Challenges in Naval Ship Maintenance

Arshad Kunjumon
Abu Dhabi Ship Building
arshadtk@gmail.com

SUMMARY
The challenges in the maintenance of a Naval Ship start right from the conceptual stage of
the ship building up until the disposal of the ships. The selection of the most appropriate
maintenance strategy for the life cycle of the ship plays a key role in optimizing the
maintenance efforts and reducing the overall cost of the ship’s maintenance.

Unlike the commercial ships, the range of expertise and skills required for maintaining a
Naval Ship and equipment onboard is very large. The inherent complexities and the risks
associated with the Naval Ship systems make the task of determining the best
maintenance strategy for them very effortful. The enhanced operational demands of the
Naval Forces due to the current political scenarios across the world make it difficult for the
authorities to make the ship available for the maintenance in accordance with its upkeep
plan. Another key factor which makes the Naval Ship maintenance quite challenging is the
varied age of the ships in any leading Naval Force, which normally ranges from the newly
commissioned ships to those which have completed more than 20 years in service.

Maintenance of Naval Ship not only involves the design of an efficient Maintenance
Management System but also the selection and implementation of the right combination
of maintenance strategies. This paper is an attempt to identify these challenges and the
methods to overcome them for optimizing the maintenance efforts.

NOMENCLATURE

The following are the main abbreviations used in this technical paper:

ILS : Integrated Logistic Support ILS : Integrated Logistic Support

TLS : Through Life Support TLS : Through Life Support
OEM : Configuration Management CM : Configuration Management
ILS : Integrated Logistic Support ILS : Integrated Logistic Support
TLS : Through Life Support TLS : Through Life Support
CM : Configuration Management CM : Configuration Management
ILS : Integrated Logistic Support ILS : Integrated Logistic Support

CHARECTRISTICS NAVAL SHIPS

A naval ship is a military ship used by a navy. Naval ships are different from commercial
ships by construction and purpose. Generally, the naval ships are damage resilient and
armed with weapon systems, with the auxiliary and support vessels of the navy being an
exception in some cases. Although an average naval ship is smaller as compared to an
average commercial ship, a naval ship is quite complex by virtue of the platform and
combat systems and equipment onboard, and therefore are more difficult to maintain.

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A typical naval ship will have a very high equipment density and consists of a large
number of sophisticated systems. The naval ships are normally constructed using high
quality materials and is fitted with a large number of high-value, sensitive equipment
which are selected to meet the envisaged functions and role of the vessel. The naval ships
are classified in to various types such as aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates, amphibious,
submarines etc. based on its design, function and characteristic features.

CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGIES

The various common traditional and contemporary concepts and terminologies prevalent
in the naval ship maintenance domain and practiced by world navies are as listed below.

Integrated Logistics Support

ILS is an integrated approach to the management of logistic disciplines in the military with
a goal of creating systems that last longer and require less support. ILS is defined as a
disciplined approach that influences the product design and develops the support solution
to optimise the Life Cycle Cost. It encompasses the technical logistics elements to plan
and develop the support requirements for a system. ILS addresses the supportability of
the system not only for the acquisition, but also throughout the period of its operational
life [4].

Through Life Support

Through Life Support (TLS) involves the maintenance, upkeep and optimisation of the
systems and equipment throughout its life cycle. The concept also covers the support
required to provide the spares, upgrades, technical documentation, design interfaces, etc.
throughout the operational life of the equipment.

Through Life Management

Through Life Management involves the life-cycle management of the products, services,
and activities required to deliver a fully integrated capability to the customer, while
reducing the cost of ownership for the customer.

Through Life Capability Management

Through Life Capability Management is an approach to the acquisition and in-service
management of military Capability in which every aspect of new and existing military
Capability is planned and managed coherently across all Defence Lines of Development
(DLOD) from cradle to grave. The TLCM concept has been evolved based on the partnering
with industry to achieve better outcomes and deliver defence capability, while providing
better value for money and greater control of defence acquisition expenditures. [1][5]

Class Management
Class management involves the integrated management of the TLS of a class of similar
ships during the Operational Phase of the life cycle. It is a way to organize the operational
part of TLCM for different classes of ships. Class Management brings together the support
arrangements for vessels of similar size, complexity, operational roles or vessels with
similar support requirements.

