Strategic Alliance Aims to Boost Productivity and Streamline Operations at Major Shipyards
In a move poised to reshape the maritime industrial landscape, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, has forged a strategic partnership with enterprise AI software firm C3 AI. The collaboration aims to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to significantly enhance productivity and optimize operations at HII’s two major shipyards: Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and Ingalls Shipbuilding in Mississippi.
Initial Success Spurs Expansion
The partnership follows a successful six-month pilot program at Ingalls Shipbuilding, where C3 AI’s platform demonstrated the potential to improve work schedule performance. „This collaboration builds on a six-month initial program conducted at Ingalls [Shipbuilding] where teams leveraged complex algorithms to adjust and optimize work schedules and that initial deployment of the C3 AI platform demonstrated significant promise to improve schedule performance,” said Eric Chewning, a senior executive at HII. „As a result, we’re now going to scale that across the HII shipyards.”
Optimizing Workflow with AI
The application of AI will allow for the optimization of workflow within the shipyards, particularly in balancing the demands of different shipbuilding programs. Chewning explained that AI can dynamically schedule tasks and prioritize output in machine shops, replacing traditional methods that rely on spreadsheets and manual coordination. „What AI allows you to do is optimize for how the work flows through the machine shops, based on prioritization of output and how the different inputs are adjusting,” he stated.
Revolutionizing the Maritime Industrial Complex
C3 AI Chairman and CEO Thomas Siebel emphasized the potential of AI to accelerate complex manufacturing processes, such as building Ford-class aircraft carriers. „We can apply the latest developments in AI to reduce the time to get a job done, like build a complex machine, like a Ford-class carrier,” he said. „We have been working together [with HII] very closely and now have entered into a strategic alliance where we’re going to revolutionize the fundamental foundation of the maritime industrial complex.”
Aiming for 20% Production Increase
This partnership aligns with HII CEO Chris Kastner’s ambitious goal of increasing shipbuilding production throughput by 20 percent in 2025, signaling a significant commitment to innovation and efficiency in the shipbuilding industry.
