ABBRA Keynote Presentation
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen…
Welcome to the 2011 ABBRA Annual Conference “Summer Symposium”. I feel honored to have been asked to deliver the keynote address to this year's meeting.
As Adlai Stevenson used to say, "Today, my job is to talk, and your job is to listen. If you finish your job before I finish mine, feel free to leave." – but I sincerely hope you won’t.
My name is James Brewer; I'm a 30 year veteran of our industry and have been involved in the yacht repair business for most of that time. I was the general manager at Derecktor Gunnell in Florida for 19 years and Service Director with Rybovich Spencer for eight more before taking on a similar top management position in the new construction field. I was then asked by Paul and Tom Derecktor to join them in their Connecticut shipyard and was privileged to be deeply involved in the construction of the motor yacht Cakewalk V.
I'm here today to tell you about the Cakewalk build and what lessons can be learned from her construction with respect to our industry as a whole. I joined the Cakewalk project not quite halfway through: most of the significant structural work was complete, major systems had been started, as had rough joinery and the exterior painting process. So I was around for the majority of the build as leader of the project
management team, with responsibility for interface with the customer, the subcontractors and engineers, and the overall completion of the job.
So what is Cakewalk?
Magnificent! Awesome! Beyond Belief!
– these are all superlatives used by the world’s media to describe what is, at 281 feet and just under 3000 gross tons, the largest private motor yacht built in the United States since the 1930s, and the largest ever built when calculated by volume. She has six decks, a steel hull and an aluminum superstructure, and her profile is completely unique. As a one-off, every aspect of this vessel was a custom design project. Her owner is a discerning yachtsman who has commissioned new construction before and knew exactly what he was looking for. The previous Cakewalk was a 204 foot award-winning Feadship that was built for him in Holland and launched in 2001. Shortly after the delivery of that vessel he began planning a larger design that would permit bigger tenders and have a greater range, and he began to seek an American shipyard capable of building the new vessel to a level of quality comparable to that of the European mega-yacht builders. His maxim, which we heard a lot, was "Cakewalk Quality", which to him meant a level of quality one step above that which could already be found in the world's traditional mega-yachts.
The owner’s crew, the nucleus of which had been with him for almost 15 years, began writing an uncompromising specification based upon their considerable experience within the industry and their knowledge of the owner’s requirements. From this basis the owner’s design “dream team” was selected, with Tim Heywood from England assigned as the stylist, Azure from Holland as the naval architect, and Liz Dalton from Florida as the interior designer. A great collaboration between these three, the owners themselves and their build team yielded a design and specification for a magnificent yacht, the like of which has not been built in many years. A unique sheer design that allowed for guest staterooms on the main deck, the swooping curves typical of Tim Heywood's designs and the liberal use of stainless steel and teak rails created a profile that is beautiful to behold from any angle. The traditional cherry interior has six guest staterooms on the main deck and a discrete owners’ suite on the deck above. The main, owners’ and bridge decks have luxurious salon accommodations aft, each with a distinct theme and feel. The sundeck boasts an inviting and spacious bar area forward, and a giant hot tub and lounging area aft, and there are huge open areas aft on the three decks below offering every opportunity for al-fresco dining and relaxing in the sun. A singular design feature is the impressive circular stairway that connects the sun, bridge, owners’ and main decks through the center of the vessel. A 45’ long tender bay is located aft and is accessed by two massive hydraulic hull doors. The interior space accommodates 3 35’ tenders and a multitude of other toys, all served by two beam cranes in the overhead that deploy to either side of the vessel. Aft of the tender bay is a fully finished “lazarette” accessing the swim platform which is more a casual guest area for swimming, diving and water sports. A massive split-level engine room accommodates all the systems with a state-of-the-art control room and monitoring system from which the engineers are able to discreetly operate the vessel’s equipment.
The huge bridge provides an inviting location for guests to observe the vessel's operations and each deck maintains an individual pantry and service area to augment the fully equipped commercial galley on the main deck. The lower deck provides 16 crew cabins each with a porthole, an officers’ mess and a separate crew mess while the bottom deck provides ample storage and freezer space, and a state-of-the-art laundry facility.
The owner’s build team then began the search for a builder capable of doing justice to this magnificent design. The traditional European yards all submitted bids but the owner was committed to building with an American yard if at all possible. Derecktor, Connecticut was selected because of their East Coast location with it’s easy access to both the European consultants and the South Florida vendor network, and their reputation for outstanding metalwork, both in yachts and commercial construction. It was by far the largest vessel ever contracted by a Derecktor yard but experience did exist from their previous construction of nine 270’ steel cutters for the United States Coast Guard. Recent commercial construction in Bridgeport provided the basis of the hull construction team, while their high quality yacht building experience in the Mamaroneck yard provided a nucleus of personnel well versed in providing the level of quality required, particularly in aluminum construction and joiner skills. In addition, the refit yard in Florida with their exposure to many of the world’s largest yachts, provided both personnel who understood yacht quality and much of the expertise to make sure that spaces were laid out sensibly for ease of service.
