The Miecznik programme (construction of three versatile frigates) is the largest newbuilding programme in the history of the Polish Navy. As their main contractor, PGZ Stocznia Wojenna faced the challenge of rapidly upgrading its infrastructure, both manufacturing and IT, especially in the design process.
Due to the scale of the project, the specialised CAD software used in the process required a lot of computing power and thus a significant expansion of the local IT environment used. In a traditional model, it would have required an implementation process of at least several months. An additional challenge was that the demand for IT resources is not evenly distributed. During the initial design phase, it is higher, but as the work progresses, the demand for computing power decreases and the purchased servers would remain largely unused. To overcome these challenges, we decided to use cloud computing, which not only provides automation of repetitive processes to significantly speed up projects but is also flexible and scalable. As a result, it was possible to prepare a suitable environment in just a few weeks, and in subsequent stages of work it will be possible to adjust its capacity to the current demand, resulting in lower costs for the overall solution.
The implemented IT environment uses virtualised desktop technology (VDI) and is equipped with high-performance graphics cards (GPUs) which significantly speed up the design process. This ensures that each designer has access to the computing power needed to work on large design models. In addition to performance, the solution provides a high level of security, as data does not leave the secure cloud. Even the physical loss of a workstation, will not provide unauthorised access to the data.
The use of cloud technology not only speeds up the process of modernising the design and production of warships, but also streamlines and facilitates the daily work of those involved in the project.
Learn more details about this project here.
