard, a connected worker, a connected ship and a connected fleet. Digital design and advanced manufacturing techniques are already changing the face of modern naval shipbuilding. Digital shipbuilding is all about connectivity – not just within the physical and digital shipyard but with the supply chain.

BAE Systems Australia is well on the way to creating the nation’s first digital shipbuilding environment. Digital shipbuilding – an automation and data-exchange revolution – will mean more days at sea, defending Australia’s interests with an efficient, high performance defence capability.