DAVAMS is an innovation project that will develop new knowledge, methods and tools to support Wilhelmsen Ships Services’ establishment of a new service for additively manufactured spare parts. By using additive manufacturing (also known as industrial 3D printing), digital design files may be sent electronically to be manufactured close to the point of need. In many cases, this will be quicker and more efficient than transporting physical parts. In a global supply chain, such as the supply chain for spare parts in the maritime industry, this might bring significant environmental benefits.
A key challenge is to measure these environmental benefits so that customers and suppliers can quantify them. The project will develop calculation methods and implement these in a procurement software for spare parts. This will allow the customer to see the environmental impact (carbon footprint), lead time and cost of ordering an additively manufactured part, compared to a traditionally manufactured part. The project will also follow selected parts through the supply chain to discover unintended effects and opportunities for improvement.
The project is building on Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Ivaldi's experiences with developing a supply chain for additively manufactured spare parts in the maritime industry in Singapore.