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Military vs. Commercial Ships
Figure 2. The Overall Shipbuilding Enterprise
There have, in recent years, been many studies of best commercial practices in
manufacturing and assembly, e.g., Lean and Six Sigma, and attempts to adopt these
practices for military shipbuilding. These initiatives have had positive impacts. However,
there are important differences between military and commercial ships:
• Ship Size & Complexity—Slower Design
Commercial: Large & Relatively Simple
Military: Complex & Relatively Small
• Acquisition Process—Slower Buying
Commercial Simpler than Congressional/Military
• Design & Construction—Slower Production
Commercial: Large Steel Boxes with Simple Systems
Military: High Density of Integrated, Sophisticated Equipment
• Workforce Character—More Expensive People
Commercial: Mostly Blue-collar Workers
Military: Much More Engineering Support
Consequently, commercial shipbuilding “best practices” are, in many respects, inapplicable
to military shipbuilding, especially for naval combatant vessels. This is not to deny that
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