Following acquisition of the British engineering company Vickers by Rolls-Royce, Kamewa AB, a part of Vickers, became Rolls-Royce AB. The company is located in Kristinehamn, Sweden and recognised as one of the world´s leading manufacturers of marine propulsion systems. Rolls-Royce AB has an agreement with DNV that greatly reduces its classification costs.

A newbuilding yard selects a classification society for the entire production chain.The same propeller design can be classified according to one Classification Societie´s rules at one time and to those of another society the next time. Rolls-Royce AB has an agreement with DNV for the self-inspection of certain elements.

Lars Olav Lindalen, DNV surveyor, and Göran Karlsson,head of classification at Rolls-Royce AB, inspect the packing surface of a propeller boss due for delivery to Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. When finished, the propeller will weigh 76 tonnes and have a diameter of 5.7 metres.

A year ago Kamewa AB, now Rolls-Royce AB, signed a unique Manufacturing Service Arrangement (MSA) agreement with DNV which meant that a major part of the on-going inspection and surveys could be carried out by the company itself. We have cut our classification costs and our production is running more smoothly. There's less disturbance when the expertise is in-house, says Gunnar Sandberg, quality-assurance manager. He feels cooperation with DNV is going well, for both classification and certification. The company has been ISO 9001 certified by DNV since 1993.

Under the MSA agreement, DNV carries out an inspection of the company´s quality-assurance system and all the production routines. These are then certified as complying with DNVs classification rules. Audits are carried out regularly. This type of agreement is reached from time to time with companies that mass-produce large volumes, but at Rolls-Royce AB each propeller or propulsion system is unique. On DNVs part, this has been effectively a pilot project to see if self-inspection works for such varied production.

Maintaining product quality
Rolls-Royce plc is a global power-systems company providing power for land, sea and air. The company is establishing leading positions in civil aerospace, defence, marine and energy markets. Through a series of international acquisitions, including Vickers with Kamewa AB, the marine business of Rolls-Royce is now the largest supplier of marine propulsion systems and equipment in the world.

Rolls-Royce AB, the former Kamewa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad from 1894 to 1980 is best known in the marine world for the controllable-pitch Kamewa propeller, developed in the 1930s from its water-power turbines and now marketed under the name Kamewa-Ulstein; and more recently for marine thrusters, water-jet propulsion units widely used in high-speed craft, and podded, electric-powered propeller units installed in a number of recent large cruise ships. The companys manufacturing plant has grown vastly over the years, and since 1964, when propeller production first outstripped that of hydro turbines, extensive new facilities and modern machine tools have helped maintain a quality profile for its products.

DNVs contribution spans 40 years
My father was a surveyor here for more than 25 years. I was almost born into DNV, says Lars-Olav Lindalen, a senior DNV surveyor who has been with the company for 22 years himself.

After a few years out in the DNV world, during which time he worked on oil rigs and on newbuilding inspections, he returned to Kristinehamn in 1991; much of his work is related to Kamewa operations in some way or other, and he also visits the subcontractors such as Alco Metaller, which makes the propeller blades, Johnson Metall, which casts components, and Scana Björneborg, a supplier of propeller shafts.

Matts Hejbel

Date: 15 December 2000