DAS: Intelligent Scheduling Systems for Shipbuilding

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Daewoo Shipbuilding Company, one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, has been much troubled with planning and scheduling its production process for a long time since its establishment. To solve the problems, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Daewoo have been jointly performing the DAS (DAewoo Shipbuilding Scheduling) Project for three years from 1991 to 1993. For integrating the scheduling expert systems for shipbuilding, we employed the hierarchical scheduling architecture. To automate dynamic spatial layout of objects in various areas of the shipyard, we developed spatial scheduling expert systems. For reliable estimation of man-hour requirements, we implemented the neural network based man-hour estimator. In addition, we developed the Panelled Block Assembly Shop Scheduler and the Long Range Production Planner. For this large-scale project, we devised the phased development strategy consisting of three phases such as vision revelation, data dependent realization, and prospective enhancement. The DAS systems successfully launched in January 1994 and are being actively used as indispensable systems in the shipyard resulting in signiticant improvement in productivity and reporting visible and positive impacts in many ways.