Email Print<\/p>\n
Volvo costs halved<\/p>\n
08 Feb 2016<\/p>\n
Amory Ross\/Team Alvimedica\/Volvo Ocean Race<\/p>\n
VOLVO OCEAN RACE: At a time when rival major global sports events are struggling to contain spiralling costs, the cost of entering the Volve Ocean Race has been slashed.<\/p>\n
According to a report by independent auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) sailing\u2019s premier round-the-world event, the Volvo Ocean Race, has managed to halve the cost of competing for sponsors.<\/p>\n
Much of the credit for this has been ascribed by report author, Manuel D\u00edaz, to The Boatyard, the shared maintenance facility introduced by the race for the last edition in 2014-15.<\/p>\n
“A campaign now costs around 50% less to run \u2013 in the last editions, the cost was between \u20ac20-35 million, rather than \u20ac10-15 million for campaigns at the same level,” the report, Assessment of the Maintenance Operating Model, says.<\/p>\n
The Boatyard has broken new ground in the offshore racing industry, pooling both human and equipment resources for the servicing of a newly introduced class of boat.<\/p>\n
The Farr designed Volvo Ocean 65 one design broke with 40 years of tradition in an event, which was launched in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.<\/p>\n
Outstanding results<\/p>\n
The report, which was commissioned by the race after the finish of the 12th edition in June last year, highlighted: “The list of benefits is no longer hypothetical: the model has already been implemented, showing an excellent performance and outstanding results.”<\/p>\n
The report, in particular, praises:<\/p>\n
* Significant cost reduction in contracts with suppliers, spare parts stock, transportation, labour and support staff and infrastructure<\/p>\n
* A reduction of breakages and the consequent corrective maintenance<\/p>\n
* Improved predictive maintenance, fixing potential weaknesses before they result in breakdowns<\/p>\n
It added: “One of the main benefits of The Boatyard is that it has become easier to attract both participants and sponsors \u2013 the entry barrier is lower but is not only a matter of cost.<\/p>\n
“As all the teams have the exact same platform, the risk of having a much slower boat is lower. On the other hand, safety has been at the heart of the one design process, with the boats designed to last at least two editions of the toughest race on earth.”<\/p>\n
D\u00edaz recommends The Boatyard could be even more effective with a stepped up level of performance monitoring through a list of key indicators, such as average time for repair, man power utilisation and efficiency and inventory turnover.<\/p>\n
Nick Bice, who manages The Boatyard, was delighted the project had won the positive comments from the PwC report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat pleases me is that it\u2019s recognised now that our standards are in line with the very highest in the automotive and aeronautical industries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA key statistic that has been highlighted is that 90%+ of our servicing was proactive, in other words fixing potential problems before they led to breakdowns. Only around 10% of that work was reactive.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ambition is now simple: we are aiming to get to a stage where there is no excuse for breakages in the next race other than those caused by human error.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want future stories to be about why a boat has broken down, we want the stories to be about the people sailing on board.\u201d<\/p>\n
via Boating Business | Volvo costs halved<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Email Print Volvo costs halved 08 Feb 2016 Amory Ross\/Team Alvimedica\/Volvo Ocean Race VOLVO OCEAN RACE: At a time when rival major global sports events are struggling to contain spiralling costs, the cost of entering the Volve Ocean Race has … Continue reading