Disciplines and Teams

Vard Electro is home to all electric solutions and power systems. Its team of highly knowledgeable engineers and electricians is spread across 11 strategic locations worldwide. This enables them to work in close cooperation with our customers, and established brands, to develop, deliver and maintain high-quality solutions.

The team also provides an extensive set of services throughout the lifetime of a vessel. Always ready to help, our service personnel is available 24/7 for assignments in shipyards and on-board vessels worldwide.

Our governmental engineering department is responsible for the delivery of electrical design and engineering on some of the most high-profile government-funded programs around the globe.

To the exception of governmental engineering, Electro activities are organized by product group: SeaQ Power, SeaQ Control and SeaQ Bridge. Employees within this discipline often have the opportunity to work across the different product groups and build expertise in a wide range of systems.

Read more about Electro and our SeaQ products and solutions here.

All our technical designers and engineers work together under our Vard Design & Engineering organization. This enables them to collaborate effectively and to share knowledge between the different technical disciplines in VARD.

Our design and engineering activities are carried out in 3 main activity streams, which are supported by a centralized Planning, Systems & Methods department:

Conceptual Design: This team works in close cooperation with the sales organization in developing new and innovative concept designs. It is also responsible for the R&D activities. As part of Conceptual Design, the Hydro & Stability Department works closely with concept and functional designers, and supports the yards during the building phase.

Functional Design: This team counts with highly skilled specialists, engineering competences and capabilities. It is composed by six specialized departments: Accommodation, Noise & Insulation, Electrical, General Arrangement, Outfitting & Safety, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Structural, and Machinery.

Detailed Design: This team is responsible for providing drawings, documentation, and 3D modelling of the vessel for the construction and production in the shipyards. The team includes the Detailed Design Coordination department, and the design and engineering resources located in Romania.

Planning, Systems and Methods: This team supports the 3 main activity streams presented above. It is responsible for aligning the execution strategy of the engineering activities throughout the projects, with regards to integrated planning, project coordination and the use of commonly agreed standards, procedures, and software.

Finance includes accounting, controlling and treasury services. This discipline provides services and analysis to the rest of the organization, and is responsible for the overall financial reporting of VARD companies.

Teams within the finance department handle a large number of daily transactions. Together with shared services, the accounting department processes all invoices to and from the company. Their tasks range from bookkeeping, assigning and supporting approvers, to paying invoices and following up incoming payments. They work closely with the controlling function to handle transactions to and from VARD’s customers, ensuring that orders and contracts are invoiced on time, at the correct price and under the right conditions.

This discipline is also in charge of following up the projects’ finances, of keeping information about customers and suppliers up to date and to provide all kind of details on costs and revenues of VARD’s different businesses.

In addition, Finance is in charge of providing reliable financial forecasts being responsible for both Budget and Business Plan processes. This kind of information is particularly important to guide the strategic decisions of the top management of the company.

Our Human Resources team has the mission to drive the search for top talent, and to maintain a strong and healthy relationship between the company and its people, our most valuable asset.

Their wide range of responsibilities includes recruiting and onboarding, organizational and talent development, compensation and benefits, global mobility and union and employee relations, among others. This team plays a key role in supporting our highly international and diverse workforce, and in ensuring we maintain an inclusive, fair, and welcoming workplace.

Locations are supported by their own local Human Resources team, with global policies and company-wide matters being coordinated centrally from the company’s head office.

This team provides a variety of services within ICT operation and support. It includes a range of functions that are paramount to the smooth operation of the company:

Helpdesk: Provides technical support to company employees by installing new software and hardware, and by troubleshooting IT related problems users may have.

Application Operations: Is responsible for the global operation and management of VARD ICT business applications. The team focuses on supporting business areas in taking full advantage of VARD’s applications to optimize the entire value chain.

Solutions Strategy, Design & Implementation: Defines the company’s digital strategy and its roadmap. This team is in charge of executing business processes and supporting their optimization. Through its ICT Project Managers, the team supports the implementation and development of application solutions throughout the organization.

IT Infrastructure Strategy & Operations: Manages the company’s IT infrastructure and the supply of ICT services. They are also in charge of guaranteeing the continuity of ICT operations related to telecommunications and networks.

