How do you innovate the design of deep-sea exploration vessels? In order to stay competitive, today’s shipbuilders are increasingly asked to perform Herculean tasks of innovation: to build ships that are bigger and stronger than ever—able to perform well in conditions as varied as the Arctic and Atlantic—and also more sensitive to environmental conditions, at the shipyard and in the sea. Bridging this gap is no mean feat, but if anyone can do it, it is Sung-june Lee, Samsung Heavy Industries, Vice President of Hull Design. An engineer with a degree in Naval Architecture, Lee has led Samsung’s development for deep-sea oil exploration and LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) vessels, supersized container ships, and even passenger ships. —Craig Bromberg | photography by Jun-seok Sohn

Given the enormous environmental and competitive pressures in the shipbuilding business,
how can Samsung find untapped value in heavy industries?
It is a very difficult issue. We are continuously looking outside our own business for new developments that we can manage within our capability. As long as they are related to the ocean—not just shipbuilding—we can learn from them. Ultimately, our long range goal is to dominate the shipbuilding market with leading products based on our understanding of the customer and the competitive environment.

What innovations have helped Samsung Heavy Industries redraw its market boundaries?
In the past, innovation was a metric of our internal progress. But now, as we enter new markets with new products such as very complex offshore systems including drill ships, LNG shuttle and regasification vessels (SRVs), FSRU (Floating Regasification Units), and others, it is becoming important for the strategy of the entire company. One thing in particular that has helped us is to think of a ship as a mass of components in just the same way you might think of the electronic components in TV manufacturing. Some of these can be outsourced and others can give us strategic advantages if we maintain our own innovation process.

How has being focused on environmentally sustainable fabrication practices changed
the way you innovate in shipbuilding?
We have to stay focused on new developments with multi-function high performance vessels that can operate in the polar and arctic regions without harming the environment. It may sound like a textbook answer but innovation methods for high productivity and quality improvement are still key. There is still no better way to innovate in shipbuilding than to enhance our work in these two areas.

What’s the boldest innovation you wish you had followed—but didn’t?
It’s less on the technical side than about managing human resources. I tried to apply the resource pool system for the engineers in the field of design—specifically, the “flexible design team” formed for each project, with leading engineers who have deep expertise. Ultimately, we had to back off this approach.

When it comes to heavy industries and ship building, few of us know how they operate.
How are the digital processes changing your business?
It is now very clear that we can adopt so-called digital or E-processes to shipbuilding. Designers are able to make better designs that maximize client convenience and speed the production process when we operate digitally. Beyond that, there are additional advantages: more efficiency in the design process because we can take fewer design steps and integrate all our design functions, and greater productivity thanks to truly bi-directional, real time information between design and production.