Marine Industry 

Standards Project

ASNE Day 2015

NIST Marine Industry Standards 

Project – Kickoff Meeting

03 December 2021

Webb Institute

US Coast Guard Academy

American Bureau of Shipping
• Team Lead: Matthew Werner, PE - Dean, Webb Institute (Glen Cove, NY)

• Dr. Thomas DeNucci - Associate Professor, USCGA (New London, CT)

• Meg Dowling - Engineer, ABS Corporate Technology (Houston, TX)

• Rich Delpizzo - Director, ABS Global Government Services (Arlington, VA)

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

Team background

2 | NIST Kickoff
3 | NIST Kickoff

Main Goals Objectives

The Ship as City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

Goal - Create course material for incorporation into:

• Graduate and Undergraduate level curricula 

for maritime technical programs (both 

marine engineering and naval architecture) 

and capstone projects,

• Undergraduate level curricula for maritime 

license programs (both Deck and Engine 

Licenses), and

• Non-degree technical programs for both 

licensed and unlicensed mariners

Intended to serve approximately 10,000 

undergraduate and graduate students annually

• Maritime related degree programs

• Other programs such as mechanical or 

electrical engineering

• May not directly apply to marine vehicles 

but have comparable standardization 

practices 
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Selective Material for Instructors

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

Standards and the Maritime Industry

• What standards are used in marine 

vehicle design, construction and 

operations

• Why and how standards are 

developed in the maritime industry

U.S. Commercial Maritime Industry

• Commercial marine vehicle 

specifications

• National and international maritime 

regulations

• The process of classification and 

compliance verification

U.S. Government Shipbuilding Industry

• Specifications and standards for: 

• Combatant ships

• Non-combatant ships

• Small craft

• National and international requirements

• Classification variations for government 

assets

Applying a Standardization Process to 

Innovation

• Applying standards and approval 

processes to:

• Innovation 

• New technology

• Novel Concepts
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Teaching Materials

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

Standards and the Maritime Industry • Why/How are standards developed in the 

shipbuilding industry?

• What standards are used in ship design and 

construction?

The U.S. Commercial Maritime Industry

• Commercial Ship Specifications & Maritime Regulations

• Ship Classification and Related Standards 

Organizations

The U.S. Government Shipbuilding Industry • Ship Specifications, Regulations, Classification

Applying a Standardization Process to Innovation • Standards for Innovation

• Case Study: Emerging Technology Standardization -

Hybrid Power

Course Outline (Tentative)

Downloadable package from a 

public website

Reference 

material 

resulting from 

the project

Approximately 

10 hours of 

instruction

Complete course 

material for all 

Four Modules 
Current Project Timeline

2022 2023

11/1/2021 - 3/30/2023

ACTIVE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

5/29/2023

FINAL FINANCIAL 

REPORT 5/29/2023

FINAL TECHNICAL 

PROGRESS REPORT

6/12/2023

FINAL PRESENTATION 

& NIST WORKSHOP

3/30/2023

FINAL SUMMARY

PAPER

1/30/2023

PERFORMANCE

(TECHNICAL) 

REPORT

1/30/2023

SUBMISSION OF 

FORM SF-425 1/30/2023

QUARTERLY MILESTONE 

PROGRESS MEETING

7/29/2022

SUBMISSION OF 

FORM SF-425

3/15/2022

QUARTERLY MILESTONE 

PROGRESS MEETING

7/15/2022

QUARTERLY MILESTONE 

PROGRESS MEETING 10/14/2022

QUARTERLY MILESTONE 

PROGRESS MEETING

12/3/2021

KICK-OFF MEETING &

COLLABORATION MEETING

11/1/2021

PROJECT START

7/29/2022

PERFORMANCE 

(TECHNICAL)

REPORT

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7 | NIST Kickoff

Final Summary Paper

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

• Submitted to the NIST Federal Program Officer 

• Within 45 days after end of the project period

• Estimated submission date of 30 March 2023
8 | NIST Kickoff

Opportunities to Present at Conferences, 

Workshops and other Forums

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

• Conference, Workshop or Seminar 

• 2023-2024 timeframe

American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE)

• Annual symposium 

• ASNE Technology, Systems and Ships

• Design Sciences Series; 

• Fleet Maintenance and Modernization Symposium

• Regional chapter presentations 

• E.g., Flagship or Tidewater Chapters

• Focused emphasis towards ASNE Undergraduate 

Student Sections

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

• Annual Conference or ASME Virtual Classroom event 

• 2023-2024 timeframe

Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME)

• Maritime Conference (SMC 2023 or 2024)

• Regional Sections with focused emphasis towards 

the 40 North American SNAME Student Sections

American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)

• Technical Paper describing the importance of 

standards education to the maritime community and 

beyond

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

• Marine Systems Coordination Committee
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Communication Plan Replicating & Building on Deliverable

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

Produce a Short promotional video 

• 2 – 4 minutes long

• Cover overview of course material

• Added to media websites such as LinkedIn, 

YouTube, and college websites for outreach

• Guidance on presenting and execution of lesson 

plans may be considered as part of this video

Feedback will be collected to determine 

opportunities for material improvement

Presentations or Exhibits

• Focus on sharing Final Summary Report

• Public announcements in Webb Institute’s 

marketing platforms using news 

releases, newsletters, website posts

• Respective re-posting to organization’s social 

media platforms (e.g., LinkedIn) for broadcasting

• Typical maritime industry news sites for these 

releases are: • gCaptain

• MarineLink and Maritime Reporter

• MarineLog

• Industry society websites and email distributions
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Future Plans

The Ship as a City: The Use of Standards to Design, 

Build and Operate Marine Vehicles

• Collaboration discussions

• Collection of applicable resources

• Work distribution
Thank You!

11 | NIST Kickoff