‘A day in the life’ at Elomatic
René Fiege, Managing Director
Working at Elomatic Marine Maritime Technologies GmbH has been an adventure! I co-founded the company in June 2022 alongside with Elomatic and three other German shareholders. The creation of Elomatic Maritime Technologies GmbH provided a new home for our shipyard design team, allowing us to continue doing what we are passionate about.
Besides leading the business unit as the Managing Director, I offer my expertise for business consulting services involving the key shipyard experts within Elomatic to support shipyards in developing their business processes for design, planning and production.
Workshops play a crucial role in understanding existing processes, identifying improvement potentials, and proposing tailored solutions. On a typical day, I collaborate closely with customer teams to develop optimal solutions that not only enhance processes but also address their specific needs. It’s a continuous improvement process, with each workshop offering new insights and opportunities for growth through this mentoring.
Embracing change can sometimes be a challenge when it comes to motivating a team. I find that emphasizing the benefits of adopting new processes, ensuring people understand the positive impact of their work on the overall process helps to bring people on the journey. Offering budget, resources and support, I encourage a mindset shift towards embracing change as the key to success.
Success in my consulting role demands a profound experience in various areas of shipyard operations. My career, which began in shipbuilding in 1996, has had a lot of responsibilities overseeing all major shipyard processes over the years, leading to the founding of Elomatic’s German office in 2022. Throughout my career, listening to customer needs and effective communication has been crucial. This ensures that our proposals are not just technically adequate but also tailored to meet the specific needs of each customer.
For those aspiring to get into a career in ship design, my advice is to learn as much as you can and value the knowledge of the experts around you, gain as much experience as possible, and maintain an open-minded approach. The maritime industry is ever evolving, and staying active on these things will help you pave the way forward in this industry.
The most rewarding moments at Elomatic are when our customers express satisfaction with the solutions we’ve developed, recognizing the value we have added. Our commitment to innovation was showcased in a recent project where we optimized the overall design process at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards (VSY), restructuring the development procedures within all design disciplines, as well as the interfaces between the disciplines and their interaction with purchasing and planning. To seamlessly integrate the new process into our organization and make it operational, we’ve incorporated it within Elomatic’s SDP-Tool, a robust Project Management Software specifically designed to oversee the entire ship design process.
As we look ahead, the challenges facing the industry in the next five years are significant. Developing green technologies quickly enough to keep up with climate change is a key driver in our ship designs. In the current global context, there is a growing trend for countries to establish shipyards within their own countries, rather than relying solely on those overseas. Navigating this trend requires an in depth understanding of the factors involved both with regard to shipyards in specific countries and internationally.
I enjoy being a part of the Elomatic team, the company offers a modern working environment and focuses on the well-being of its employees. The supportive culture of our team in the Wismar office, where experienced engineers and those new to shipbuilding collaborate, creates a perfect environment for personal and professional growth. I’m proud to work at Elomatic, where every day brings a new opportunity to chart new courses in maritime innovation.
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