Adopted by the commercial and offshore marine industries many years ago, preventative maintenance is now being adopted by the superyacht industry, and for good reason
All the major players in the yachting industry now agree that it is necessary to consider a better prepared and optimised maintenance plan on the life cycle of superyachts with a more professional and technical approach.
Indeed, while the superyacht market is constantly professionalising and guaranteeing owners and charter customers the best possible experience, long term maintenance is more and more often taken into account in the cost of purchasing a yacht.
For a long time, the role of the yacht’s ‘technical manager’ was limited to monitoring the work during the annual technical shutdown and using all means possible to repair as quickly as possible in the event of breakdowns or incidents. As these events occur mainly during charter periods, when crews are at times over worked, the consequences are often very costly both on the cost of repairs and on the impact on the charter.
Our modern yacht crews do not escape the law of supply and demand and with the over-bidding of wages, crew turnover is often high, particularly among Chief Engineers, who are responsible for the yacht’s technical history and the traceability of maintenance.
As the Captains and owners select refit sites, the choice of good technical managers who preserve the value of their yacht and its availability at a controlled cost, becomes a real question.
Over the past 10 years, WISTREAM have witnessed a desire to professionalise management services and the market has evolved towards large brokerage companies and custom management companies such as Family Offices.
It is within this favourable environment of ‘professionalisation’ of maintenance, that WISTREAM extends its knowledge to the superyacht market in a turnkey service offer. This leading maintenance engineering company relies on all its experience in the military and commercial naval industry to offer yacht owners a tailor-made offer based on mastering preventive maintenance and anticipating corrective maintenance.
The objective is to preserve the technical performance and availability of the yacht at an objective cost. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the specifics linked to superyachts such as the diversity of cultures and management methods, the frequency of turnover, availability requirements, crew training, etc.
All activities are therefore monitored by a dedicated engineer, with a CMMS tool specially developed for the naval sector and which represents the vessel’s health record. To better monitor the activities of superyachts, artificial intelligence systems are embedded that analyse in real time all the data (temperatures, vibrations, shocks, etc.) related to the degradation of the monitored system allowing for advanced prognosis on a probable failure.
This modern vision certainly requires an investment on the part of the owner, but he is quickly paid back in the reduced operating cost and ensures his yacht’s up time. There are four pillars that WISTREAM stand behind: availability, safety, reliability and preservation of heritage.
WISTREAM works within the construction phase with the shipyards to take into account maintenance costs from the design stage to obtain the best for the vessel in terms of guaranteed availability at the lowest maintenance cost. These activities also appeal to shipyards because they considerably reduce warranty calls while ensuring a better reputation.
For more details Tel: +33 (0)6 07 99 69 05
Email [email protected]
or visit www.wistream.eu
