About us

B&A Software (BAS engineering), founded in 1995, is the proud developer and owner of ShipWeight, MassTrack and ExpressMarine3D (Rhino3D plugin). In addition to our own software, we provide software services and make tailored solutions according to your wishes and needs. Since the beginning we have encountered uncharted territory with the main aim to improve the work efficiency and reducing the risk for all phases in the industries. High quality and good service to our customers are important. We work together in teams, but at the same time often with a high degree of independence and responsibility for individual products and projects.

Brief History of B&A Software AS

B&A Software was founded on the idea of developing and selling ShipWeight, the software tool for estimation and monitoring of ship’s weight and center of gravity. The tool was based upon the diploma thesis of Stein Bjørhovde, carried out at the Technical University of Norway (NTH/NTNU). It was clear that there was a lack of a tool like this in the ship industry, and back then (as today) most relied on Excel. The first pilot customer and developing partners were Nordvestkonsult, Kleven Verft, Vik-Sandvik and Fosen Mek. Verksted. 2 Norwegian ship designers and 2 Norwegian shipyards. The first commercial sale camint in 1996 to Ulstein Shipyard. Since the start of the company, ShipWeight and ExpressMarine has been sold to more than 100 companies all over the world, and is today the de-facto standard commercial tool for weight estimation and weight control.

Timeline – important years

1996
- BAS Engineering AS is established in Ålesund, Norway.
- First commercial sale - Ulstein Shipyard
1996
1998
- First international sale – Advanced Marine Enterprises USA
- Corporate member of SAWE (www.sawe.org)
1998
1999
- First international resellers: Proteus Engineering, USA. Today the US market is handled by a dedicated company; ShipWeight USA Ltd.

- Second international reseller: Design Systems & Technology, France (NDAR today)
1999
2000 - 2002
- Selling mainly to Scandinavia, Italy and the US.
- Last Access verion, ShipWeight 6.5
2000 - 2002
2002 - 2005
- Cooperation with Newport News Shipbuilding
- Developing first SQL Version, ShipWeight 7.0
2002 - 2005
2005 - 2009
- Growing sales in Europe and the US
- First sales in Asia
2005 - 2009
2009 - 2012
- Resellers in China and India
- First sales to Oil Offshore businesses
2009 - 2012
2012 - 2015
- First sales to non-marine clients
2012 - 2015
2016 - 2020
- Developing ExpressMarine, the parametric structure modeler in Rhino3D for ships
2016 - 2020
2021
- Changing the name from BAS Engineering AS to B&A Software AS
2021
2022
- Launching MassTrack – the industry agnostic version of ShipWeight
2022

Our team

Haavard_220504

Håvard Fikkan

Senior System Developer

Håvard has a BSc in Information Technology from HiST (now NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. In 2014 he began working in Trondheim, there he mainly used PHP and SQL. Early 2020, Håvard joined B&A Software AS, where he is currently working on various projects utilizing the .NET framework.

Randi_220504

Randi Fikkan

Software Consultant

Randi achieved her master’s degree in Cybernetics at NTNU in 2013. Before joining the team at B&A Software in 2021 she worked as Senior Weight Engineer at Ulstein Design and Solutions. Here at B&A Software she works as a software consultant. She loves to help and is ready to support you so that you will have the best experience possible with our software.

Reidar_220504

Reidar Lange

Senior System Arhitect

Reidar got his education from studies of computer science at Møre og Romsdal Ingeniørhøgskole (3 years). Over the course of his career he has worked in many different disciplines:

  • Automation (Omron PLC)
  • NoOffice crm system implemented in Lotus Notes.
  • Windows and Web programming, Visual Studio (C#)

Main techhologies: C#, Microsoft SQL, HTML5, javascript, LinqToSql, JQuery

Runar_220504

Runar Aasen

Co-founder and Manager

Runar is the co-founder and manager of B&A Software AS. He has a Master’s Degree in Naval Architecture from the University of Trondheim in Norway, and has worked for more than 25 years in the mass properties software business with major shipbuilders and ship designers all over the world as clients.  He has authored and co-authored several technical papers on the subject of weight engineering.

Stein_220504

Stein Bjørhovde

Co-founder and Chief Software Architect

Stein has a Master’s Degree in Naval Architecture from NTH in Trondheim and he has worked for B&A Software (BAS engineering) since co-founding the company in 1995. In addition to working with the development of ShipWeight since 1993, and programming in MS Visual Studio C++ since 1994, Stein has extensive experience in weight monitoring and estimation of various ship and offshore projects.

Stig_220504

Stig With

Senior System Developer

Computer engineer from Ingeniørhøgskolen in Møre og Romsdal (later Ålesund University College, now NTNU in Ålesund).
Cand mag. in Informatics from the University of Bergen (the closest thing now is probably a bachelor of science (computer science))