SimEnterprise's Next-generation Simulation and Process Management Technologies Drive Increased Engineering Productivity and Competitive Advantage for the Shipbuilding Industry. MSC.Software today announced that Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A, one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups, has adopted and will standardize on the company's new SimEnterprise technology across all company sites and their extended supply chain. With typical development cycles not exceeding 36 months and including a 12 month design phase, Fincantieri and MSC.Software jointly undertook a detailed program of evaluation, aimed at rationalizing the simulation environment and significantly reducing the overall design-to-manufacture process. This included a full process assessment and an extended visit to MSC.Software's Solution Studio, where the optimum development processes were identified, and the delivery requirements mapped to the functionality of MSC.Software's new enterprise simulation environments. Under the new agreement, the Fincantieri group will significantly extend their existing simulation capabilities, by introducing a range of next-generation technologies from MSC.Software's SimEnterprise portfolio, most notably the multidiscipline solver, MD Nastran, the process management solution, SimManager and the simulation process automation environment, SimXpert "The ability of Fincantieri to retain a commercial advantage in today's competitive markets is based on continually enhanced product performance and a quest for new and innovative solutions in design and construction," said Mr Giorgio Bacicchi, responsible of Ship Design Integration of Fincantieri. "In order to accomplish this, Fincantieri strongly relies on the engineering capabilities within its product design process of which MSC.Software's technology is already considered a core component. We are confident that by standardizing on the company's new SimEnterprise solutions we will be able to achieve the 50% productivity gains that we are targeting within the group." In order to meet the high productivity goals, technological and commercial effectiveness were both key considerations for Fincantieri. Accessing the SimEnterprise technology through MSC.Software's new Enterprise Advantage licensing system will preserve Fincantieri's investment in historical MasterKey products, extending their capabilities to include access to the new multidiscipline (MD) and SimEnterprise products. The deployment of MSC.Software's simulation management solution, SimManager, also complements Fincantieri's existing data management systems, ensuring the effective mobilization of simulation process and data pedigree throughout the extended Fincantieri Group, its suppliers, and customers. The application of the template approach in SimXpert will allow Fincantieri to leverage on their experts knowledge, reducing the time needed for repetitive activities and increasing the usage of simulation in more departments. Additional service deliverables will ensure that the new simulation environment is tailored to Fincantieri's specific requirements, and rapidly operational to its maximum potential. It is anticipated that the new MSC.Software technologies will be implemented within the next 3-6 months. "The SimEnterprise environment makes simulation an integral part of the engineering business, empowering all stakeholders with the ability to create and share best-practice methods, models, and data to maximum effect throughout the enterprise," said Amir Mobayen, Senior Vice President, MSC Software EMEA Operations. "Creating integrated and harmonious simulation environments is the new catalyst in creating competitive advantage. The adoption of enterprise simulation by one of the world's largest shipbuilding organizations is further evidence that the standard use of simulation has now progressed far beyond the traditional Aerospace and Automotive industries."