Author: adm-gl0

Working with small vessel designs means working with two-decimals accuracy.

There is a common misconception that the smaller the vessel, the easier the design work. This is a myth that we are certainly committed to fight, after dealing with more than 150 vessels with lengths between 12m and 15m. Our day-to-day reality shows that designing and optimising a 15m concept can prove way more challenging than working with a 60m design. Given their hypersensitivity to weight distribution or the limited space availability on board, workboats are indeed a true engineering challenge.

A failure to recognise this complexity may lead to appointing a designer who is simply not experienced enough to recognise the possible pitfalls and plan around them. This can lead to under-estimating risks, scope creep or ‘under the radar’ execution when the design work does not start up in a controlled way.

 

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So, what is the perfect hull shape for workboats / multipurpose vessels? The answer, ‘It depends’!

The perfect hull shape would return excellent stability and maneuverability performances, would be able to carry large amounts of cargo and would be as inexpensive as possible to build. Unfortunately, if naval architecture has taught us anything, that thing is the art of compromising.

Starting from the top, in terms of stability multihulls are stiffer and show far superior stability performances at smaller angles of heel (GZ max is usually at around 20-25 deg), however monohulls have a greater range of stability (60-70 deg for monohulls compared to 40-50deg in the case of multihulls). This means that in relatively decent wave heights, the obvious choice is the catamaran, however, in really choppy seas, the catamaran can lose stability quite fast, whilst the monohull is able to right itself after large angles of heel.

Talking maneuverability, catamarans are wider than monohulls so by default, the propulsion lines are farther apart which makes maneuvering them much easier and more precise than monohulls. To match the same maneuverability performances, a monohull would require a bow thruster.

In terms of cargo carrying capabilities, although narrower compared to catamarans, monohulls have greater buoyancy reserves thus allowing for far larger amounts of cargo to be accommodated on board, both above main deck, but also in underdeck compartments.

Cost-wise, with their complicated shapes, catamaran will always be more challenging to build and thus considerably most costly.

 

The below table shows the parallel between the characteristics of monohulls and catamarans, for identical overall lengths:

 

So, what’s the best choice?

If the operational profile requires great stability and maneuverability, as with crew transfer or survey vessels, then the catamaran is the way to go. If the owner is looking for a low-cost vessel capable of accommodating large cargos on board, such as fishing vessels, then the monohull is the right option. So, the answer to the opening question truly depends on the owner’s needs and budgets.

GLO Marine has dealt with more than 150 cat and monohull workboats up to date, solving out various engineering challenges from stability to hull optimisation and on-board arrangements, making it one of the most experienced companies in Europe on this vessel segment. The main takeaway from this experience is the fine tuning involved in the concept design stage, looking at sensitivity to weight distribution, the importance of trim in reducing forward resistance and the challenges related to space allocation. All these engineering senses have been trained in 4 years of continuous hands-on experience.

 

Here in GLO Marine we understand every project is unique, so we tailor our project management activities accordingly, for every single project.

In this article we will be discussing the workflow – our most used tool from the GLO project management toolbox that considerably enhanced performance during remote work. We are also presenting a small case study based on our on small crafts projects, exploring how using this tool can benefit both project interaction and costs.

 

A workflow is a visual tool/ diagram of a structured set of activities and branching possibilities that:

• • • Depicts the sequence of activities agreed within a project, the interrelations with other activities, who does what, when, and what is affected by changes to any given item on the flow;
    • Always produces the agreed and desired result;
    • Empowers the project manager, sets a clear relationship with the client and builds confidence for all team members (especially working in a remote environment).

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Nowadays, workflows are a must in most engineering industries, especially on interdisciplinary fast track projects that integrate distributed teams, several vendors, clients and internal team management.

Fast track projects eliminate the possibility of flattening the learning curve, moreover they don’t allow for a learning curve. That’s why we focus on clarity, results and enhanced project controls.

Let’s describe how we use workflows in our projects. We perform such a flow in the initiating phase (at the beginning of the project), discuss it in detail internally, explain it to the Client and agree upon it. We invest time in the setup phase and we gain from it massively in the execution phase.

