DTC HUB - Take Control of Your Stock - Flipbook - Page 26
MARINE INSIGHT
THE CLOCK IS
ALWAYS RUNNING
Why unplanned downtime is the cost marine
operations consistently underestimate
In marine operations, time out of
service is never free. It is simply a
cost that is absorbed elsewhere or
not accounted for at all.
Major refits can run into the millions, and
extended yard periods are already one of the
biggest barriers to planning. Those costs are
well understood. What is less consistently
measured is the impact of unplanned delay.
The days were added because materials were
unavailable. The schedule slipped because the
right consumable was not on site. The rework
that doubled the labour on a stage that
should have been completed once.
These costs do not arrive dramatically. They
accumulate quietly, and they are rarely traced
back to their source.
Where the time actually goes
Minimising downtime and maintaining quality
are fundamental to any marine operation. In
practice, however, material availability is still
often managed reactively rather than planned
with precision.
A preparation stage runs out of the correct
abrasive grade. A primer system is not
available in the required specification. A
consumable that should take minutes to
source takes days.
Individually, these delays appear minor.
Collectively, they extend a yard period in ways
that are difficult to recover from without
compressing other stages. That compression
introduces risk, whether in quality, compliance
or both.
With refit cycles typically running every five
to seven years, and significant investment tied
to each one, the margin for avoidable delay is
effectively zero.
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The compounding e昀昀ect
Unplanned downtime does not just cost time.
It compounds.
Unexpected issues regularly require contingency
budgets above planned maintenance spend. When
delays push a vessel beyond its return-to-service
date, the impact extends beyond the yard.
Charter income is disrupted. Owner commitments
are affected. In a market where vessels are updated
regularly to remain competitive, a delayed return is
not just inconvenient. It is commercially damaging.
The cause is rarely a single failure. It is the
accumulation of small gaps across the process.
Reactive ordering. Inconsistent material supply.
Consumable management based on assumption
rather than visibility.
What high-performing yards
do di昀昀erently
Operations that consistently deliver on schedule are
not necessarily working any faster. They are working
with fewer unknowns.
Materials are staged before they are needed. Stock
levels are monitored continuously, not checked when
something runs out. Consumables are specified for
the process, not substituted at the point of use.
Supply relationships are built around reliability and
responsiveness, not just unit cost.
In an environment where a single day of downtime
can outweigh the cost difference between suppliers,
the economics are clear.
The cost is already there
The clock in a marine yard is always running.
The question is not whether downtime has
a cost. It is whether that cost is understood
and controlled or simply absorbed.
Because in most cases, it is already there.
It is just not being measured.
