Establish Recommended American Shipbuilding Quality Standards

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Establish Recommended American Shipbuilding Quality Standards

L. E. Smith / A. N. Titcomb

BACKGROUND: Quality standards at competitive commercial shipbuilders in Europe and the Far East play a significant role in establishing customer expectations of ship construction quality and controlling cost. Most commercial ship buyers expect ship construction to meet standards as set forth in the Japanese Shipbuilding Quality Standards (JSQS) or equivalent. The JSQS sets dimensional tolerances and quality limits on key attributes for hull fabrication and construction, and outfitting manufacture and installation. The U.S. shipbuilding industry does not currently have a shipbuilding quality standard comparable to the JSQS. Consequently, the U.S. builder either develops a standard for a specific contract at the time of negotiation, or agrees to comply with the JSQS as directed by the potential buyer. The U.S. shipbuilding industry concurs that it would benefit from having an American Shipbuilding Quality Standard (ASQS). PROJECT OBJECTIVE: Develop a Recommended American Shipbuilding Quality Standard for hull, outfitting and coatings. The standards would be comparable to current international standards of shipbuilding quality, would be a consensus, and would have acceptance of the U.S. shipbuilding industry.