The frigate design is based on the Type 26 reference ship, which is under construction in the UK. Beginning work on Hunter required transferring more than two million digital artefacts and 90,000 documents from the UK to our digital designers and engineers in Australia, which was a massive undertaking.
Reviewing and absorbing this incredible amount of data, making changes to the ship design to include the mandated Australian requirements, then constructing prototype ship blocks based on the result, has required ongoing and close collaboration with Defence. It has also required a close working relationship between our engineers, digital designers and the operations team turning out the product in the Osborne Naval Shipyard.
It isn’t a matter of simply drawing something on computer software and then handing it over to our fabricators and boilermakers; when you’re building ships from the design up, every element of the ship-build process needs to be aligned because the installation of every valve, gasket, pipe, and plate of steel has a knock-on effect.
To give you an idea of the process, we recently held a ‘Digital Planning Visualisation Review’ for one of the prototype blocks ahead of its fabrication, construction and outfit. This block houses an engine space that contains more than 19,000 installable products, all of which require analysis and sequencing.
Inside the shipyard’s Visualisation Suite, which features a state-of-the-art LCD wall that is the first of its kind in Australia, our engineering and operations teams went through a detailed 3D representation of every square centimetre of the block.
This is where the magic happens.
The teams were able to identify actual and potential problem areas, then work together to figure out a logical approach to installing every product as per the shipyard manufacturing strategies. This reduces risk in the construction phase and creates more certainty in the production schedule: certainty now, less re-work down the track.
Teamwork is paramount – these reviews are all about asking each other questions like, “What are your thoughts on how we install this piece of equipment at this particular stage of construction?” and “Do you see any potential impact or access issues if we install this product at this time?”
The teams comprehensively map out the exact sequence of the ship-build process – from when the steel is cut by the plasma cutter, right down to when the block undergoes outfitting. Again, when just one space in the block contains more than 19,000 installable products, you can imagine just how much work is required.
Importantly, we are also able to evaluate any successes and challenges from the UK’s Type 26 program and drill down into lessons learned. We can then apply that knowledge in this planning phase before we are deep into production and realise we could have made improvements.
Hunter isn’t just about building warships: it’s about building a truly sovereign shipbuilding capability right here in Australia, and that starts with the design and planning.