Engineering Team
In addition to the naval architect, an engineering team that was comprised of systems engineers in England and Holland, electrical engineers in New Zealand and outfitting engineers in the US and Germany was assembled in their home countries. They were managed from Bridgeport with a local staff of 35 engineers who performed the integration of all engineering data at the job site and took responsibility for all submissions to class and flag through the local surveyors. This certainly created some challenges in making sure that everyone was consistently on the same page and that conflicts between systems were avoided and it is certainly the area where there were the most “lessons learned” but we finished up with a very well-engineered vessel which, since her launching, has suffered zero down time because of engineering failures.
Project Management Team
The build was managed by a Project Management team led by me, with a full time project engineer with responsibility for the engineering staff, a full time construction manager who had responsibility for direct control of the schedule and the direction of the build team, and a full time financial manager with responsibility for reporting and contract management. Obviously, very close cooperation between the members of this team was required to achieve a successful outcome. Dedicated procurement, accounting and human resources personnel completed the team.
Build Team
As I mentioned, the build team was headed by the construction manager to whom each trade manager directly reported. These were all Derecktor personnel, hand-picked from the various yards for their specific expertise. The individual trade teams were made up of both Derecktor employees and contract workers with as many as four hundred trades-people being on board at any given time, working a long day shift with all painting activities being performed at night and on weekends. US trades people came from as far afield as Seattle and Louisiana, together with a core group of New Zealander electrical technicians who were on the project full time. The exterior fairing and paint team consisted of two individual subcontractors working separate areas so it was relatively easy to keep a competitive atmosphere without the work processes conflicting with each other. The finished interior of the vessel was constructed by six separate subcontractors, one German, one Canadian and four from the US, and integrated by the shipyard. This presented a more significant management challenge because of space limitations and transition between the individual contractor’s areas of responsibility but a high level of cooperation was eventually achieved. The integration of stainless steel railings and the construction of teak cap-rails and handrails were performed by Derecktor personnel. The teak decks were subcontracted and, again, cooperation between tradesmen seeking to share the same spaces was well managed.
Methods
Construction began in 2006 with the hull being built in modules in Bridgeport and assembled in the yard’s giant 300’ x 80’ x 75’ high main hall. The aluminum superstructure was built in modules in Mamaroneck and barged to Connecticut and lifted aboard the hull assembly. There was no pre-outfitting of modules because the engineering of systems was not yet fully developed. Joiner rough walls were installed in Bridgeport, and finish joiner packages for the guest spaces and crew’s quarters were pre-fabricated in North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia and installed during the last 12 months of the project. Separate subcontractors were responsible for the galley and pantries, and the three crew stairwells, with local Connecticut vendors supplying and installing the marble and interior glass. Exterior glass, overheads and teak decks were all supplied and installed by US vendors. The HVAC system, all piping, cabling, structural fire protection and machinery were installed by Derecktor trade teams, augmented by contract labor and assisted by the manufacturer’s consultants where it was appropriate. As I mentioned previously, we had two US based subcontractors responsible for fairing and painting the exterior surfaces with one group contracted for the blue hull below the sheer (the steel), and the other for the white superstructure above the sheer (the aluminum). The painters worked at night and on weekends to avoid any conflict with the other trades and very specific precautions were taken to ensure that we had positive air pressure within the vessel to eliminate the possibility of paint fumes entering the hull. The “show-coat” method was used to prove the quality of the fairing before the application of the final topcoats and it is a tribute to these teams that no fairing deficiencies were found during this process. Top-coating in a construction hall is always challenging because of the inherent dust and dirt, and the curves in the design did not allow for easy cut lines, but we were able to break the surfaces down into manageable shoots and create individual spray tents to ensure a dust-free finish. All the paintwork was performed under the watchful eye of the paint manufacturer and the finished product speaks for itself.