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TYPES OF MAINTENANCE
A maintenance strategy defines the means by which an organisation sets out to preserve
the condition of the vessel throughout its service life. Maintenance activities will include
the survey & inspection, upkeep, repair and replacement across the entire vessel
incorporating equipment, systems and structure. Typical maintenance strategies practiced
in the naval ship maintenance domain are as follows. [6][7]

Corrective Maintenace
Corrective or Reactive maintenance, also known as Break Down Maintenance is based on
the policy of ‘Run Until It Breaks’ or 'Run to Fail'. This is the most avoided kind of
maintenance onboard ships as it poses a serious safety risk. In this case, no actions are
carried out to maintain the equipment and it is expected that the equipment will fulfil its
design capability for the duration of its designed life. Reactive maintenance may at times
prove to be cost effective type of maintenance through the life cycle of equipment,
provided the failure of the equipment does not lead to any major catastrophe. But
considering the fact that most of the equipment onboard ships are critical, Reactive
Maintenance is the least recommended mode of the maintenance of equipment onboard.

Preventive Maintenace
Preventive Maintenance or Scheduled Maintenance is the most common mode of
maintenance followed onboard ships. This system reduces the malfunctioning of the
equipments and thereby reducing the downtime. Preventive maintenance is a calendar
based or running hour based maintenance concept which employs various scheduled
offline testing methodologies to conduct periodic assessment of the system and
thereafter carry out the maintenance activities as prescribed in the schedule. The detailed
procedure and schedule for the preventive maintenance routines such as change of filters,
insulation tests, lubrication etc. are normally advised by the manufacturer and, if
followed correctly, it ensures efficient running of the equipment resulting in reduced life
cycle cost.

Predictive Maintenace
The Predictive Maintenance method analyses the causes, symptoms and effect
relationship of the equipment’s performance to predict the requirement of any corrective
actions. In the case of a Predictive Maintenance program the key values of the equipment
are measured or monitored and the values obtained are compared with the standard set
of values for the respective equipment to identify the deviations if any. The causes of the
deviations found are thereafter analysed to identify the maintenance routines to carried
out normalize the equipment’s performance parameters.

Condition Based Maintenace

Condition Based Maintenance is carried out based on the knowledge of the condition of
equipment obtained from routine or continuous monitoring. Condition Based
Maintenance is similar to the Predictive Maintenance but uses both online and offline test
data to decide up on the requirement of maintenance to be carried out. In the case of
Condition Based Maintenance, if the test results fall in the normal or acceptable range,
the scheduled Preventive Maintenance may be skipped which shall reduce the
maintenance effort and the associated costs. Application of a customized Condition Based

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Maintenance plans are now gaining wider acceptance in the shipping world with the
classification societies such as DNV coming up with the standards which permit the
inclusion of this maintenance methodology in the overall maintenance program of ships.

MAINTENANCE LEVELS AND ORGANISATION

Typical classification of maintenance levels and maintenance organisations in the naval
ship maintenance domain are as follows.

Organisational Level
Organisational level maintenance involves limited pre-planned preventive maintenance,
operational checks and adjustments capable of being undertaken by onboard operators
utilizing ship held spares, test equipment and facilities. Pre-planned preventive and
corrective maintenance and operational checks including diagnostics through BITE,
adjustments and repair by replace; which require onboard spares or tools and test
equipment and undertaken onboard ship with the support of Base Maintainers are also
considered to be a part of the Organisational level maintenance.

Intermediate Level
Intermediate level maintenance involves corrective, pre-planned preventive maintenance,
operation checks, software maintenance, fault finding and repair of defects not reported
by systems and adjustments which require either use of specialized base facilities, partial
disassembly of equipment or specialist expertise, and base held test equipment and tools.
This type of maintenance is normally performed by the specialists from Base Workshops.

Depot Level
Depot level maintenance involves Major Equipment Overhauls & Refit work including
removals to work shops and the use of specialist personnel skills and /or facilities. This
type of maintenance is normally performed by the Ship yards or Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEM).

TYPES OF MAINTENANCE WINDOWS

The upkeep cycle of a ship is normally determined as a part of the ILS activities during the
design and engineering stages of the shipbuilding. The upkeep cycle is designed to
accommodate the desired operational profile of the ship and it identifies the windows of
opportunity for the maintenance of the ship and equipment onboard. Typical types of
maintenance windows that are catered for the upkeep of the naval ships are as follows.

Refits
Refits are extended periods of maintenance during which the ship and the equipment
onboard are subjected to several major maintenance activities. Typical activities involve
underwater area cleaning and preservation, overhaul, major repairs, additions and
alterations etc. Refits are further classified in to various types such as Navigational refits,
Major Refits, Mid Life Refits etc. based on the scope of work involved.

Docking
The ships are normally docked during specified periods of its life cycle in order to
undertake the cleaning and preservation of the underwater areas. Typically the dockings
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are combined with the refit periods in order to optimise the ships availability for
operations.

