refit superyacht

Amels refit of a superyacht

A large-scale Amels refit of the Delta-built 72.2-meter superyacht Albatross is currently underway in Flushing. Delivered in 2016, the Albatross will undergo a significant transformation.

Purpose of the project

The Albatross arrived in early 2023 and will undergo several changes. The exterior will receive a major facelift partly by extending the "transom" (stern). There will also be a complete interior upgrade.

Ditio's Expertise

Virtually no detail is skipped. Whereas contractual planning covers only the main processes (Level 1), operational planning is used within the project where the level of detail goes up to Level 3 or 4. Think of the entire Procurement process, from request to physical delivery, assembly and commissioning. Even the moments when suppliers deliver technical information are made transparent and linked to the Engineering planning that follows the technical building specification. This is written out at the document level, which in turn gives a hand to the (if applicable) Production planning. Finally, the Outfit planning within yacht building perhaps needs the most attention. Think of all the processes that take place on board: the paint system (including putty), installation of teak, installation of railings and the interior/exterior details. And then there are the various technical systems on board, on the one hand for sailing and on the other hand for the pleasure of turning it into a SuperYacht in the end.

Challenges and solutions

The challenges associated with the successful completion of such a refit lie in the coordination of all dependent processes. This involves accurately mapping out all the activities to be carried out, while respecting the sequence for (lead time) technical and/or physical reasons.

Because you are dealing with dozens of subcontractors and hundreds of stakeholders, continuous monitoring and correct control of the right processes at the right time is essential. With so many parties, it is challenging to say the least to align all these processes by different parties in a correct and timely manner. Time after time with the critical path towards the most important milestone - delivery - in sight. Earned Value Management is used to measure performance objectively, expose pain points and provide insight into where action is needed. The schedule performance (entire project) and cost performance (Damen Yachting) are continuously measured and reported.

Results

The end result of the above is a fully integrated planning, in which all processes are included and there is commitment from all parties involved. Experience within the ship and yacht building industry ensures smooth communication, timely escalation if needed but above all a smooth and pleasant cooperation with the project team and subcontractors.

The fact that Damen Yachting takes project planning so seriously is also appreciated by most clients, who are represented by an Owner's Teams. A decisive project planner within the team not only comes across as professional, it also provides an enormous amount of transparency within the project in terms of progress, status and expectations.

The proper structure and setup within the planning software of Oracle Primavera, ensures easy communication between the ERP system (SAP) and/or the online report (Power BI). By moving away from the more 'static' reports in, for example, Excel or PDF, not only time is saved but better decisions and more control also follow.

What did we learn in this project?

Shipbuilding has the reputation of being a conservative industry. Dosed knowledge sharing within such an organization is therefore very important. Suggesting and implementing new ideas, while respecting and preserving existing working methods - that is the key to success when it comes to utilization planning and the products that follow.