The National Shipbuilding Research Program. Cost-Effective Clean Up of Spent Grit
Abstract
The National Shipbuilding Research Program and, in particular, the SP-1 and SP-3 panels have long recognized the economic and environmental significance of surface preparation and coating in the building of ship. While the SP-1 panel has routinely sought to make environment the priority, the SP-3 panel has regularly sought various ways to reduce overall costs, while increasing productivity. In December 1999, the SP-3 Technology Panel reported in its State of the Art Report that "the surface preparation and painting of ships is still one of the most labor-intensive parts of shipbuilding and ship repair (6). In its search for the major cost drivers for paint shops, the panel found that " a significant amount of labor hours is being spent for simple activities like brush painting and clean up of spent abrasive." One report author suggested that "on average, approximately 15% of the paint shop's budget is being spent on job site clean up, with one shipyard estimating their cost was 48% of their labor budget." The author went on to say that the general feeling among the yards surveyed for the panel's 1999 report was that "while job site clean up is a nuisance cost, it's not as big an issue at this time as surface preparation and paint application the areas where most paint shops would like to invest more money in order to reduce their overall cost." With the publication of The Shipyard State of the Art Report (May 2000), however, those simple activities were now contributing to bigger issues and provoking new thinking about how paint shops do business: "Surface preparation and costing activities in US shipyards continue to be challenged by a variety of issues. Perhaps the greatest impact has been through constraints imposed by federal and state environmental regulations" (53). As evidenced in the 1999 report, surface preparation technology was driven by economic considerations. Now the technology is driven equally by environmental expectations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA448652
Entities
Organizations
- National Steel and Shipbuilding Company