View of a ship's massive red hull in dry dock, with sunlight casting shadows. Visible is a large propeller at the bottom right, and a rope or cable hanging down.
Case Study

Seaspan's Vancouver Drydock

Seaspan Embraces Novarc's Welding Automation Technology to Revolutionize Manufacturing Processes
The image shows the side of a ship with the words "NO SMOKING" painted in large red letters. Various pipes and equipment are visible on the deck, with a clear blue sky in the background.
Seaspan

The Challenge

Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock is strategically located on the West Coast of North America, just north of the Canada-US border. The yard provides a full range of quality repair services and understands the importance of delivering vessels on time and on budget. Facilities include two Lloyds registered floating dry-docks and alongside pier space, a heavy machine shop with two 40 tonne overhead traveling cranes and lathes, capable of handling shafts up to 18 metres (50 feet).

The need to be more efficient and deliver projects quickly and at a lower cost is especially important in the shipbuilding industry. Additionally, new regulations mandated by the International Marine Organization (IMO) have resulted in many new system installations that will require implementation over the next five to 10 years. Many of these systems are related to environmental concerns, with Vancouver Drydock’s most recent project, the completion of the Ballast Water Treatment System upgrade, being a prime example. Seaspan recently installed Novarc’s SWR™ to help complete the Ballast Water Treatment System at their Vancouver Drydock. While the work itself was a new type of refit project for Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock, according to Seaspan, the Novarc welding automation technology used in the installation process was an even more exciting and innovative first for the yard.

The Ballast Water Treatment system was installed with the assistance of Novarc’s SWR™. For Vancouver Drydock, automation solutions like Novarc’s Spool Welding Robot play a key role in delivering the projects faster and with a lower cost. While some shipyards are slow to adopt new technology, Seaspan knew that it was embracing technology that had the potential to give the company a significant leading edge in an increasingly competitive market.

View of a large ship undergoing maintenance in a dry dock, with its red hull exposed. A propeller is visible on the right, alongside scaffolding and various equipment. White tarps partially cover the top sections.
View from the deck of a large ship with green pipes and railings, facing a city skyline in the distance under a clear blue sky. An industrial setting with a crane visible on the right side.
Seaspan

The Novarc Solution

Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock was looking to find a technology that offered both productivity and quality improvements for pipe fabrication when they came across Novarc’s SWR™ (Spool Welding Robot). They purchased SWR-ST with 2 positioners. With no programming knowledge required, the collaborative Spool Welding Robot works with a human operator to weld from root to cap automatically without the need to shut off the arc. It delivers consistent high-quality welds, every time.

“We did look at a couple of other options, but they were very minor improvements on current technologies. The Novarc product offered a complete further step,” says Paul Hebson, VP & General Manager at Vancouver Drydock.

The company’s current water treatment system project involves welding and installing a variety of pipe spools (about 80-90) and installations on ships. With Novarc’s SWR, welders at Vancouver Drydock are able to generate pipe joints in about an average of 40 minutes; a job that used to take four and a half hours.

“We wouldn’t have been able to make the lead time on the current project we are doing without the SWR. We would have probably had to outsource some of the pipe fabrication,” says Hebson. “We have shown more than half a dozen of our customers around the machine. It’s a powerful message to our clients that we are investing in a piece of technology that’s going to make the work we do for them less expensive, higher quality and take fewer hours. People really respect businesses that invest in their business rather than do other things with the cash they generate.”

“For the job we currently have on the drydock now, we actually walked a client around during the bidding phase when we were just finishing the installation of the SWR. We told them about how we intended to use the SWR in the ballast water treatment system that they had to install and the cost savings we could generate for them as a result. That was a client we hadn’t seen in about five years, and I am very pleased to say that we secured that contract,” adds Hebson.

A worker in safety gear sits in a maintenance room, holding a control device. The room has teal walls and is equipped with tools, machinery, a monitor, and a welding mask hanging on the wall. A helmeted individual appears focused on a task.
Seaspan

The Bottom Line

By implementing Novarc’s Spool Welding Robot, Vancouver Drydock was able to increase their productivity by over 400% using the SWR™ and achieve consistent X-Ray quality welds, every single time.

The image shows a large industrial ship deck with complex green and silver piping systems and machinery. It is docked near a shoreline, with cranes visible in the background under a clear sky.
Seaspan

Productivity Improvements

By implementing Novarc’s Spool Welding Robot, Vancouver Drydock was able to increase their productivity by over 400% using the SWR™ and achieve consistent X-Ray quality welds, every single time.

A complex industrial structure with green pipes and metal platforms. Several cylindrical pipes are stacked on a metal stand in the foreground. Safety rails and ladders are visible, along with a clear blue sky in the background.
Seaspan

Quality Improvements

Quality is a major part of Vancouver Drydock’s promise to their customers. Ad Bertens, Director of Business Development summed it up by saying, “We believe having Novarc on board with this project will guarantee us the quality our customers are expecting.”

A worker in protective gear and a red helmet sits operating a large robotic welding arm in an industrial workshop. The arm emits a bright light as it works on metal tubing. The workshop is filled with various tools and equipment.
Seaspan

Easy of Use

Another major advantage that Novarc’s SWR™ has provided the Vancouver Drydock has been the ergonomics of the machine for the operators. “It is far better than any of the solutions in the traditional methods. There has been a lot less impact on the welders’ bodies and therefore their overall health. They are able to be productive for most of the day rather than needing to take breaks frequently because they have been in difficult positions welding. They used to spend all day with their head down looking at something as they were welding, and now they are spending all day standing up with their head looking straight ahead. It’s far more comfortable. Most importantly, no more welder neck pain,” says Hebson.

Novarc’s cutting-edge, robotic systems will soon be used across Seaspan’s shipyards in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, allowing the company’s pipe welding to be done dramatically more effectively and efficiently.

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