Damen Shipyards may have been building ships since 1927, but its focus remains firmly on the future. Combining its heritage with innovation, the third-generation family-owned company strives to become the most sustainable shipbuilder and solution provider in the world. In fact, it’s a mission shaping the entire way Damen does its business. More recently, it has involved a complete paradigm shift from manufacturing vessels to delivering them as part of a tailored services package to optimize how ships are managed throughout their lifecycle.
Behind the scenes, the company has been busy restructuring its processes and underlying technologies to gain better visibility and control of its value chain. It’s now partway through an ambitious journey to consolidate its IT applications and bring its engineering offices, shipbuilding sites and suppliers into a centralized digital environment – the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. Becoming a data-driven organization will help in driving greater efficiencies across the company.
“Our customers increasingly expect us to deliver high quality, innovative, autonomous and sustainable solutions, and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides the foundation to connect our business, accelerate innovation and become future proof,” said Aart Rupert, chief digital officer at the Damen Group.
Damen already uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s design and engineering capabilities across its Naval division. Around 800 workers in Damen Naval use the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on a daily basis, achieving a seamless interface between system design, engineering and engineering manufacturing within the virtual environment. It means that when anything is updated on the vessel, such as piping, everyone involved can see the full impact of those changes on the 3D model. Achieving this kind of traceability is critical for Damen’s involvement in pioneering projects to modernize naval fleets, where it must collaborate closely with industry partners and meet stringent end user requirements.
The company is now deploying the platform in its Workboats division to achieve similar results. Looking ahead, they also hope to take advantage of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s virtual twin capabilities to extend the lifespan of fleets, monitor vessels’ systems and components to optimize operational performance, and carry out smart, predictive maintenance. Read the full story here to discover how Damen is unlocking new levels of productivity, efficiency and innovation to deliver the next generation of smart, efficient and sustainable vessels.
Rebecca Lambert est journaliste et copywriter freelance basée en Grande-Bretagne.