Corné van Straten
For nearly twenty years, I’ve been working in the field of electrical engineering, mainly in installation technology. In this capacity, I’ve gained experience in engineering and machine building and led a service department with eight employees.
Throughout my career, I’ve explored various aspects of electrical engineering and specialized in service & aftersales in the maritime segment. For sixteen years, I maintained relationships and coordinated service & aftersales work with shipyards and superyacht crews. During this period, I encountered every conceivable challenge at least once.
For instance, frequency converters causing lights to flicker. These converters often generate higher harmonics that cause interference in other electrical systems on board, such as lighting. Harmonic distortion can also disrupt operation of sensitive electronic equipment, such as power supplies for navigation systems. Therefore, it is essential to conduct adequate measurements and map installations accurately. In the past, I once discovered pollution in excess of 10% in an on-board system. No one had suspected this was the case, so it was quite a surprise. Through measurements and simulations, you can uncover causes and effects and provide a solution.
A few months ago, I joined HyTEPS, where I am further developing and professionalizing our service activities. All processes are now being mapped out in detail and optimized wherever possible, allowing us to act even faster and take a more preventive approach. The goal is to make service increasingly proactive rather than reactive by timely identification of problems, thinking along with customers, and providing advice, sometimes unsolicited. Proactive service, such as regular maintenance and monitoring, ensures potential problems are identified and addressed early on. However, truly effective service also means resolving issues quickly and efficiently, minimizing downtime, and increasing productivity. HyTEPS possesses a wealth of knowledge, and we aim to utilize it to an even greater extent in practice and work in an even more solution-oriented manner.
Many interesting developments, challenges, and opportunities are currently materializing in electrical engineering and the world of yachting, especially in the areas of new technologies, reducing energy consumption, and decreasing emissions. Energy management is becoming increasingly important, and HyTEPS is contributing to this, and could play an even more significant role.
Reliability of installations as a priority
Yacht owners naturally want lighting, communication equipment, and audio and video equipment to work under all circumstances. For yacht builders, it is crucial that power consumption, efficiency, and safety are demonstrably in order. By using active filters, for example, you can extract more power from generators and ensure greater efficiency. The electrical installation also becomes more reliable, and there is less chance of equipment failure. A load management system can ensure energy consumption is efficiently distributed across electrical devices and systems on board. This technology will become increasingly important.
You can also prevent numerous problems by simulating the correct components in a variety of combinations beforehand. By selecting the right LED drivers in combination with the connected lighting/spotlights with a high power factor, you can, for example, prevent flicker on yachts. Sometimes a lighting architect might prescribe a certain type of lighting that can cause problems, but based on our analyses, we can make alternative suggestions.
Family feeling
In the past, I have regularly worked closely with HyTEPS, and I am pleased to now be part of the team. During my job interview, I discovered I would be employee number 30, which surprised me because I thought HyTEPS was a smaller, compact company. The strong internal structure, with a well-set-up ERP system and a link with the financial department, immediately struck me. The culture is exactly as I expected: everyone is very helpful and contributes to solving issues. It feels like a smaller company, despite its growth, and the sense of ‘family’ has been preserved. Something to cherish, as I have seen other growing companies struggle to maintain that culture.
Once, Christan van Dorst from HyTEPS and I installed an active filter on a yacht that was experiencing issues with flickering lighting. The solution was implemented within a week of the problem being reported. We checked stock, traveled to Italy, installed the filter, and tested it at sea. The yacht builder saw firsthand what measuring, simulating, and filtering can do and quickly approached HyTEPS with another job.
HyTEPS has a vast customer base, including several companies with a vast installed base of active harmonic filters. This requires a tight maintenance schedule and detailed planning and reporting. It is also important to consider the implications of recent or planned changes to an installation, changes in usage, or new requirements and regulations. With this in mind, I started mapping out all service contracts. What exactly is described? What is expected of us and under what conditions? Where can we add more value? Which customers can benefit even more from our service? How can we better relieve them of their worries?
Maintenance was often given to companies’ technical department, but systems and regulations are becoming increasingly complex. More and more knowledge is needed to do the job well, especially when problems arise that involve multiple parties. In such cases, you must be very sure that all the information you bring in is entirely accurate. At HyTEPS, we are eager to tackle these challenges and continuously strive for excellence in service and customer satisfaction.