Maintenance Periods
Assisted or Self Maintenance Periods are included in the ship’s upkeep cycle to facilitate
the conduct of maintenance activities during the operational phase of the ship. During
such maintenance periods the ships are kept ready at short notice for the operational
requirements. Organisational level maintenance is conducted during the Self Maintenance
Periods where as both organisational and intermediate level maintenances are
undertaken during the Assisted Maintenance Periods.

MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The maintenance of assets in the naval domain is normally managed using Computerized
Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) or Enterprise Asset Management software
solutions. Common Maintenance Management System software solutions used by the
navies across the world are SAP EAM-PM, IBM Maximo, and Infor EAM etc. Use of
EAM/CMMS helps to improve the efficiency of maintenance management by integrating
the various elements of maintenance such as configuration, technical data and
documentation, maintenance plans, maintenance cards, spares information etc. and
thereby facilitating the improvement of responsiveness, reliability, quality and safety in
maintenance management.

CHALLENGES IN NAVAL SHIP MAINTENANCE

The challenges in the maintenance of a Naval Ship start right from the conceptual stage of
the ship building up until the disposal of the ships. The selection of the most appropriate
maintenance strategy for the life cycle of the ship plays a key role in optimizing the
maintenance efforts and reducing the overall cost of the ship’s maintenance.

ILS Maturity
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separate line.)

Availability of Maintenance Plan

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separate line.)

Complexity of Systems and Equipment

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separate line.)

Availability of Ships
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separate line.)

Excessive Operation of equipments beyond designed profile

Obsolescence

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Poor MM

Adherence to Upkeep Cycle

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separate line.)

Availability of Funds
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separate line.)

Availability of Trained Personnel

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separate line.)

OEM Induced Restrictions

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separate line.)

Technology Transfer
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separate line.)

Range of Technology
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separate line.)

Configuration Management
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separate line.)

Availability of Adequate Spares

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separate line.)

Uncontrolled Engineering Changes

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separate line.)

Inventory Management
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separate line.)

Engineering Issues
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separate line.)

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Contractual Constraints
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Quality and Standards

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separate line.)

Supervision & Management

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separate line.)

Stakeholder Relationships
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separate line.)

Organisational Synergy and Teamwork

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separate line.)

Regulatory Issues
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separate line.)

Gold Plating
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separate line.)

Unlimited Expatiations
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separate line.)

Poor Communication
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separate line.)

Management of Subcontractors
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separate line.)

Administrative Issues
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separate line.)

Unfavourable Climate

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separate line.)

NEGOTIATING THE MAINTENANCE CHALLENGES

The challenges in the maintenance of a Naval Ship start right from the conceptual stage of
the ship building up until the disposal of the ships. The selection of the most appropriate
maintenance strategy for the life cycle of the ship plays a key role in optimizing the
maintenance efforts and reducing the overall cost of the ship’s maintenance.

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CONCLUSIONS
The challenges in the maintenance of a Naval Ship start right from the conceptual stage of
the ship building up until the disposal of the ships. The selection of the most appropriate
maintenance strategy for the life cycle of the ship plays a key role in optimizing the
maintenance efforts and reducing the overall cost of the ship’s maintenance.

REFERENCES
1. Jacques S. Gansler, William Lucyshyn, and Lisa H. Harrington – An Analysis of
Through Life Support – capability Management at UK’s MoD.
2. An Roinn Cosanta, Óglaigh na hÉireann, Defence Forces – Naval Service Vessel
Maintenance.
3. Arshad Thaikoottam Kunjumon – Life Cycle Management Matrix – Optimising Life
Cycle Maintenance of Naval Ships.
4. Christopher Wenz, ‘Maintenance Life Cycle Planning – An Introduction’.
5. The People in Systems TLCM Hand Book - “A guide to the consideration of People
Factors within Through Life Capability Management”.
6. Operation and Maintenance Best Practices Guide Release 3.0 – Chapter 8 Types of
Maintenance Programs.
7. NA Tomlinson, IEng MIET MIMarEST, BMT Defence Services, UK - What is the ideal
maintenance strategy? A look at both MoD and commercial shipping best practice

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AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
Arshad Thaikoottam Kunjumon holds the current position of the Head of TLCM
Operations at Abu Dhabi Ship Building, UAE. He is responsible for the Management of the
Maintenance and the development of Through Life Support solutions for the Naval Ships.
His previous experience includes tenure as Project Manager with Converteam Power
Conversion and as an Officer with the Indian Navy.

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