Benchmarking US naval shipbuilding and maintenance

Following on from previous national US shipyard benchmarking studies carried out by FMI, between 2005 and 2007 FMI worked in partnership with members of the US Office of Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Industrial Policy to carry out a global shipbuilding benchmarking study.
Aircraft carrier on open water
The objective was to compare processes and practices in US naval shipbuilding yards against leading international yards, analyse any differences and suggest improvements to the US naval shipbuilding enterprise. This study was well received and helped to set the course of development for some time.

In 2014 it appeared that the US shipbuilding industry had made substantial improvements. To reprioritise the improvement process and continue to reduce costs, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN(RDA)) requested an update to the previous shipbuilding study. It was also extended to include naval ship maintenance.

We used our shipyard benchmarking system to assess the processes and practices of US naval shipyards. Each yard was provided with a benchmarking report which included an assessment of the processes and practices employed, in an international context, and suggestions for improvements. We also made suggestions for industry-wide collaborative projects and suggested actions for Congress and the US Navy that would assist the shipyards improve productivity.

The outputs of the study were used to successfully develop improvement initiatives within individual shipyards and across the industry as a whole. When fully implemented, the performance improvement initiatives will result in substantial savings.

This is a First Marine International project

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