With so many trades people on the vessel during any given day, access to and from the ship was a constant challenge. It took me two or three weeks before I was no longer getting lost on the lower decks. Two separate entry ways to the main deck were maintained at all times for safety but vertical access was restricted to the aft stairs and one of the internal stairways had to be kept clear at all times in case of an emergency. Fire is always one’s biggest fear, especially when systems are beginning to come on line or being tested. A temporary system of heat sensors was rigged in every space throughout the build and a minimum of two security personnel walked the vessel 24/7 for the last eighteen months of construction. Safety was a constant priority and I am pleased to say that, despite the magnitude of the project, we suffered no serious injuries in the four years of the build. Confined spaces were monitored twice every day and general cleanliness became a religion, especially when finished joinery installations started in earnest. A system of controlled access made sure that only essential personnel gained entry to finished spaces so we were able to keep collateral damage to an absolute minimum. Safety procedures were rigidly adhered to and practiced so that we were able, in the event of the occasional false fire alarm, to evacuate four hundred people from the vessel and to isolate the source of the alarm in less than two minutes.
The Launching was a project unto itself
Here necessity was the mother of invention: The shipyard accepted the contract to build Cakewalk with no final plan for the launching of the vessel. A rough concept included transferring the vessel to a barge, towing the barge to a graving dock, flooding the barge and the dock, and thereby launching the yacht. All very complicated and expensive, with no relief in the event of a leak and nothing left to show for it once completed. Over time a plan was developed to take the yard’s existing floating dry-dock which was too narrow and insufficiently stable for Cakewalk and widening it to provide a controllable platform that could launch the vessel at the shipyard and which, when all was said and done, would leave the yard with a viable piece of equipment for the future. An ambitious construction process was begun, starting with the dragging of the 300’ dry-dock ashore, splitting it down the center and rolling the two sections apart, constructing eight 42’ x 27’ modules and welding them into the two halves, and then launching the wider structure, all in the middle of winter. Bulkhead modifications were made to the dockside to provide an adequate platform for the transition and practice maneuvers performed so that, on August 5th, 2010, Cakewalk was moved from the land on Airslides© and slipped gently on to the dry dock for launching a couple of days later. The process appeared seamless and was a tribute to a lot of planning and foresight but there were many sleepless nights because the transfer of such a tall vessel using this method had not been performed previously. It was one of those situations where one just has to trust one’s engineering and all’s well that ends well, I guess.
After launching, the vessel spent 9 weeks dockside for the frenetic activity that is typical of last minute installations, final inspections, testing and commissioning. The reception staff at the local hotel was overwhelmed by the constant parade of people coming from overseas to commission their equipment: Finns, Germans, Dutchmen, Belgians, Englishmen, and Italians to name a few…each with a different accent and one thing in common – Cakewalk. The inclining experiment to check the vessel’s stability was performed during the only three hour period for four weeks with no wind…we were truly blessed by God…
The schedule of sea trials was abbreviated due to the upcoming Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show…three quick day trips to satisfy the insurers, during which the vessel operated flawlessly, and then it was off to Rhode Island to sign the papers and the maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale. Not the ideal by any means, but the vessel and her crew arrived in town four days before the show in good order after a trip that the Captain described as idyllic. More frenetic activity, and then the vessel was introduced to the world at the opening of the show and I hope that many of you were able to see her there.
What made this project remarkable?
First there was our customer
We were blessed with a client who had an uncompromising vision and who provided the resources with which to realize it. There are not many people with whom I have been associated who can match his determination and tenacity to see a job through without compromise, despite the inevitable bumps in the road that always complicate a project of this magnitude. The temptations to lower the standard or simplify the specification were many but they would have led to a lesser vessel, and he stayed the course without flinching.
Then there was the design
There are many mega-yachts which are beautiful to look at but whose layouts are inherently flawed. We were provided a design that was logical and therefore relatively easy to build. While the layout was traditional with accommodation spaces to starboard and service areas to port, access between the two was carefully thought out and discrete service can be supplied to any area of the vessel without disturbing the guests. The placement of stairwells, the elevator and dumbwaiter, all contribute to easy access and service to any area on board. It was in details such as these that the true value of the experience of the owners design and build team showed through, time and again.
“No compromise on quality” was the owner’s constant mantra during every visit. He clearly understood what he was asking for and the nature of the processes required to achieve it. He was adamant that the quality for which we strove could be achieved in the US and completely supported our efforts. Ever mindful of the contribution of the individual boat builders, he constantly made the effort to build morale at every opportunity, making sure that staff members knew how much their efforts were appreciated. He would reach out to every member of the build team with whom he came in contact and offer his personal thanks and encouragement and it made a huge contribution to the success of the vessel. The owner’s build team all shared that philosophy and, on a daily basis, cheerfully supported the shipyard’s efforts in the best interests of the project.
