Value analysis as a decision support tool in cruise ship design

• Published in: International journal of production research Vol. 48; no. 23; pp. 6939 - 6958
• Main Authors: Romano, Pietro, Formentini, Marco, Bandera, Camillo, Tomasella, Marco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.2010; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Cost reduction; Criteria; Cruise lines; Cruise ships; Decision analysis; decision making; Decision support systems; Decision theory. Utility theory; Design; Design engineering; Designers; Exact sciences and technology; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; Knowledge bases (artificial intelligence); Marine construction; Naval; Operational research and scientific management; Operational research. Management science; Personnel; Product development; Shipbuilding; Studies; Value analysis; Costs; Decision support system; Decision making; Reuse; Knowledge base; Layout problem; Decision analysis; Engineering design; Product development; Shipbuilding; Ship; Value analysis; Firm; Physical Sciences
• ISSN: 0020-7543; 1366-588X
• DOI: 10.1080/00207540903352686

In the cruise ship industry product development and production activities are really complex and must follow strict rules imposed by naval registries. Designers are frequently required to choose among several alternative solutions (e.g., materials, components, layouts, etc.). Because of time constraints, as a matter of fact, design decisions are made fast and in a reactive way, according to the particular case, without considering decisions made in the past and without using specific decision support tools. The final choice is often left to a single designer's experience, whose selection criteria are unknown and not formalised. As a consequence there is no shared knowledge justifying the reason why a design solution has been chosen and whether it is the best one. We developed and implemented in Fincantieri S.p.A. - a leading company in the cruise ship industry - an original decision support tool, based on value analysis, designers can use to document and formalise their choices. Value analysis is a well known structured method to increase product value and/or cut costs, thus supporting the selection of the most valuable solution by means of objective parameters. We demonstrate that the proposed tool can also facilitate reuse of the available knowledge base on decisional criteria, increase interactions between people (design staff, buyers, shipyard personnel, etc.) involved in different stages of different value analysis projects, and reduce decision time.