course-details-portlet

TPK4164

Shipbuilding and Customized Manufacturing

Choose study year
Credits 7.5
Level Second degree level
Course start Spring 2025
Duration 1 semester
Language of instruction English
Location Trondheim
Examination arrangement School exam

About

About the course

Course content

The course gives a general description of engineer-to-order manufacturing operations from an industrial engineering perspective. Focus is on the maritime industry, including the building of ships and other marine structures, such as oil platforms and fish farms, as well as maritime equipment such as thrusters, cranes, and winches.

The entire process will be covered, including project development, design, contracting, engineering, procurement, production, commissioning, delivery, after-sales services, and end-of-life treatment. A Norwegian perspective is taken, with characteristics such as high cost levels, flat hierarchical structures with skilled, autonomous workers, and one-of-a-kind production of highly technologically advanced, innovative, and customized solutions.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

After completed course the students should have the general knowledge most in the maritime industry should have about building of ships, platforms, and other maritime equipment, focusing on factors that increase the competitive position for the building of engineer-to-order products in Norway or countries with similar characteristics. They should acquire knowledge of the basics as well as more recent concepts and perspectives.

The basics include:

  • Structure and size of the various industry branches within engineer-to-order
  • How build projects are developed to a contract and contractual specification
  • The main content in the different supporting processes like sales, design, engineering, procurement and material logistics, as well as their dependencies
  • The importance of the supporting processes to achieve efficient production
  • How design and technical solutions influence the total costs (e.g. purchase and production), The most important cost drivers from design, both for outfitting and hull building
  • The main stages in the physical production of a ship, including an overview over relevant ship production technologies
  • Build methods, early and efficient outfitting, zone-orientation and measures to increase productivity in shipbuilding

More recent concepts and perspectives include:

  • Customer order decoupling points, standardization and modularization in engineer-to-order manufacturing operations
  • Planning and control, including lean manufacturing, in engineer-to-order manufacturing operations;
  • Automation, information technology, digitalization, and industry 4.0/5.0 in engineer-to-order manufacturing operations
  • Supply chain management and coordination in engineer-to-order manufacturing operations; supply chain design and operations to mitigate uncertainty
  • Offshoring, outsourcing, and supplier relationships in engineer-to-order manufacturing operations
  • A business and market perspective on the maritime industry and shipbuilding
  • Servitization and after-sales services, including ship breaking

Skills:

  • Ability to apply acquired knowledge to the development of holistic solutions for engineer-to-order manufacturing operations
  • Ability to transform theories to practical application based on well-founded choices of relevant alternative solutions.
  • Ability to manage the production and supply chain of customized products
  • Perform and document a scientific study of industrial problems.

General competence (attitudes):

  • Understand the relationships between product, market, production, supply chain, and performance in the context of customized, engineer-to-order manufacturing
  • Understand the importance logistics and supply chain management has on the competitiveness of shipbuilders and other types of engineer-to-order manufacturers
  • Take an industrial engineering perspective on the design and improvement of engineer-to-order manufacturing operations
  • Cooperate and contribute to multidisciplinary interaction.
  • Communicate technical logistic problems and solutions

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, including guest lectures from industry, excursion to world-leading shipbuilding companies and manufacturers of maritime equipment, semester assignment.

Compulsory assignments

  • Compulsory semester assignment

Further on evaluation

The semester assignment must be approved before the exam can be taken.

Mandatory work from previous semester can be accepted by the department by re-take of an examination if there haven't been any significant changes later.

If there is a re-sit examination, the examination form may be changed from written to oral.

Examination papers will be given in English only. Students are free to choose Norwegian or English for written assessments.

Required previous knowledge

None

Course materials

Compendium "Shipbuilding" (Hagen&Erikstad, 2014), selected articles and book chapters, lecture slides.

Credit reductions

Course code Reduction From
TMR4125 7.5 sp Autumn 2019
This course has academic overlap with the course in the table above. If you take overlapping courses, you will receive a credit reduction in the course where you have the lowest grade. If the grades are the same, the reduction will be applied to the course completed most recently.

Subject areas

  • Production Management
  • Technological subjects

Contact information

Examination

Examination

Examination arrangement: School exam
Grade: Letter grades

Ordinary examination - Spring 2025

School exam
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code D Date 2025-05-28 Time 15:00 Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment
Place and room for school exam

The specified room can be changed and the final location will be ready no later than 3 days before the exam. You can find your room location on Studentweb.

Sluppenvegen 14
Room SL311 orange sone
46 candidates
Room SL311 lyseblå sone
11 candidates

Re-sit examination - Summer 2025

School exam
Weighting 100/100 Examination aids Code D Duration 4 hours Exam system Inspera Assessment
Place and room
The specified room can be changed and the final location will be ready no later than 3 days before the exam. You can find your room location on Studentweb.