Royal Caribbean's 19 huge cruise ships are made for the most luxurious holidays. By working smarter and more efficiently, the cruise major aims to provide the vacation of a lifetime – every time.
Royal Caribbean has 19 huge cruise ships to operate, each carrying thousands of people through some of the most exotic locations. Adding to the fleet, in April 2006 the largest cruise-vessel in the world, the Freedom of the Seas, will be launched to sea in Finland and set sail for the Caribbean.
“We have a large and very complex fleet, but we are confident that by understanding the risks of our operations and by being able to take measured and calculated steps to maintain and operate the fleet, we have a good process going forward,” says Capt. William Wright, senior vice president of marine operations at Royal Caribbean International.
Bigger ships.
The Freedom of the Seas is 339 meter long, measuring 160.000 gt, and comes with a host of attractions, including something truly spectacular.
"The ships are getting bigger and they have more attractions and activities. With the Freedom-class ships this is really taking off. The next big attraction is wave surfing, called 'FlowRider', which will be offered on Freedom of the Seas together with a rock-climbing wall, an ice-skating rink, a full-size basketball court, and much more," says Mikael Backman, associate vice president of marine operations at Royal Caribbean International.
The cruise industry is only 30 years old and attracts a growing number of passengers each year on the promise of an affordable and convenient holiday. Royal Caribbean were the first owners to introduce a purpose-built cruise-ship, the Song of Norway, back in the mid-seventies. The cruise industry has grown large since then, and so has Royal Caribbean.
Working smarter. A cruise ship represents a considerable investment, and has a maximum lifespan at Royal Caribbean of up to 30 years. There is a continuous maintenance programme with thousands of tasks pr. ship. All the cruise ships are also refurbished continuously to meet the standard demanded by customers.
“We started a project last year together with DNV to look at the fleet-wide maintenance process and strategy. The goal was simple though difficult to achieve; find a way to work smarter and more efficiently,” says Capt. Wright.
Changing the whole organisation.
It soon became apparent that to work smarter and set the stage for a more efficient process, the project's first task was to change the entire organisational structure of Royal Caribbean's marine operations.
"We made problems for ourselves by having unclear roles and responsibilities. Everybody was involved with money, technology and people. It was an unpleasant situation. We had to find a better way to organise ourselves," admits Backman.
The organisation came together after a gruelling six-month period, which involved practically everyone from boardroom to engine-room.
Clearer roles and responsibilities.
“We now have clearer roles and responsibilities. We know who is in charge of the money, who is in charge of the people and so forth. We have clear lines between maritime operations and technical support," says Backman.
Capt. Wright is also positive; “It took time and was frustrating, because we still had a fleet to run, but it was very much a team effort together with DNV. The new organisation has been in place now for about five months, and it's clear to us that it was the right thing to do. And in addition to the new structure, we have the right people. They are practically all experienced sailors, who know what kind of support the fleet needs."
After the organisational changes were implemented, a risk based approach to the maintenance process is being applied. Together, the two phases of the project will unlock substantial savings.
"We now spend money and effort where it's needed. Concrete examples of improvements are consolidation of onboard tasks to reduce work orders, a reduction in stocks of spare parts, and clearer job descriptions for the maintenance crews. We also standardise jobs and spread best practices to every ship in the fleet," says Capt. Wright.
Pilot on Grandeur of the Seas. With this success onboard, the next step is to take the newly formed maintenance strategy and processes to the test on one of the ships in the fleet; the Grandeur of the Seas. If that pilot goes well then Royal Caribbean will roll that system out with DNV to the rest of the fleet.
"The project has had a deep impact on marine operations because of the organisational changes. And it's the risk management approach that is the reason we can sit down with DNV and look at our maintenance programme and go forward looking for opportunities and efficiency increases in our operations," concludes Backman.
All with one aim in mind: To spoil their guests even more efficiently rotten than before.