Pre-outfitting

Pre-outfitting is the installation of piping, machinery foundations, cable trays, ladders, and equipment into a hull block while it is still on the ground and open, before the block is erected into the ship. Working on an upright or even inverted block at floor level, with full crane and shop access, is far faster and safer than fitting the same items inside a closed, confined hull at the berth. It moves outfitting hours off the critical-path erection and quay stages and is a defining feature of modern block construction. The limit is access for later erection welding: outfitting must not block the erection joints or the welders cannot close the block out.