This allows for a better understanding of the scope, mapping the activities and interactions (while also linking them to the schedule and showing dependencies) and getting all stakeholders fully onboard with the:

• • • Engineering process;
    • The flow of information within that particular project;
    • Required interactions for the agreed sequence of activities.

 

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Benefits

After using it on several small craft projects, we observed several benefits:

Financial implications

• • Reduced costs for both Client and GLO;

Once we all agree on the “map of the project” we work proactively to assist one-another to achieve our goals and increase the chances of completing the project successfully.

• • Avoid re-work;

Workflows are a way to visually communicate the process to both parties. When the process is clear, re-work is avoided.

• • Reduced number of changes;

Setting a workflow from initiating phase sets clear grounds and commitment for all parties to get the project completed successfully.

• • Reduced down time;

When everybody works in a synchronized manner down-time is reduced to the minimum. The workflow has, in our experience, assisted in obtaining this synchronicity and laying the grounds for proactivity.

• • Reduced schedule and avoiding delays;

Visualizing the exact sequence of activities assists tremendously in arranging and rearranging them in such a manner as to achieve the minimum duration obtainable and also to prevent delays.

 Interaction

• • Set clear expectations and clearly show phase gates;

Instead of uncertainty about whose responsibility it is to complete different tasks, a workflow defines it for everybody.

• • Set-up a visual tool for helping assess any impact on changed input data;

If input data is changed during the process, the workflow helps identify the activities (completed or on-going) impacted by project changes.

• • Set “visual” boundaries for all stakeholders;

If there is something causing confusion or not properly understood, we always reference to our “map” which assist us in clarifying things. Almost every time it did help and it was a welcome and appreciated tool for this job.

It is of high importance to also clearly set and show the boundaries. All necessary steps should be taken to eliminate confusion as early as possible in the project. This tool has helped us in this endeavor. It has also eliminated some of the guesswork, saving time and building trust and collaboration through a correct strategy from the start of the project.

With a substantial number of PSV / OSV units at present lying idle with their owners looking for new ways to put them to work, we are pleased to have recently successfully completed the engineering for two PSV / OSV conversion projects. For both of these the clients wanted to have the capability to temporarily accommodate up to 40 additional personnel in single and double cabins. We achieved this for the first vessel by adding an extra layer of superstructure to the existing arrangement to take 15 double cabins.

 

For the second vessel the optimal solution was to fit accommodation containers on the mezzanine deck for the required number of people.

 

 

To achieve this involved implementing the SPS (Special Purpose Ship) Code, which bridges the gap between cargo and passenger vessels with its focus on safety of the personnel on board. However, the major challenge for the team was to manage each vessel’s stability behaviour given the extra weight involved and its distribution. Upgrades on this scale also require significant changes to all the on-board systems, especially those relating to the safety of the personnel. Our team with its in-depth understanding of the SOLAS requirements and the way that they interact with each other is an effective partner to manage all these changes.

“Each project has its own peculiarities and achieving the SPS class notation will take any engineer out of their comfort zone, as one needs to deal with lots of moving parts, including a great deal of Class interaction,” explains Liviu Galatanu, Business Development & Integration Director of GLO Marine. “We have learned much from these projects but, most importantly, we have taken the experience and translated it into efficient work-flows and step by step guides, which now enables us to deliver SPS class notations quickly and cost-effectively,”

Conversions of this type are ideal for mid-life PSVs that can safely operate for at least another 10 to 15 years. The time saved by conversion versus new build is also considerable. The design and on-board mobilisation and installation works associated with assigning a SPS Class notation to a PSV usually takes no more than 6 to 8 months, depending on complexity. And if the design work is done with a high degree of accuracy, the actual docking times can be as little as 3 months or even less.

GLO Marine is looking for 3 internship students.

Who can apply:
– 4th year Naval Architecture students;

What we’re looking for:
– ambitious students willing to invest 16 to 20 hrs per week;
– curious and assertive individuals who want to go the extra mile;
– creative and resourceful personalities;
– basic knowledge of Rhino;
– good knowledge of Naval Architecture principles;
– good knowledge of spoken and written English;

When:
The GLO Internship programme will run over 20 weeks, starting January, till May.

