PLM in Shipbuilding

What is PLM in shipbuilding?

In shipbuilding, an enormous amount of technical, logistical, and contractual information is involved. Each ship is essentially a unique project, requiring careful management of engineering data, product data, process information, and documentation.
With Product Lifecycle Management in shipbuilding, you manage all product-related information centrally from the initial design and engineering phases through production and service. This ensures every department works with the same up-to-date data. It helps prevent errors, duplicate work, and delays.

Why does shipbuilding need Product Lifecycle Management?

PLM in shipbuilding forms the digital backbone of modern shipbuilders. It connects engineering, production, and service and makes data reusable for years. This is essential for sustainable and profitable projects
Common data management challenges in shipbuilding include the following:

• Project and product data is scattered across separate systems, folders, or subcontractors.
• Engineering, procurement, construction, and service teams sometimes work with different revisions of drawings and specifications.
• There is no centralized process for release, change management, or quality assurance.
• Documentationsuch as certificates and safety files is not linked to the product structure.
• Collaboration between design teams, the yard, suppliers, and service departments is often inefficient.
• Duplicate work and errors occur because centralized control and version management are missing.

PLM in shipbuilding: what are the benefits?

Shipbuilding projects are unique, large-scale, and multidisciplinary. Work is often project-driven. Customer-specific design, multidisciplinary engineering, and long lead times come together in each project. Without PLM, this often leads to failure costs, delays, and an incomplete handover to service.
Product Lifecycle Management in shipbuilding provides:

• One central source for product data.
• It enables full configuration and change management.
• It improves collaboration across disciplines.
• It ensures continuity from design through maintenance.
• It also reduces failure costs.

Central control for shipbuilding complexity

Ships consist of thousands of components and systems. PLM connects departments, processes, and information across shipbuilding projects.

• PLM enables central management of drawings, 3D models, Bills of Materials (BOMs), certificates, and process documentation.
• It manages version control and lifecycle steps from design to maintenance in a controlled way.
• It supports workflows for change requests, approvals, and releases.
• It enables real-time collaboration between design teams, the yard, suppliers, and service.
• PLM creates a direct connection between multi-CAD models and BOMs for production and installation.
• It keeps certification and safety documentation up to date and links it to the correct ship configuration. It integrates with ERP and multi-CAD environments. PRO.FILE also includes integrated DMS functionality within project management.
• PLM supports as-built documentation, refits, and modifications.

Manage product data, documentation, and processes centrally

Shipbuilding involves long lead times, customized projects, complex documentation, safety and certification requirements, revision control, and lifecycle management over decades. PLM ensures that all vessel-related information remains connected and traceable.

Our PLM software

With PRO.FILE PLM, you address the challenges of your industry with confidence. The PRO.FILE digitalization platform is the solution for your Product Lifecycle Management.

PRO.FILE PLM provides CAD data management, Product Data Management (PDM), and technical document management (DMStec) as a collaborative PLM solution that integrates seamlessly with your ERP system. Once engineering and product management data is digitally captured in the Product Data Backbone of PRO.FILE PLM, it becomes transparent and visible to everyone. This data feeds the product development process and can also support impact analyses for predictive maintenance without the need to create new versions. Companies that manage their documents consistently achieve the highest return from their processes and projects. PRO.FILE Product Lifecycle Management is built on this principle.
Whether you are struggling with engineering-related version control or workflows, facing costs from incorrect parts due to wrong drawings, dealing with outdated specifications in your ERP system, or encountering challenges integrating PLM processes across multiple global sites, PRO.FILE is both the Product Data Backbone and the collaboration platform. It supports the product development process and the complete product lifecycle.
This next-generation software connects all internal departments and disciplines. It also integrates external partners, suppliers, and customers seamlessly and in a controlled way through the Collaborative PLM platform PROOM.
We guide you step by step toward more efficient Product Lifecycle Management. We support your journey from CAD data management to an end-to-end PLM solution.