Six Sigma Shipbuilding

“The mission is clear: creation of more readiness and assets within our budget through Lean Six Sigma.”

              Donald C. Winter
              Secretary of the Navy

The Geoje Shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea builds over 40 ships per year, which is a benchmark as the world’s greatest production efficiency in shipbuilding. In comparison, the productivity of U.S. shipyards is only a small fraction of this world-class benchmark. Foreign built vessel can be purchased for a third of the cost of domestic shipyards, according to National Defense Magazine.

The productivity gap between the Geoje shipyard and U.S. shipyards illustrates the potential for process improvements and also the extreme competitive pressure on U.S. shipbuilding. In response to the pressure, numerous methodologies are now being implemented to accelerate the innovation of shipyards’ products and processes. Lean Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints (TOC) have emerged as the dominant process improvement models of today for shipbuilding.

For more information about our consulting and training services for Lean Six Sigma in Shipbuilding, contact us.