5Lesson Five(ok).docVIP

Lesson Five General Arrangement Definition The general arrangement of a ship can be defined as the assignment of spaces for all the required functions and equipment, properly coordinated for location and access. Four consecutive steps characterize general arrangement; namely, allocation of main spaces, setting individual space boundaries, choosing and locating equipment and furnishing within boundaries, and providing interrelated access. These steps progress from overall to detail considerations, although there is some overlapping. Generally, particular arrangement plans are prepared for conceptual, preliminary, contract, and working plan stages. The data for early stages come into first experience, and the degree of detail increases as the design progresses. It has often been said that ship design is inevitably a compromise between various conflicting requirements, and it is in formulation of the general arrangement that most of the compromises are made. Ship design requires a melding of many arts and sciences, and most of this melding occurs in the general arrangement. The designer considers the demands for all the functions and subfunctions of the ship, balances the relative types and importance of the demands, and attempts to arrive at an optimum coordinate relationship of the space assignments within the ship hull. The general arrangement, then, represents a summary or integration of information from other divisions and specialties in the ship design, to provide all the necessary functions of the ship in the most efficient and economical way from an overall viewpoint. The efficient operation of a ship depends upon the proper arrangement of each separate space and the most effective interrelationships between all spaces. It is important that the general arrangement be functionally and economically developed with respect to factors that affect both the construction and operation cost, especially the manpower required to operate the ship. Many other divisions