SYRIOS

Small Shiprepair Yard Related Integrated Operation Systems
ESPRIT 4: 26924 (07/98 –06/01)

The objective of the research is to develop an innovative Information Technology framework to increase the competitiveness of the operation of small project/ contract-oriented EU shiprepair yards. The development includes the integration of the operation systems of the yards: streamlining manufacture and repair functions and embracing all the business functions such as sales, marketing, technical and distribution/purchasing. The results of Project SYRIOS provide co-operation in IT RTD of direct relevance to the Small Shiprepair Yard sector of Industry at a collective level, where individually this would not have been possible. The research extends the current state-of-the-art, through innovative techniques, and develops new solutions for practical application, leading to increased yard (predominantly SMEs) competitiveness and countering the growing threat of non-EU competition, thus securing the future of this sustained market. The SYRIOS consortium has been built to optimise industrial skills, experience and markets, backed by creative concepts and technologies from academia and IT specialists, and supported by specialist project management, dissemination and exploitation resources. The project shares skills and resources of all partners: the need for the research is strongly demonstrable but no individual yard has either the skills or management and financial resources to tackle it on its own. The outcome of the project would: provide advanced IT solutions, both generically and applied to the target yards; widen the awareness, understanding and use of IT; enhance IT skills and training; foster co-operation between yards across the EU and also with academic and specialist IT resources. It would provide the EU with a sound return on its contributed investment, through increased sector turnover and profits, improved skills and workforce standards of quality, and increased European co-operation and support for a range of EU initiatives. Earlier relevant study showed that the application of the results of the SYRIOS RTD project would lead to an increase in turnover of 15-20% within three years and a greater increase in profits in five years.

The research aims at:

• business modelling as a set of Networked Resources, identified by the ability to process material and information, characterised by specific timescale and resource profiles - Networked Resources are input/ output systems which interact and are controlled by certain constraints;

• the establishment of dependable and efficient communication channels among the Networked Resources (shipyards, ship-owners, suppliers) - the communication will be facilitated using Electronic Data Interchange techniques;

• design and implementation of innovative decision support components that will be encapsulated in Networked Business Objects (NBO); these components will enable the shipyard enterprise to make decisions based on accurate, consistent and up-to-date information; the processes that will be addressed include commercial, technical, purchasing, production planning/ scheduling, and management information; decision /making methods will be utilised in order to provide the user with a sufficient range of operational alternatives.

More info:
Project page on Cordis

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