by Rabindra Sah, Chief Technology Officer, Indian Register of Shipping, India
As we approach the MIS Shipping Summit in Athens, Greece, Rabindra Sah, CTO of the Indian Register of Shipping, examines how the maritime industry can achieve sustainable digital transformation. His insights explore how PLM platforms, Industry 4.0 technologies, and deep domain expertise can unlock safer, faster, and more efficient vessel development.
The maritime industry stands at a defining inflection point.
Ships are becoming more complex, regulatory frameworks are more stringent, sustainability expectations are non-negotiable, and stakeholder ecosystems are increasingly interconnected.
For shipowners, shipyards, OEMs, and classification societies alike, the challenge is no longer whether to adopt digital transformation — but how to do it systematically, safely, and at scale.
It is important that sustainable digital transformation in maritime engineering must rest on three inseparable pillars: deep domain knowledge, digital engineering software, and Industry 4.0 technologies. When these pillars operate in isolation, digital initiatives remain fragmented.
When they intersect and mature together, organisations unlock faster time-to-market, improved compliance, reduced risk exposure, and measurable gains in operational efficiency and financial performance.
Vessel Design and Development – Key stages
Figure 02 below defines key stages of a vessel in a structured, end-to-end lifecycle framework covering requirements, design, construction, operation, and end-of-life.
Challenges: The Engineering Reality – Complexity, Compliance, and Risk
Ship design and construction inherently involve multi-disciplinary engineering — structures, hydrodynamics, propulsion, electrical systems, safety, sustainability, compliance and lifecycle performance.
Traditionally, these activities have been executed across siloed teams, disconnected tools, 2D drawing-based Classification, and multiple versions of data.
The result is familiar to most maritime leaders: delays in information flow, challenges in managing design changes, inefficiencies in supplier collaboration, Lack of Digital Continuity and difficulties in maintaining traceability across the product lifecycle
PLM Enables Digital Thread & Continuity – a Backbone for Maritime
PLM provides a single source of truth, enabling real-time data synchronisation and seamless collaboration across functions, suppliers, and partners. It ensures enterprise-wide accessibility of digital information, breaks traditional silos, and creates continuous digital data flow — allowing organisations to work more efficiently, effectively, and with greater speed of innovation.
Digital Ship Product Development: From Concept to Commissioning
Modern ship development follows a structured, stage-gate approach — concept evaluation, system design, detailed engineering, virtual validation, prototype testing, and production ramp-up. PLM acts as the orchestrator of this process, ensuring that gates are opened only when technical, regulatory, and risk criteria are satisfied
By integrating CAD, CAE, manufacturing planning, and simulation environments within PLM, organisations can front-load engineering decisions and reduce late-stage surprises. Virtual twins enable classification-driven verification of structural integrity, stability, fatigue, and safety margins long before physical construction begins. This shift — from physical validation after build to digital approval before build — is transformative for both risk mitigation and cost control.
How Integrated PLM Platforms Address Maritime Challenges
PLM provides a collaborative, platform-based approach in which digital engineering software tools are seamlessly integrated and connected across every stage of product design and development. As illustrated in Figure-03, key stages of the product development lifecycle are digitally executed and validated before any physical product development begins, enabling early risk mitigation, faster time-to-market, and improved quality.
1. Design – FEA
This stage covers product concept, detailed design, and engineering validation using CAD and CAE tools. Structural, hydrodynamic, fatigue, and safety analyses are performed to ensure compliance with regulations, class rules, and performance targets before design release.
2. New Product Introduction (NPI)
NPI enables simultaneous engineering by aligning design, manufacturing, and quality teams early in the lifecycle. It focuses on product proofing, system planning, manufacturability validation, and risk reduction through front-loaded digital verification.
3. Project
This stage manages process planning, facility layout, dies and tooling, and technical documentation. PLM links project schedules, milestones, deliverables, and risks directly with engineering data, ensuring transparency, governance, and controlled execution.
4. Sourcing / Vendors
PLM connects suppliers with controlled access to product data, drawings, specifications, and revisions. It ensures secure collaboration, traceability, and consistency across sourcing, vendor development, and change management processes.
5. Manufacturing / Construction
This stage defines what, how, and when the product is built using digital manufacturing and construction planning. It integrates process planning, simulations, robotics, ergonomics, work instructions, training, equipment, and utilities maintenance for efficient and safe execution.
6. Quality
Quality functions use PLM to define inspection criteria, audit methods, and quality documentation such as PFMEA, control plans, and test reports. Digital traceability ensures compliance, defect prevention, and continuous improvement across the lifecycle.
7. Sales – Marketing
PLM supports customer experience by providing accurate technical documentation, product configurations, and lifecycle data. Customer voice, feedback, and market insights are linked back to engineering for informed product improvements and variants.
8. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
ERP integration enables the seamless flow of BOMs (eBOM, mBOM, pBOM), costing, material planning, and resource management. PLM acts as the engineering backbone, while ERP manages execution, financials, and supply chain operations.
PLM as the Single Source of Truth
Across all eight stages, PLM serves as a single, authoritative source of product, process, and resource data. This digital continuity is critical for classification compliance, risk management, lifecycle traceability, and scalable maritime digital transformation.
Key Benefits of PLM Adoption
PLM enables a unified digital thread and virtual twin across the product lifecycle, allowing digital design and validation before physical execution. It integrates digital engineering technologies into a collaborative and integrated platform-based solution that simplifies complexity, improves productivity, and ensures traceable change management.
With scalable, phased adoption, PLM accelerates time-to-market, supports distributed teams, solves complex engineering challenges, and delivers sustainable business growth by eliminating rework and reducing cost.
Industry 4.0 Pillars for PLM Adoption in Vessel Lifecycle
Industry 4.0 is built on nine core pillars and connected with PLM that enable smart, connected, and data-driven operations. Big Data & Analytics drive real-time insights and decisions, while Autonomous Robots and IoT enable intelligent, connected, and flexible operations. Simulation and Virtual Twin allow “virtual before real” validation, reducing risk and cost. Augmented Reality improves training, maintenance, and operational efficiency.
Additive Manufacturing enables lightweight, innovative, and customised designs. Cloud Computing provides scalable digital infrastructure and platform services.
Cybersecurity ensures the protection of systems and data. System Integration connects processes and factories both horizontally and vertically, creating end-to-end digital continuity.
Organisations must adopt PLM as a platform-based, collaborative and integrated solution, rather than a collection of disconnected tools. This approach allows maritime enterprises and classification bodies to scale innovation, onboard partners, and adapt to regulatory evolution without disrupting operational continuity.
Rabindra Sah is a seasoned technology leader and CTO at Indian Register of Shipping, with over three decades of experience across Tata Motors, Tata Technologies, and global engineering organisations. He specialises in digital transformation, PLM, digital twins, AI, and Industry 4.0, driving innovation across maritime, automotive, and industrial ecosystems.