The concept of “Cakewalk Quality” was shared with every subcontractor at the beginning of their contract so there was no doubt on the part of anyone as to the ultimate goal of the project. Quality Assurance inspections, both by the shipyard and the owner’s team, were exacting. Many miles of cable and pipes of every size, and tons of equipment, are all hidden deep within the yacht and only those who were lucky enough to see her during the build can really appreciate the artistry with which those systems were installed. Some of the shipyard’s best work will never be seen except by maintenance personnel: but the same level of quality can be found in a cable tray behind a bulkhead as with any piece of teak and stainless steel jewelry found on deck. However, those of you who attended last year’s American Superyacht Forum and came to the shipyard as part of the field trip will remember being able to view both fully completed spaces and partially installed systems so you will have some recollection of what I am talking about.
Cooperation
This was obviously a very big project for the shipyard, the largest individual project ever undertaken by the company and, from an industry perspective, the largest private yacht ever built in this country. Unlike some of our European competitors who can boast of several similar sized vessels, we had to assemble a team capable of working together for four years from scratch. This obviously was not without difficulty but the owner’s build team was a constant throughout, unfailingly supportive, helpful and cooperative.
We were able to develop an integrated construction team of in-house engineers, boat-builders, contract personnel - many of whom relocated to Bridgeport for the period of the build, subcontract engineers, testing, commissioning and Quality Assurance personnel, all of whom were dedicated to the completion of the job in full compliance with the requirements of the contract, class and flag.
The vendor base consisted of machinery suppliers, consultants, joinery manufacturers and suppliers of finished hardware of all descriptions who came together in a cooperative effort to build the best yacht in the world. We also made the time to travel to vendors to handpick material like the teak used in the rails, or to assist with integration of our engineering with the manufacturing process, like the builder of the stainless steel rails in Taiwan – we almost lost our head of joinery while traveling to the teak yard in SE Asia! We, in the US, seem to treat major weather events with a lot more respect. He found himself on a Greyhound-style bus in the middle of a typhoon….
An example of this great cooperation from the vendors was the construction of the magnificent 60’ tall spiral stairs connecting the lobbies in the center of the vessel. Structural construction complications delayed the stair builder’s access to the spaces and it became clear that their standard methodology was not going to get the job done in time. Traditionally they would build the stairs in individual flights at the factory, assemble them into one integrated assembly in the vessel to verify fit, then disassemble, transport to the factory for finishing and then back to the vessel for final installation. After careful consideration with the yard, they were able to modify the roof of their factory to permit the whole 60’ assembly to be integrated and finished before ever coming to the vessel for final assembly. The end result was flawless and we saved almost two months but I admit that there were a few twinges of nervousness…especially the Saturday night I spent in Bridgeport glued to the Weather Channel’s coverage of tornadoes in the immediate vicinity of the stair factory…Again, all’s well that ends well!
We achieved this level of cooperation between all parties with fair contracts, careful and considerate scheduling and a mutual focus on the best interests of what everyone perceived as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build something great.
How does this relate to the industry at large?
I think we proved the viability of the owner’s original mission: that was to build a mega-yacht in the United States to a level of quality consistent with that of a top Northern European yard. This was done using primarily American contractors, some of whom had not worked in the marine field before. All the structure was built in the United States, all the finished joiner work was built here too. All the fairing and paint was accomplished by American vendors, all the exterior teak work was manufactured by Americans and all the systems installations were made by Americans.
I think we also proved the strength of American subcontractors within our industry. The South Florida vendor base was integral to the success of the project, with major stainless steel fabrication; equipment supply and electrical technical supply all coming from Fort Lauderdale. In addition, contract personnel from Louisiana, Seattle, Florida and nearby Canada all made significant contributions.
What Lessons Can Be Learned From This Project?
Firstly, I think it's all about relationships. We enjoyed an excellent relationship with our client but one must never forget that we have customers both external and internal. The relationships developed within the team and with the subcontractors were as important to the success of project and the future success of the shipyard as anything else. In our service businesses, relationships with subcontractors need to be symbiotic, we need to feed each other, bringing each other customers and assisting in each other's mutual success. Short-term agreements must be win-win, but it is necessary to also think long-term in order to build stable and mutually beneficial relationships.
Secondly, the power of effective project management can never be overstated. There is a big difference between real project management and simple fire-fighting. I'm sure everyone in the audience knows one or two project managers who are so reactive that their projects tend to run them rather than them running their projects. Cakewalk was successful because we found the right people and let them do their jobs. It was not an easy process and there were successes and failures along the way. However, the fact that the team is still speaking to one another shows that we got it right in the end.
Specification:
One must take the time to review the specification for any project in extreme detail. If there is insufficient detail then take the time to clarify it before coming to contract. A great spec. does not assure success but a lousy one almost guarantees either disaster or constant arguments about change-orders.