What we offer:
– Possibility for employment at the end of the internship;
– Support with final year thesis;
– One-on-one mentorship;
– Involvement in real life concept design projects;
– Hands-on experience in developing structural calculations, stability assessments, 3D models, technical reports and technical drawings;
– Dedicates tutors for every activity;
– A friendly and challenging environment where ambitious young engineers thrive;

How to apply?
Please send us an up to date copy of your CV until 10th of November to careers@glo-marine.com with the subject line: INTERNSHIP @GLO.

The interviews will take place until November 29 and the three students selected to be part of the GLO team will be announced on the 2nd of December.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us on livia.tonita@glo-marine.com with any questions you might have.

We look forward to working with you, the Naval Architects of tomorrow!

We all know that the future of the industry will be in the hands of the next generations of engineers.

This is the reason why one of our main focus points is the well-being and the development of the educational environment. We strive to offer students the possibility to evolve, to learn and to challenge themselves while providing them with interactive ways to develop their skills and expose their ideas.

We are more happy that our efforts eventually paid off and more and more publications in the industry choose to give credit to our initiative and promote our ShipDX journey so far.

You can read all about ShipDX 2019 in the full article from Cruise Industry News.

Given the success of this year’s edition, we can only confess that we are more than eager to see what 2020’s international edition will turn out to be. Stay tuned!

The UK fishing industry recognizes the value that digitalization brings to the evolution of processes in the market. This is why one of the most important fishing publications, Hook and Net, chooses to confirm the innovative value of our newest project, S15.

This well documented article paints a comprehensive picture of the reasons and experience behind our decision to launch the Stability 15 project and explains to the general audience the benefits of this shift in paradigm.

‘GLO Marine’s approach is radically different, with everything done online. Using the online tool requires just a few moments to set up and the entire process of entering the vessel data takes only fifteen minutes. Once the information is in place and the final button on the interface has been clicked, it’s a three day process before the client receives the completed stability documents.’ writes the article.

In our continuous quest to bring value to the industry, we used our know-how, experience and proactive approach to give birth to our innovative project, S15– a digital stability calculations platform for vessels under 15 m. Evolution in technology inspired us to implement strategic technology trends in order to support the business, save time and therefore, money. Now we can only count on people in the industry to embrace change and development.

See more about our project in the full article.

Interested in how it works? Visit our platform: www.stability15.com

We always cherish opportunities to meet industry professionals who perceive innovation as their catalyst for doing business. For this reason, at the beginning of June, GLO Marine team visited Nor-Shipping and SeaWork, events which host an extensive range of actual decision makers and achievers in the industry.

Nor-Shipping is one of the most important events in the naval sector, a hub that reunites every two years the bright minds of the industry. Considering how much value we put on being up to date with the new technologies, Nor-Shipping offered us the perfect context to meet with existing partners and connect with inspiring people. Development opportunities, ocean solutions and the future of the maritime industry were only a part of the thought-provoking topics that we touched.

Given our passion for fishing vessels and workboats, and our intentions to develop in that direction, our team went to Southampton in order to visit SeaWork, the home of the professionals in the commercial marine and workboat industry. We are content that we once again have confirmation that this market is on an ascending trend and that exceptional people are making sure that innovation and green solutions play a major role in this process.

We value the chance to cross paths with these inspiring people, to have meaningful discussions and forge new partnerships. The future of the industry is in good hands.

Following the success of the first ShipDX edition, this year we did our best to overcome every single expectation big time. Might we just say, we may have outdone ourselves! But don`t take our word, look at the facts!

The Theme

This edition was centered on giving the students a much more practical sense of what the job really looks like from the inside. In order to do this, the proposed theme was designing a fishing vessel`s hull to fit the given parameters, aiming to reach the minimum forward resistance possible. To top it off, not only did the participants have to design using software tools and their personal knowledge, but the finalist teams had to build their scale models with their own hands and run them in the Faculty`s towing tank, to verify their results.

The backbone of the competition was developing the students` practical skills, making them feel like actual engineers, with problems to solve, decisions to make and technical input to bring to the table. Not only did they have tasks to accomplish, but all of them were limited by deadlines and the teams had to function at their best, in order for everything to work out as desired.

The Competition

The competition was announced and started receiving applications at the end of February. Unlike last year, this time the teams had a different structure: it was mandatory that each team included a sophomore, alongside two juniors of different majors in the field („Hull Design” and „Systems and Equipments”). Happily, 11 teams registered and embarked on this adventurous journey.

