In modern shipbuilding, mass properties engineering as a discipline encompasses all of the functions previously grouped under the more traditional generic term weight estimating. A variety of terms such as weight engineering, weight control, and others, continue to be used interchangeable with,and mean essentially the same as, weight estimating even though they are different. Weight estimating is the derivation of the weight of a ship during design whereas weight control is broader and includes the management of the weight of a ship during design and production. Similarly the term weight report is routinely used interchangeably with the more generic term weight estimate.

However, the term mass properties is the appropriate term to use because by definition it includes technical aspects of moments, center of gravity, and other relevant physical and geometric properties of both individual parts and of the whole ship. ...

Reliable initial determination and diligent oversight of a ship's mass properties are crucial to successful ship design and construction. The cumulative effect of a relatively small number of minor errors in the weight engineering process can lead to unsatisfactory ship performance and thus threaten a shipbuilding program.
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When applied to a ship, the term mass properties refers to those physical characteristics that are defined by or derived from the magnitude, and distribution of the ship's weight. As such, mass properties include

• weight
• centers of gravity and moments
• moments of inertia, and
• radius of gyration (gyradius)