Training and Maintenance
Of course, as the yacht reaches open water, any possibility of “rolling a truck” disappears. Cranston’s got a protocol for onboard maintenance should anything come up.
“After a project is completed, we provide on-board training to the members of the engineering team on the operation and maintenance of the system,” he explains. “We also provide each yacht with a fixed engineering computer, allowing us to access — with the owner’s permission, of course — the systems and carry out fault finding, make changes to the programming, and so on.”
“A full set of spare parts is also supplied and carried on board; this ensures that in the rare instance of hardware failure, the part can be replaced immediately,” he adds. “Our aim is to support the engineering team onboard the yacht and work with them to resolve issues.”
The onboard team is a plus, too, notes Cranston. “The great thing we have in yachting compared to residential is you've got, say, on a 100-meter yacht, a chief engineer, a second engineer, and even a third engineer. There might even be an ETO (electro-technical officer), which is someone who's there to look after IT and AV.”
“We offer training for the crew as well,” adds Kerkhof. “It’s a key element of the marine program that we’ve developed.”