Korea’s HD Hyundai to build smart shipyard with Siemens

HD Hyundai’s “Future of Shipyard (FOS)” [Courtesy of HD Hyundai]

HD Hyundai Co., the holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, will build a data platform with Germany’s Siemens AG, which encompasses design and production. The goal is to connect ship manufacturing processes within a single platform to create an efficient production system and utilize data collected during the manufacturing process to enhance ship quality.

According to HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), the intermediate holding company of HD Hyundai, on Wednesday, HD Hyundai President Chung Ki-sun signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Siemens Vice President Tobias Lange at HD Hyundai’s Global R&D Center (GRC) in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the joint development of the platform.

With Siemens, HD Hyundai plans to establish a digitally automated production system that manages data generated during ship design and production processes through a single platform.

The plan is the second phase of HD Hyundai’s “Future of Shipyard (FOS)” roadmap to build a smart shipyard by 2030.

According to a KSOE report last year, the second phase of the project aims to improve work productivity and reduce production costs by approximately 70 billion won ($51.6 million) by integrating and analyzing data collected during the shipbuilding process.

HD Hyundai plans to first introduce automation equipment, including steel plate shaping robots and panel welding robots, into the in-house process of making blocks to build ships at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. by the end of 2025.

It will then complete the digital automation of the in-house process by establishing a design-linked cyber-physical system (CPS).

CPS is a type of virtual reality (VR) system that enables process-specific testing by virtually realizing the same environment as the actual manufacturing process.

HD Hyundai plans to integrate the digital automation system of the in-house process with the next-generation design platform being developed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co.