Our history
The Chantiers Allais shipyard was born out of the dreams of a twelve-year-old boy, fascinated by the 26-foot yacht he saw being built in his father’s boilermaking workshop in 1966. The adventure began in 1984…
Our infrastructures
In 2006, Chantiers Allais moved to 18,000-square-metre premises in the Cherbourg Naval Base, providing a wonderful potential for realising our customers’ projects… We now have an 18,000-square-metre building with four 2,500-square-metre and three 2,000-square-metre bays, all equipped with overhead cranes (capacity: 5, 10 and 30 tonnes). There is also a 30-metre-long fitting-out wharf and 2,000 square metres of office space.
Our organization
Insofar as we design the ships we build, and that we have chosen to keep all aspects of shipbuilding in house, we have decided to develop an organisation model based on ISO 9001 2000 principles. In 2003 we decided to optimise our organisation further by integrating it into a data base management system, that we again preferred to develop in house by creating our own IT department. We have placed the “ship object” at the heart of our organisation system. The purpose of all the functions within the company is to produce this “object”. All functions are involved, whether commercial, operational design and construction or administrative and financial, in the context of a contractual relationship clearly defined with the customer. The “ship object” is at the centre of all our processes. This involves managing information that is correlated and interactive, but only applicable insofar as the people involved in the processes are to take it into account and infer fresh information from it, in order for the organisation system to reach its overall objective, customer satisfaction and loyalty. In choosing to create our GPSI® Integrated Systems Forecasting system, our ERP-type process management system is part of our strategy based on the following observation: although our activities are anchored in the concrete process of building a ship, to be really successful we have to master its virtual representation. This observation is obvious when applied to ship design. The progress that has doubled computing power has made Computer Aided Design into a technique that is wholly accessible at an acceptable cost. Software has developed, and now provides virtual representation of reality, enabling designs to be simulated before being put into production, in order to validate their compliance with requirements. Today, the mastery of this software, associated of course with the appropriate skills, considerably reduces the risk of error during ship design. Previously it was only when a ship reached its natural element that we knew whether it was going to behave as expected, but now we can explore possible solutions in ways which were denied to us in the past. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1baub0TZj8 This observation is also true with respect to the management of other processes in a shipyard. The “Virtual construction site” concept gives an overall view of the processes involved in its activities and optimises efficiency, as does designing a ship with CAD systems, given the possibilities arising from increased computing power used to simulate several solutions for ship production, involving complex interactive combinations of correlated information, aiding in decision-making. There again, increased efficiency is not only due to the systems used to produce the virtual representation. It is based above all on the skills of the people using them. These skills are a result of experience, and of the capacity to conceptualise, in order to create an abstract representation, enabling the results to be understood as they appear. We have carried out, and continue to carry out, the long process of analysis and abstract representation, followed by transfer to the GPSI® system being developed. Our software automates repetitive operations controlling the reasoning that manages the correlated interactive combinations of data that we are to take into account, in all our processes, in order to optimise our objectives. Everyone involved in the organisation thus saves time by avoiding the repetitiveness of recurrent processes. This approach enables us not only to control our activities, but also to analyse their results, almost in real time. In order to understand our approach to organisation better, you can look at a set of photos and films showing how we operate, and the virtual representation films that we use to optimise our activities. These materials are available for the media and used to illustrate the explanations given above. Of course the systems we have developed provide us with an advantage over our competitors, that we protect by following Winston Churchill’s advice: “Keep your secrets secret”. For our customers, the clear organisational methods which appear in the relationship that we have with them, is a guarantee of quality that we are planning to have certified, even though ISO Certification procedures are not really appropriate for our approach. This is because they will involve transferring to a set of written procedures, practices which are intrinsic to the integrated management we apply to our organisation. Controlled by our software, all the steps in a process have to be carried out by the person responsible for managing them; failing this would produce a malfunctioning situation, with the system preventing work progressing. Given that all our integrated workstations, together with their operator, undergo operational analysis, this “positive constraint”, apart from the fact that it makes each person’s work safer by constituting a clear guide to their activities, results in timesaving through the automation of repetitive processes. The time saved may be devoted to the analysis of hypotheses based on the variables characterising the data, through simulation, with the GPSI® system acting as an aid to decision-making.