Planning:
One needs to plan, plan and plan some more. Fully develop the engineering, the budget and the schedule before starting the job. I realize that's easier to say than to do because the temptation always exists to get the men working; however it will inevitably end in waste, if not worse. I am sure that we have all started projects too soon, and regretted it later. An effective project plan provides understandable and measurable goals. These goals provide the metrics that permit the verification of progress every week against the budget. Goals must be simple enough to be understood on the shop floor so that everyone can buy into them, and Key Project Indicators should be visual, so that tradesmen can see their progress. One might think that a four-year project does not require that depth of oversight. However, it is my experience that once a project gets off track it is very difficult and expensive to re-capture. Waste, whether time or material, is insidious and will cripple an otherwise well-run job. We are all in business to make money and it is all too easy to become so enamored with completion that we lose sight of the cost of the process. Our Project Management team on Cakewalk had a financial manager separated from production, strictly watching the numbers.
Schedule
It is said that a successful project needs two things, a plan and not quite enough time… If quality is a given, as it was for us, then one should be managing just budget and time. The budget needs to be comprehensive with hours allotted for every task so that SMART goals (that is goals that are specific, measurable, agreed-upon, realistic, and time bound) can be communicated to every man on the job. With properly communicated goals and accountability in managing the tasks, the schedule will usually fall into place, and all one has to contend with is the inevitable Murphy’s Law… One must be proactive - if something hints that there might be a problem brewing, then find the facts. Given the pressure of the day it is too easy to put it off, but I never regretted following through on a hunch. Mostly there was nothing, but I still slept better that night and a few times that there was a problem it was dealt with early enough to minimize its impact.
Communication:
There can never be too much communication: do it in a timely fashion, do it face-to-face, and then confirm it in writing. With all the electronic tools available to us there is no excuse to not confirm things but I am sure we are all guilty of not following through all the time. There is no such thing as too much documentation and as the saying goes "if it's not documented, it doesn't exist".
In Matters of Quality Assurance:
One must check, check and recheck.
A wise man once told me: "expect and inspect". Set the standard and then double check progress and quality on a consistent basis. Find agreed metrics for everything: for repetitive tasks so that quality doesn’t slip, for subcontractor progress against the contract, for weight control and finishing standards, to name a few. Involve the customer so that his expectations are successfully managed and there are no surprises on either side.
One must have effective, centralized document control so that up-to-date drawings, communications, change-orders, specifications, contracts, installation manuals, quality assurance standards, and requirements from class and flag are all easily accessible. Nothing destroys morale quicker than a tradesman spending days on a system only to find that he is working with an old drawing.
One must monitor even the most trusted of subcontractors, especially if they are performing work off-site. Arrange for site visits and don't assume that because you haven't heard anything for a while that everything's okay.
What are my Conclusions from all of this?
Our industry is strong. We are going through the toughest economic times of our lives but the success of the Cakewalk project proves that skills and capabilities exist in the US that can have benefit to everyone in our industry, not matter what market segment they serve. Can we be stronger? Of course we can. We don't work together as much as we could, we don't treat our subcontractors as partners as much as we can, and we don't cooperate with each other, particularly in overseas marketing, as much as some of our competitors.
One of our biggest weaknesses, industry wide, is the lack of effective Project Management. Every one of us can benefit from providing training for our key managers: the PMP© certification is a widely recognized standard and the training it requires will benefit every business represented here.
We still lack enough skilled trades-people and we must build on recent efforts to create apprentice programs and trade schools, especially in this time of high unemployment. The opportunity exists to re-train diligent, hardworking people displaced from other industries who might not ordinarily consider the marine industry.
Innovation continues to be a key to our success. We need to reach out to unusual partners - I mentioned one of our joiner subcontractors was new to the industry: they partnered with an experienced entity to learn and then delivered on time and on budget. New technology provides us the ability to digitize an entire deck at a time thereby virtually eliminating net space errors. Cakewalk’s multi-partner engineering process can now be considerably enhanced by the use of one common 3 dimensional model, updated in teleconference meetings every week. Methods and materials are improving all the time.
Just as “a rising tide lifts all boats”, Cakewalk is not just about one shipbuilder, it’s a victory for the whole industry that affirms the reputation of American workmanship. As the economy recovers I am confident that there will be many other opportunities for even bigger and better vessels of her type. The refit business will rebound and all the skill sets that I have described in the boatbuilding process are directly transferable. So I am optimistic about the future of our industry and I believe the turnaround is just around the corner…our best days are not behind us, but ahead – Cakewalk is proof.
Thank you for your attention and I hope you enjoy the rest of the program. I will be glad to answer any questions.