This thesis explores the persistent misalignment between formal managerial processes and actual operational practices within shipyard production environments. The central aim is to investigate how a socio-technical approach can enhance the alignment of work systems in shipbuilding, ultimately improving operational effectiveness and productivity. To achieve this, the study applies the functional resonance analysis method (FRAM), enriched with an abstraction hierarchy, to systematically compare work as imagined (WAI) with work as done (WAD) in a case study for an abstracted major European shipyard.
The research is grounded in the observation that the shipbuilding industry is facing significant challenges due to market volatility, technological complexity, labor shortages, and an increasing dependence on subcontractors. Shipyards operate under engineering-to-order (ETO) conditions, characterized by concurrent engineering (CE), bespoke vessels, and high variability. These factors result in a dynamic environment in which formalized processes frequently fall short of capturing the real work performed on the production floor.
A core finding of this study is the clash between top-down control mechanisms and bottom-up operational flexibility. While managerial systems aim for standardization, traceability, and efficiency through techno-centric tools like enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES), the reality is that production relies heavily on tacit knowledge, informal coordination, and ad hoc decision-making. This misalignment contributes to inefficiencies such as rework, delayed feedback, and ineffective implementation of innovations.
The methodological contribution of the thesis is the development of a novel framework that uses FRAM in combination with an abstraction hierarchy to model and analyze WAI and WAD. Through detailed data collection, formal process documents for WAI and field observations combined with informal interviews for WAD, the method enables multi-level analysis of work functions, their interdependencies, and emergent variability. The comparative analysis reveals that WAD involves more functions and connections, including multiple feedback loops, absent in the WAI, indicating a richer and more adaptive operational reality.
Two specific discrepancies exemplify the misalignment: the absence of explicit operational management functions and proactive material expediting from WAI. Their omission implies that critical functions are informally performed yet formally unrecognized, leading to a lack of support in digital systems and inadequate performance monitoring.
This thesis offers actionable recommendations for both shipyards and software providers like Floorganise. For shipyards, these include formalizing operational management roles, adopting socio-technical frameworks such as the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle and Hale’s rule management model, and improving knowledge transfer through the socialization, externalization, combination, internalization (SECI) model. For Floorganise, the research recommends tailoring tooling to reflect WAD, supporting adaptive planning practices, and expanding consultancy services to help clients integrate socio-technical considerations.
In conclusion, the study demonstrates that sustainable productivity improvements in shipbuilding require bridging the gap between WAI and WAD. By adopting a socio-technical lens and systematically modeling operational realities, shipyards can better align managerial intentions with shop floor execution. The proposed method and findings extend the application of FRAM beyond safety domains into general industrial operations, offering a replicable approach for tackling similar challenges in other complex production settings.

With the energy transition taking up speed and strong decarbonisation ambitions offshore wind is becoming a major source of green electricity. European countries are among the leading drivers of the offshore wind expansion on both the wind turbine as well as the vessels side. It is expected that until 2030 170 GW of capacity can be installed, equalling 16000 wind turbines. The wind turbines are serviced using either small vessels or commissioning and service operation vessels (C/SOVs) when parks are larger and in more challenging conditions further away from shore. The C/SOV market is still in development and it is not known how many of these vessels are needed to serve the European offshore wind industry in 2030. It is further unknown until now which factors influence the need for these vessels as both market dynamics as well as operations have not been researched until now.
This research first defines the quantifiable factors influencing the need for C/SOVs in offshore wind parks. These are the park parameters such as the distance to shore and the number of turbines in the park. These data are used in a factor model and Monte Carlo simulation to make an assumption on the required number of vessels. The results are then compared against qualitative factors influencing the need for C/SOVs indirectly.
Out of a high and a low case, the low case was shown to be the most likely fit for the research results. It showed that to serve the offshore wind market in 2030 between 122 and 138 vessels are needed, which is 12 to 28 more than currently are active or on order.
Considering the fact that the industry needs to adapt to a new market, it is crucial to know which factors drive that market and how they influence it. This project allows for researchers to dive further into these factors and research them in more detail. Further the research can assist industry players in their investment decisions and yards can accordingly plan capacity.