I remember the first time I stepped into a megayacht builder’s facility 15 years ago. The youngsters among you may be shocked to know that while computers were in use, some of the yards I regularly visited still practiced hand-lofting, wherein the designers literally drew large-scale shapes and profiles. It was a painstaking, time-consuming process, but it was the way things had always been done.
We’ve come a long way since then thanks to technology. And if Urban Voyage has anything to say about it, we’re about to take yet another leap forward. The New Zealand-based company has just released its Visual Solutions Services, which borrows expertise from the aerospace and defense industries to allow superyacht yards, designers, and even owners cost-effectively share information and images about a project online.
Via a secure login, the construction and design teams can let owners see everything from 3-D drawings of their yacht’s profile to cutaway drawings revealing how the various deck levels are arranged. Via the same process, the engineering department can input details about the electrical systems, waste-water systems, and other vital equipment, so that everyone knows where wiring and piping runs are going (and therefore why a particular design element won’t work in a specific area).
The ultimate goal of Visual Solutions Services is efficiency across the board. Urban Voyage anticipates that builders will be able to stay on time and on budget-perhaps even save a bit of both. The information can be applied throughout the entire supply chain, the company says. And Urban Voyage even expects crewmembers to be given access to the drawings, to better understand the yacht that will be under their watch.
Of course, Urban Voyage also wants owners to gain peace of mind. “Imagine the confidence our service brings to superyacht owners by allowing them to know exactly what they are investing in from the start, enabling them to understand, communicate, and have greater input with their dream project,” Marc Robinson, special projects manager for Urban Voyage, says. “If you have a computer with Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Reader, you already have the tools you need. You don’t require technical abilities to understand the technology or the design information, and it’s as easy to use as ‘point and click.'”
Richard Elliott, managing director for Urban Voyage, summarizes Visual Solutions Services this way: “Our service is scalable and can be customized for our clients’ individual needs. Studies have shown that use of this technology has enabled ‘best in class’ companies to increase revenue, reduce change orders, create faster delivery of design to manufacture information, and the ability to hit launch dates on time. Who doesn’t want this in a build?”
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