Shipbuilding industry has already attempted to measure complexity using empirical measures. The problem is that it results in a proliferation of possible measures: typically the number of items, analysis of production sequence and assemblies, etc. Having so many metrics and indicators induce problems. How do you know you are using the most appropriate ones or that you have sufficient accuracy? How can you tell if complexity is reduced if one measure falls but another rises?
The key issue of the project is to provide at the designer a new innovative model to reliably estimate and verify the complexity of different design concepts at different stages of product development. With the aid of computers it is now possible to study a large number of varying design parameters and to arrive at a ship design which is technically feasible but, more importantly, is economically the most efficient in terms of production.
The research has provided a software to be used for ship design. This software relies on the implementation of effective complexity evaluation during all stages of the design in order to enhance the Design for Production concepts (DFP). This ensures pertinent factors traditionally neglected until the late stage of the design process, which ultimately delays the delivery and increases the life cycle cost.