Cyber Security: VARD’s digital security team has the main goal of improving VARD’s cyber security position. The team is responsible for ensuring that our architecture and cyber security standards are designed to protect the company’s infrastructure, networks, and data. They do so in accordance with risk analysis, threat modelling, and the monitoring of security events in order to detect and react to threats before they have an impact on the business.

Our machinery team is responsible for mounting and installing machine components on board the vessel, such as main engines, gears, propellers, pumps etc. They are also involved in testing and commissioning of these components. The testing period also includes running of engines by the harbor for powering up the vessel, and sea trials where we do final testing and checks before the vessel is delivered to the customer. Other areas of responsibility are mounting and testing of lifeboats, davits, and cranes. Also mounting and testing of load hatches and watertight doors according to safety requirements.

This team is available in all our yards. They have their own workshop on shore where they create components needed on board, but they work mostly on board the newbuildings.

Our Management and Administration team consists of a multidisciplinary group of talented people who are responsible for key business functions. With their expertise and vision, our top leaders set the main business objectives and the strategic direction of the company. Managers throughout the organization, oversee day-to-day operations and ensure that the goals set by the business are met. They support and motivate our people as we work together to create ships for the future.

The procurement and logistics team follows our entire value chain. They source all goods and services required by our shipbuilding projects and our day-to-day company operations. Every day, employees within these disciplines, collaborate to move extensive quantities of goods across national borders.

An Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) enables them to carry out a large number of daily transactions, and to serve the needs of the projects and their internal customers. Their goal is to ensure that risks are properly managed, and that materials and services are purchased at the best price, delivered in a timely manner, at the right quality and under the best possible conditions.

The project management discipline oversees the entire value chain of shipbuilding projects. Simply put, Project Managers are the general managers of the project, and the customers’ main point of contact. Their scope of responsibility includes technical, procurement and production. They work across disciplines to ensure that everyone in the project organization is working towards the same goal, and that key interests are being respected along the way. Their goal is to ensure that the project is delivered according to the price, budget, quality and timeframe agreed with the customer.

In Vard Group we have 2 main project management offices, one under our Business Unit Cruise and one under our Business Unit Offshore. In addition, we count with dedicated project management departments in other VARD entities, such as Vard Electro and Vard Accommodation. As important members of the project’s core team, entity Project Managers are responsible for delivering their respective products and solutions according to project needs. Moreover, a project planning team ensures synchronization of project planning across VARD. This team is responsible for defining planning standards, procedures and reports, and for overseeing the integration of planning activities across all sites and disciplines.

The steel outfitting team is responsible for the steel constructions on board the vessels. They ensure that the steel constructions are executed according to the instructions and strength described in the drawings from Vard Design & Engineering.

When the hull arrives in our outfitting yards in Norway, this team plays a significant role in getting access to the vessel and confined spaces. By doing “cut outs” in the hull side and inside the vessel they ensure efficient logistics, transportation of equipment and materials, and enable an efficient workflow. The team is also responsible for installation of electronic components, cabinets, and fire and safety plans in addition to doing workshop outfitting and building and adjusting the mooring equipment.

This team is present in all our yards. They have their own workshop onshore, but they work mostly on board the newbuildings.

The mission of the warranty department begins when the ship leaves the yard. It is the team’s responsibility to process claims submitted by VARD ship owners, and to allocate the claims to the right person, entity, or department. Always eager to provide the best possible service, our claim coordinators follow the status of claims to ensure the customer receives the assistance they require. VARD entities such as Vard Accommodation and Vard Electro have their own warranty departments. They work together with the central warranty team to deliver timely and effective solutions to VARD customers.

Our welders weld together steel constructions and pipes.

To make sure that the weld is strong enough and correctly performed, they do “non destructible testing” (NDT) with either x-ray or ultrasound, to look for cracks or impurities in the weld. This team is also responsible for doing pressure tests of tanks to check if they are tight and that the strength of the tank is correct. The most usual welding methods are MIG (Method Inserted Gas), MAG, TIG and Electrode Welding.

This team is present in all our yards. They have their own workshop onshore, but they work mostly on board the newbuildings.