Our expertise
Since our shipyard was created, we have continually built up our skills and expertise in all aspects of shipbuilding. The quality of the ships we build is based on the mastery of these skills. In Tom Clancy’s novel The Hunt for Red October, one of the characters says that naval engineering is still an art. However, the development of computers has given the “art of shipbuilding” calculation power enabling with which to confront its “creations” with the unexpected circumstances that they may encounter. It is still true that naval architecture and engineering activities cannot be taken lightly. Our design team work together using the expertise acquired through their training and through experience. Several members of the company studied in prestigious colleges and universities (ENSTA Advanced Technology College, Arts et Métiers Technology College, Southampton University) and combine their know-how with the expertise gained through experience by our older staff. In addition, the fact that we design our own ships means that we are in direct contact with the people building them, who teach us how produce designs that they can build. And so, as we design each of our projects, we make progress for the benefit of our customers.
This has been our speciality since the shipyard opened in 1984.
Our metalworkers comply with strict rules when producing the structure and plating, in order to preserve all the properties of the aluminium. We deal regularly with all thicknesses, from 3 to 40 mm. We only work with non-ferrous metals in our workshops, in order to avoid the risk of our production being contaminated by carbon deposits.
Appropriate cutting and abrading tools are used for grinding and sanding in order to comply with this constraint. We do not perform flame rectification, in order to avoid molecular distortion of materials subjected to heat. Forming, in particular bending, is done with tooling that limits work hardening liable to embrittle aluminium.
Extreme care is taken over joining plates, so that welded joints cause as little thermal stress as possible. Parts which have been cut from the middle of plates are rounded off in order to avoid all risk of crack initiation.
Welding aluminium requires expertise involving training the operators in the care which will guarantee success.
The welders in our shipyards practise two techniques for welding aluminium: TIG, used only for piping and fittings, and MIG, used for other welding operations, in particular for the superstructure and for hull plating joints.
For each ship built, in accordance with the rules laid down by the Classification Society monitoring the work done, our Manufacturing Engineering department draws up a welding data sheet specifying the types of welds.
Weld preparation involves the skills of the metalworker who is to bevel any plates that are more than 6 mm thick, and ensure the correct root gap. Then the rigour of the welder comes into play, when he or she brushes the weld to remove the alumina, just before doing the weld. Weld preparation is a major element in achieving quality welding.
Depending on the size of the ship and the classification society’s requirement levels, welds undergo penetrant testing or radiography.
All our welders have certification in accordance with NF EN ISO 9606-2 (A 88-110-2).
Dealing with the bodywork for an aluminium hull is an operation that may prove extremely costly, if the metalworking and welding processes are not totally mastered, or if a “mirror” surface is sought.
For ships built for a professional owner, the finish of our bodywork uses less than 5 kilos of epoxy sealant over a complete 20-metre hull, while meeting our customers’ requirements.
Paint is applied with Airless sprays, in accordance with suppliers’ specifications, including for recoat times. The thickness of the paint applied is checked.
Paint is without doubt the first element providing protection from corrosion for the quick works of aluminium ships.
Protection by full epoxy-based coats gives excellent results.
Two coats are applied, after a primer that provides the “chemical bond” between the aluminium and the epoxy.
For the dead works of aluminium ships, the paint has a decorative function rather than a protective one, insofar as alumina provides natural protection from atmospheric corrosion.
Even more than engine positioning and propeller alignment, where absolute rigour is required, it is the care taken over producing the peripheral elements for the engine room that gives the outstanding quality of the ships we produce.
