Increasing efficiency is almost always one of the central tenets for the short, medium and long-term aspirations of a commercial entity. Increasing efficiency can come in many guises, be it reducing waste, material or time, or analysing the makeup of a workforce, to employ or subcontract? In issue 178 of The Superyacht Report, Martin Redmayne, chairman of The Superyacht Group, speaks exclusively with Arthur Brouwer, CEO of Heesen, about efficiency, corporate approach and the machinations of Heesen’s commercial machine.

“Efficiency drive is designed to save operational and manufacturing hours, with less wasted time and more focus on what will make the workforce more engaged and efficient,” says Brouwer. “This is not to save money for the shipyard and reduce costs but to allow the craftsmen to spend more time on building a better product, where the hours are reinvested in quality”.

Brouwer touches on an interesting point that is seldom given the prominence it deserves in superyachting parlance. Everyone discusses quality as being the end goal, I doubt any shipyard would be so brazen as to suggest they would accept an inferior product if it saved money. However, when people discuss efficiency they are, mostly, referring to their ability to reduce costs – Brower’s outlook on efficiency and quality is refreshing to say the least.

That being said, efficiency begets savings. Brouwer reveals that Heesen has managed to generate a 3.5 per cent saving on man hours per project, thanks in large to workflow analysis. And still there is still no desire to completely strip back the processes to mirror the lean industrialisation of the automotive industry - as efficient as it may be.

To read this article in full, click here to subscribe and receive your copy of issue 178 of The Superyacht Report.

Profile links

Heesen Yachts

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.