Comparison of shipbuilding and construction industries from the product structure standpoint

TLDR

Building information modelling in construction is analogous to product lifecycle management in manufacturing, and prior work shows BIM can be enhanced by adopting PLM features and best practices. The study compares bill‑of‑materials and product‑structure concepts between shipbuilding and construction, seeks equivalent notions, and proposes future work to create a shared central structuring backbone. The authors compare the product beginning of life and bill‑of‑materials structures in shipbuilding and construction to identify parallels. They find that construction shares similar information‑structuring concepts with shipbuilding, but the precise relationships remain unclear.

Abstract

The use of building information modelling (BIM) in construction compares to the use of product lifecycle management (PLM) in manufacturing. Previous research has shown that it is possible to improve BIM with the features and the best practices from the PLM approach. This article provides a comparison from the standpoint of the bill of materials (BOM) and product structures. It compares the product beginning of life in both construction and shipbuilding industries. The research then tries to understand the use, form and evolution of product structures and BOM concepts in shipbuilding with the aim of identifying equivalent notions in construction. Research findings demonstrate that similar concepts for structuring information exist in construction; however, the relationship between them is unclear. Further research is therefore required to detail the links identified by the authors and develop an equivalent central structuring backbone as found in PLM platforms.