Our engineers’ main concern is to facilitate the work of the people responsible for making sure that the engine runs efficiently while the ship is being operated.
In order to produce installations with the most appropriate equipment, we have even developed and produced a number of specific accessories.
The engine rooms in our ships are ergonomic and safe, the result of our being attentive to what sailors tell us while discussing their projects.
We make no claims to be joiners. In fact we rule out completely the use of wood for outfitting in our ships.
We reached this decision in order to use materials that are completely rot-proof and have the highest possible fire rating. This is of course a statutory requirement, but we also took into consideration fire being the main cause of marine peril and shipwreck.
We use composite materials meeting these requirements, and within the range available we choose the lightest in order to reduce displacement, and thus the ship’s energy bill, without forgetting performance.
The products we use provide a wide choice of finishes with which we can achieve completely different effects from one project to the next, while using the same methods.
Our “carpenters” also apply lagging, for both sound and heat insulation. It is applied in the engine rooms in accordance with current regulations, and in the living quarters.
Flooring materials are selected to stand up well to intensive use.
A ship’s electrical installation has to comply with strict rules, whether the vessel is in aluminium or made using other materials. In order to be in complete control of the quality of the electrical aspect of our production, we have integrated a team of electricians into our shipyard’s staff.
For both the direct current and the alternating current circuits, compliance with Classification Society rules and IMO regulations, plus the care taken over choosing components and equipment, ensure a reliable installation.
Changes to environmental requirements have led us to acquire more skills in electrical engineering and electronics, two fields which open up perspectives of solutions for helping reduce greenhouse gases.
We have started conducting R&D into energy production using new generation batteries and fuel cells.
Integrating these technologies into a ship’s propulsion system still involves considerable expense; mastering their integration will be an advantage in the future when the cost decreases.
The philosophy behind our QSE undertaking
The philosophy behind our QSE undertaking For us, it is not just a question of obeying the law, or using our QSE undertaking to further our image. It is part of our ethical code requiring rigour, responsibility and results, that controls our view of our company, and respects the men and women in it. Our shipyard is in an environment conducive to the development of a demanding QSE policy, as we are within the Cherbourg Naval Base. Sometimes it is difficult to put over to our staff, at all levels, that Health & Safety procedures should not be seen as a constraint, but as an opportunity to experience a better working environment. This involves making efforts to train our staff, being involved in their work from day to day, and implementing measures that will create an environment conducive to awareness of our health as our most precious possession, and of safety in the workplace being part of what makes us competitive. A company running on an even keel makes for better job security. The slides show you what has arisen from this approach. We persevere in this direction with the Health & Safety Committee, by working on the improvements that are always necessary. Our efforts over health & safety also come to play in skills forecasting, which has a role to play in protecting the health of our staff. The preservation of our environment, both as a social and a financial factor, is part of the day to day life of Chantiers Allais. We are currently undergoing ISO 14001 certification.
Our last project
Unsere aktuellen Projekte
WindCrewSurfer 180025 July 2014 - 15 h 15 min
WindCrewSurfer 240025 July 2014 - 13 h 09 min
EAGLE BOW 240018 July 2014 - 10 h 05 min
Ferry 300015 November 2013 - 16 h 16 min
Transboarder15 November 2013 - 16 h 04 min
Aquilon15 November 2013 - 11 h 59 min
Transrade15 November 2013 - 11 h 27 min
Heliophile 30015 November 2013 - 11 h 27 min
onze laatste projecten
- WindCrewSurfer 180025 July 2014 - 15 h 15 min
- WindCrewSurfer 240025 July 2014 - 13 h 09 min
- EAGLE BOW 240018 July 2014 - 10 h 05 min
- Ferry 300015 November 2013 - 16 h 16 min
- Transboarder15 November 2013 - 16 h 04 min
- Aquilon15 November 2013 - 11 h 59 min
- Transrade15 November 2013 - 11 h 27 min
- Heliophile 30015 November 2013 - 11 h 27 min
