Software Quality Assessment Methods and Standards in Weld Defect Detection for Shipbuilding

Shipbuilder safety and performance, structural integrity of welded joints in shipbuilding is of utmost importance. Traditional manual inspection methods to detect any potential defect can be time consuming and susceptible to human errors; alternative inspection systems have proven more cost effective and accurate solutions than manual approaches for defect identification. This paper investigates how advanced software quality assessment standards and machine learning techniques such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and You Only Look Once (YOLO) object identification framework can enhance weld defect detection. Research undertaken for this thesis addresses three core questions. 1) Which standards provide effective software quality assessments used for weld defect detection systems?; and 2) In what ways will they impact efficiency and reliability. How will implementation of these standards increase accuracy in manufacturing processes? Integrating high-quality annotated datasets, optimizing joint preparation and parameter settings, and using cloud solutions for computing needs can enable industries to achieve more reliable, efficient, and scalable defect detection. This proactive approach not only enhances immediate product quality, but also contributes to long-term durability and performance, decreasing maintenance costs and increasing overall reliability for steel plates used for marine applications. Furthermore, evidence has revealed that adopting software quality assessment standards in weld defect detection significantly enhances structural integrity as well as operational efficiency of shipbuilding operations.