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January 2013 www.sname.org/sname/mt ( in review )REVIEWED BY ANTHONY C. ANTONIOU In this 120-page book, the author presents a way to estimate the average man hours required for common maintenance and repair tasks by ship repair yards of good quality, with all neces- sary tools and equipment as well as readily-available materials. e book was rst published in 2001, and then re-edited in 2012. This fact would seem to be an indication that it has been favorably accepted by people interested in ship repairs. e tasks for which man-hour estimates are given include: ? Drydocking: berth prepara- tion, dock services, calculation of painting areas, rudder and propeller work, tailshaft work, anodes, sea chests, sea valves, fenders, anchors and cables, and staging. Man hours for hull preparation and painting are generally covered separately. ? Steel work: calculation of steel weights and steel renewals. ? Pipe work: pipe system renewals, pipe clamps, and spool pieces. ? Mechanical work: overhauling diesel engines, pulling cylinder liners, opening and replacing bearings, taking crankshaft deections; work on valves, condensers, heat exchangers, turbines, boilers, cargo pumps, air compres- sors, receivers, miscellaneous pumps, and steering gear. ? Electrical work: insulation test; and work on switchboards, motors, generators, and cables. In addition, planning charts are provided to estimate labor loading for major trades. e objective of the book, according to the author, is to assess at an early stage the extent of work in general and produce a price estimate for budget purposes for the ship- owner. Although in most cases the inclusions and exclusions of works associated with each job are mentioned, it is not always clear what auxiliary trades, such as re watchmen, are included in the man hours. Where materials are convention- ally applied by the repair contractor, such as consumables, these have been built into the labor cost and evaluated as man hours, a practice that can slightly increase the man hours. All man hour estimates assume that all repairs, unless specically mentioned, are made in situ, and so do not include any costs for access or removing ashore, for which separate costs must be added. In comparing the man hours derived by the booklet with those calculated by various shipyards, it should be made clear (as also stated by the author) that these man hours are not standard. In fact, they depend on a great number of parameters, among which are the location of the shipyard; the working conditions; the environment; whether the type of labor used is permanent or subcontracted; the experience of the labor force and even their culture; the availability of suitable machinery, tools, and equipment; the work load of the shipyard during the repair time; and of course the quality of work produced. In the reviewers experience, man hours might vary up to 40% for certain jobs. e information included in this book is very useful for marine engineers and repair estimators and others for pre- liminary assessment, with good approximation, of the extent of work involved in a particular repair job. Using suitable labor pricing rates?that is, cost per man hour?and tak- ing into consideration the previously-mentioned factors, costs can be evaluated for comparison with a shipyards quotation. The information also can be used in forward planning of the workload and estimating repair time. is compact book would be a ne addition to the shelves of any- one involved in cost and planning of ship repair projects. MT Anthony C. Antoniou is a Fellow of SNAME with more than ?fty years of expe- rience in shipbuilding, ship conversion, and ship repair. Man Hours, Unusual Warriors, and Tramping A Guide to Ship Repair Estimates in Man Hours By Don Butler PUBLISHED BY BUTTERWORTH HEINEMANN