LOGBASED - Logistics-based Ship Design
Overview
Background & policy context:
Waterborne transport has historically transported goods from quay to quay without focusing much on the intermodal aspects. This situation is changing: focus is shifting towards door-to-door transport and ship operators are increasingly adapting to this new mode of working. It is anticipated that waterborne transport services must continually improve their service levels but at the same time improve competitiveness by reducing cost levels of operations every year. The customers require the goods to be transported 'all the way' and have certain demands regarding time, price, flexibility, reliability and frequency. These logistics requirements are considered by transport customers when buying services.
Short-sea shipping has great potential to be the main part of competitive intermodal transport solutions, provided co-operation with other transport modes can be fulfilled, as shipping, more than other transport modes, is able to fulfil tomorrow's (sustainable) demands regarding costs, safety, environment and quality.
In order to exploit this potential, new knowledge, solutions and approaches on managing and transporting intermodal cargo flows must be developed. To be successful, a total service must be delivered to the customer in the form of door-to-door transport, as well as administrative and financial services related to the transport operation. Seldom is vessel performance (speed, costs, regularity, flexibility, safety, etc.) within the intermodal supply chain assessed and benchmarked, as vessel design is, in many cases, currently conducted as a suboptimal and decoupled task in a technical department/shipyard isolated from the business development and logistics department.
Objectives:
The main aim was to develop RoRo vessels and enable the motorways of the sea to become more competitive towards their road/rail equivalents competing for transport missions between origin and destination.
To accomplish this aim, LOGBASED partners generated a ship design methodology which will lead to the design of better ships functioning as an integral part of dynamic intermodal transport chains.
It is aimed for improvements of up to 30% for various ship capabilities, such as resistance, stability, safety, etc. as well as for various logistics performance parameters within intermodal transport chains.
Methods and tools based on a system theory, which provide decision-making support to the development team and/or decision-makers, were developed by:
- identifying the principal requirements and variables influencing the development of a viable intermodal transport business;
- capturing the principal ship design and shipbuilding variables, as well as their inter-relationships;
- mapping the commercial and technical aspects in a logistics-based design methodology and developing a supporting software tool to facilitate its application;
- applying the developed method and tools for selected business cases (intermodal transport systems) in order to verify the approach through the design of more efficient RoRo vessels.
The LOGBASED approach set out to change the current situation in business development, and make transport system and ship design development an integral part. It is argued that only through this approach the most effective solutions can be identified and developed.
Methodology:
The systems management approach adopted in LOGBASED was used to develop a common platform, in the form of a decision-making support system, to develop dynamic intermodal transport solutions and their pertinent ship designs.
The approach is novel and functions as a key means to transfer logistics information into a readily usable format for end users (ship owners and designers). It is argued that this approach leads to the design of better ships - serving the cargo owner and ship operators better than solutions of the past.
LOGBASED focused upon developing more efficient RoRo vessels as an integral part of dynamic intermodal transport chains based on the utilisation of the methodology. However, the approach and method are generic by nature and can be applied to most ship and cargo types.
The method identified the requirements/expectations, which should be targeted for the particular case/transport system in question, and focuses upon developing a ship design matching these requirements/expectations. Such requirements/expectations may be technically related (resistance, stability, etc.), commercially related (costs, reliability, frequency, etc.), strategically related (market position, growth, etc.); and/or related to health, safety and environmental issues.
Share this page