Page 36: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 2020)

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INTERVIEW John Waterhouse, elliott Bay Design group cycle for ferry vessels in the United States. We have continued said Waterhouse. “They are looking hard at their margins to to support several ferry projects , including, some of the largest figure out how they can trim to stay in the business or make ferry operators in the US - Staten Island, Texas DOT, N. Caro- a return to their shareholders. Transportation is a tough indus- lina DOT, Washington State DOT.” try; there’s lots of competition and its historically been a drive

Much innovation in maritime (and beyond) is driven by to greater efficiencies, which often means that the margins emerging regulations, none more important today than the get thinner and thinner.” Like the maritime industry it serves, mandate to reduce carbon emissions from shipping. But inno- EBDG has had its fair share of ups and downs. “We have had vative solutions in and of themselves are not the mission of our feast and famine days,” said Waterhouse. “The famine side

EBDG. “It’s not like our customers are sitting on piles of cash of the business is certainly no fun, because the people you work that they want to spend on interesting engineering projects,” with are not simply numbers on a ledger, they are your friends, you know their families. Keeping business coming in the door has been a large part of my focus for 30 years.”

Evolving Technology

From pencils, drawing boards and slide rules to 3D modeling and computing in the cloud, the tools used to design vessels have changed dramatically since 1988. While technology acceleration has assisted firms like EBDG to “develop things quicker, faster and better” Waterhouse warns that technology in and of itself is not an answer. “One of my biggest fears is an over-reliance on technology that is not backed up with experience and com- mon sense,” said Waterhouse. “Your people still need to have enough calibration and the ability to do a back of the envelope calculation using first principles to reassure themselves that what they’re getting out of the computer is indeed reasonable.”

EBDG, similar to others in the industry, battles with an ag- ing workforce and the grooming of the next generation. “We

Above: Fisher Island Community

Association – passenger/vehicle ferry.

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Below: Governors Island passenger

Solve problems remotely, against reduced maintenance costs only ferry delivered May 23, 2019.

AlphaEye

Real-time audio visual support

Global Customer Support Centre

Smart Ship Viewer (SSV)

Monitor, download and share

Expert support at a safe distance

Remote Maintenance System (RMS)

Photo: EBDG

Remote diagnosis & maintenance of JRC equipment

More information 36 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • May 2020 [email protected]