The qualification round that took place at the beginning of April determined the 6 finalist teams, based on their design choice, reasoning, innovation, and the way they presented their ideas. Afterwards, their 3D designs were refined and sent to a CNC machine. This resulted in raw scale models that were further glued, polished and painted morning, noon and night, for a week, by the competitors.

We are happy to say that the week they spent grinding in the workshop brought them all together, raised their team efforts and almost took the competition out of it. Everyone pitched in on their fellow teams` models whenever they got a moment to help, they all bonded and had a great time. It was great to see such a united group and a pleasant work evironment, that they created themselves.

When all was said and painted (get it?), the models were ready to take a dive in the towing tank, to measure their actual forward resistance. Although the students took part in this process and even learned how to operate the tank`s equipment, they were unaware of the results.

Finally, the big day came at the end of May. The spotlight fell on our finalist teams: they presented their months` work in front of students, teachers, sponsors and partners. Some of them were tried by powerful emotions, reliving the journey they took from the very beginning and talking about their hard, tireless work, but they did keep it all together and delivered outstanding presentations.

The decision

The teams were scored on technical aspects such as compliance with project requirements, presentation format but what mattered most were their towing tank tests results.

There were indeed changes among the order that first three teams walked up the podium, caused by a set of factors taken into consideration by the jurors.

The Winners

1st Place – 1500 € – Dao Ship : Mihaela Angela Ciuraru, Marius-Ștefan Mihai, Nichita Sava
2nd Place – 1000 € – Protoship : Cosmin Buti, Valentina Stroiu, Nicolae Bîlhac
3rd Place – 500 € – Novice Crew : Iulian Radu, Eugen Magadan, Ana Podgoreanu

The Future

We take pride in what ShipDX 2019 turned out to be. This competition has only wrapped up its second edition and is already breaking barriers, changing the way students see the industry, and the way we all see the educational process. As the years go by, we get a deeper understanding of the importance of hands-on approach. To quote one of the finalists, „Participation to ShipDX made us realize that we can build something starting from almost nothing and that we can do more than we can imagine. It was like an impulse for us to get to work.”.

We can only promise that we will work even harder to make the following ShipDX edition bigger and better. And since we have already witnessed what kind of motivation and eagerness to learn this whole adventure has awakened in our students, we are excited to announce that partnerships are in the works to get other Universities involved in the competition. Bringing as many students as possible this close to the real industry is essential to the responsibility we all have in shaping tomorrow`s engineers, and with them, the world they create.

So bear in mind, ShipDX 2020 goes international! Regarding as much Universities, as sponsors. Join us for the ride!

GLO MARINE COLLABORATES WITH VARD TULCEA FOR HAPAG LLOYD CRUISE VESSELS FORE PART DETAIL DESIGN

GLO MARINE is proud to have contributed alongside VARD to the hull delivery of the most recent cruise vessel for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, supplying the execution drawings for the forward block.

We have focused to efficiently integrate all the hull design and steel outfitting details to facilitate the shipyard’s production process. This project innovative design challenged our team experience while enhancing our capability to deliver fast and smart engineering solutions to keep up with the tight building schedule.

Our work translated into many thousands of workhours, being poured into the detail design of the fore part of the vessel. More project details can be found here.

http://glo-marine.com/project/hanseatic-nature/

The ship has now set sails to Vard Langsten in Norway for the final outfitting and delivery to Hapag Lloyd.

We look forward to seeing pictures from the naming ceremony.

GLO Marine keeps up to date with industry trends at the AVEVA World Conference Marine 2018

Representatives of GLO Marine attended the latest AVEVA World Conference, in Malmo, Sweden, 12-13 June. They took part in the two packed days of technical presentations, workshops and networked with industry peers to exchange ideas and share best practices.

This year’s conference focused on the integration of engineering, design and production, as well as on new and upcoming products for shipbuilding. The programme included presentations by 25 speakers, 3 work-stream sessions in parallel, an innovation hub and countless compelling discussions on why #digitalisation is vital for marine and shipbuilding.

GLO Marine is committed to investing in its development, for the benefit of both internal and external customers.

#AVEVAWorld #conference #marine