Inside the shipyard
| 21 June 2012 | Posted by Alex from Lagoon under Lagoon world |
As you might expect, Lagoon mainly consists in men and women who work to think, create, develop, build, distribute… unique catamarans bringing maximum enjoyment to their owners. A large part of the 500 people working on the site of Bordeaux where the large Lagoon catamarans are manufactured is dedicated to the building of the catamarans. To describe this dimension of CNB, I interviewed Cyril Boyer, 38 years old, production manager, and in charge of the production of Lagoon 500, 560 and 620.
When and how did you join CNB?
I arrived in September 2004 to develop methods in production boat building. It was the time of the Lagoon 570 for which CNB had received a large order from a charter company to make 12 identical boats. In parallel there was the birth of the Lagoon 500 which was concomitant with the expansion of the CNB production site. Before that, I worked in the USA for Bénéteau in South Carolina. I have been with the Bénéteau Group since 2000. And before this American experience, I had joined Jeanneau in the woodwork methods department and specifically on the industrialization of teak decks, after an engineering degree in the wood industry.
Who do you work with?
I am in charge of production boats at CNB, that is to say the moulding, the woodwork, the assembly, the shipping and the handling. I work with a moulding workshop manager and another at the woodwork shop, as well as with foremen for the final assembly.
Can you describe your typical work day?
In a simple way, I divide my day into two parts: the morning I am in charge of the assembly part and in the afternoon, I am manager of the whole factory. I start at 7:15 a.m.. The first hours are dedicated to managing the random daily problems (staffing, realocating work stations, technical problems, chain audit of all work stations). Following the audits I gather my team leaders to deal with information feedback (whether from a technical or a safety perspective…), the aim being to have an overall view of the assembly chain early in the morning. Then the end of the morning is devoted to a meeting with a supervisor to talk about his area of responsibility (report on the progress of the various work stations, on the workforce, current critical issues on which they need help , analysis of indicators, etc …) The goal being to be able to help them in their actions.
In the afternoon I am more oriented towards the factory as a whole. So I spend some time with the other foremen.
What do you like best about your job?
What I like most about my job is the power of man in general. I am always impressed by the ability of our teams to create vessels over 15 meters with their own hands. And we have no robots to achieve this, to the surprise of many visitors. In four days, we install all the networks (plumbing and electrics) on a Lagoon 500, or we do all the draping and the infusion of a Lagoon 620 bridge deck!
What do you like most about CNB?
What I like best about CNB is that since I arrived, I was fortunate to see a company under constant evolution as we worked to develop, to manage the expansion. There is always something to run after, and it’s exciting to move forward, whether in terms of organization, control delays, technical, quality…
What is your view on the evolution of Lagoon catamarans?
This question is funny because at the time I arrived, the Lagoon 500 which came to replace the Lagoon 470 looked enormous, gigantic … 7 years later we see the same Lagoon 500 next to a Lagoon 620 or a Lagoon 560 and it seems a bit small! Change in terms of volume and space seems to be a milestone in the evolution of our catamarans.
Technological development is also very important and that the work of operators requires more advanced knowledge than before, with the evolution of electrical multiplexing systems or hydraulic systems, for example.
If you were to buy a Lagoon, which model would you choose and why?
The Lagoon 620 is very nice: its spaciousness and openness between the cockpit and the saloon are real advantages for living on a cruise and at anchor. Also as a windsurfing enthusiast I would need something to carry all my equipment without neglecting the comfort of my family!
What other services or functions at CNB do you consider as very important?
I know little about the work of marketing and sales, but it seems obvious that in times of tough market conditions, the organization of a distribution network is essential to advise potential clients. I think truly that one of our advantages is the quality of our dealer network.
But beyond that, there is no department that is more important than another. What seems crucial is the interaction and cohesion between the services and functions. Understanding the problems of each other is essential to make things work properly.
Have you experienced an unusial situation on the site that you would like to tell us?
An unusual story … One day a customer wanted to visit the site and see his boat. He announced that he would be flying in by helicopter. So we tagged a small landing area thinking it would be perfect for a small private helicopter. He finally arrived with a large one and our “helipad” was of course too small. So he had to land between our two buildings after flying over the site at low altitude. A sensational arrival!
If you want to have a look inside the actual Bordeaux factory, you can see the video on this article.
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