DeRegt is a leading manufacturer of high-end cable solutions that offers a full cradle to grave field service.
This means that you can get your cables promptly serviced by their original manufacturer. Our in-depth knowledge of our products and our extensive stock of spare parts allow you to focus on other things by keeping your downtime to a minimum. We spoke to Field Service Manager, Mario Boot to give you a first-hand account of what this newly expanded service could mean to you.
What is field service?
For me, it means being ready to help your clients 24/7. If you deliver a high-quality product, as DeRegt does, then you need to also provide a maintenance programme that can maintain that quality. In all the maritime cables we make, our cables provide the connection between the ship and the tools in the water. If this connection fails, the entire ship will have to go into downtime, and this is incredibly expensive.
Field service means never refusing help. And never refusing help means going places ad-hoc, and knowing how to get different parts to different places in the world. Military restrictions can be tricky to navigate. Field service is about knowing how to get them to your client, so they have minimum downtime.
With DeRegt Field Service, you can call us any time, any place, and we will come to your aid. It doesn’t matter where the ship is located, we will travel there. And we won’t stop until it’s fixed. Field service means one less worry for you.
And how do you manage it?
I do everything from the communication with the client, to the execution and the aftercare. The Field Service team has now been expanded to meet the needs of our growing client base around the world.
We draw up the service agreements, carry out preventative maintenance and help you ensure that you have the right spare parts on board.
We also ensure certain key components are always kept in stock at our HQ, which allows us to do quick interventions because delivery times are eliminated.
Field Service is all about thinking ahead, so it’s not something you are able to set up in a day. I have been there from the start of the Field Service at DeRegt, and I am proud of the service we are now able to offer. It’s been hard work, but seeing the satisfaction we are able to provide makes it all worthwhile. Especially now this excellent service is getting pushed more actively by DeRegt.
What is the question you get asked most frequently?
“Are you done yet?”
And I completely understand. It’s because by the time clients pick up the phone to us, there is already a big problem. That’s why it’s important to assess a cable fault as quickly as possible, so you can give a timeline of when it can be operational again. As soon as you can give a timeline, everyone can relax again. And this takes experience. It also helps when people know you and trust you.
Our aim is to keep building our reputation so that when a client sees that DeRegt has arrived, they can immediately relax. DeRegt Field Service gives you one less thing to worry about.
I am proud that we are able to answer ‘yes, I’m done’ before any other party would.
What is the most common cause of problems?
Cable handling is where 80% of all problems arise. How they are rinsed, how cables are pulled back on board, and how they are entered into the water. Some cables should be taken out of the water with a crane, and if the crane isn’t used, but it is dragged along the deck, that will lead to problems.
Any surface that the cable comes into contact with just has to be checked and cleaned and checked again. The correct winch really has to be used at all times. And then 20% is just bad luck. You can’t stop a shark from biting through the occasional cable!
Field service also means thinking ahead. DeRegt wants their clients to know how to handle the cables correctly so that they will continue to function in the way they should. That’s why we also offer handling training. Every time we come into contact with clients, we are able to share more knowledge, that will keep cables fault-free for longer.