Nineteen employees visited the site of Cherbourg from 26 to 28 March. In turn, the site of Lorient welcomed twenty of their colleagues on 8 and 9 April. These visitors all have one thing in common: they belong to the Mission and Combat Systems Department and work on the digital aspects of our major new construction programs. Based on the sites of Bagneux, Angoulême-Ruelle or Ollioules, far from construction sites, they rarely, if ever, have the opportunity to actually see the products they work on…until this field visit in the form of the Onboarding Days organised by Naval Group.
A packed schedule
At barely nine o’clock, after an initial presentation of the site’s activities over breakfast, followed by a reminder of the safety rules, participants geared up with their personal protective equipment (PPE) and set off on a guided tour. Workshops, shipyards, virtual reality trials, visits on board, for one or two days depending on the program, the teams toured different areas of the site, which will no longer hold (practically) any secrets for them.
“The day allowed me to discover the entire spectrum of worker trades that exist and are required for shipbuilding. I learned how these ships are built and equipped, and the various stages involved, starting with sheet metal to the final assembly of the ship with its equipment,” recounts Tiffany, a Software Engineer on the site of Ollioules.
The participants were absolutely enthralled at the close of a packed day with a rich program. What’s more, actually witnessing the culmination of their day-to-day efforts, gave them the feeling of having added another string to their bow. “The site tour was the highlight of this visit, for all of us with office-based jobs. It allowed us to appreciate the sheer enormity of our ships and gain a keen awareness of the complexity of such a construction site: the number of parts on board, how they fit together, the number of people working at the same time without getting in each other’s way. A genuine hive of activity, where the work has been orchestrated with great precision upstream,” says Rémy, a Software Designer on the site of Angoulême-Ruelle.
His colleague Simon, delighted with his visit, adds: “It was an extremely rewarding experience, filled with interesting interactions with enthusiastic people with an extraordinary level of technical expertise. The day gave me an understanding of the various technical constraints faced by sites. It also allowed me to go on board a submarine for the first time, to discover the ship on the inside and learn about the manufacturing process. This immersive day has left me really impressed, with new insights.”
Enthusiastic… and fascinating employees
Lunch breaks gave visitors and their local colleagues the opportunity to get to know each other, to create a bond, to learn more about each other’s roles, as well as to put forth several questions. “We were also struck by the enthusiasm of everyone we spoke to. They could talk about their jobs all day long, with anecdotes and challenges that we couldn't have imagined,” explains Rémy.
Welcomed by all participants, Onboarding Days are intended to allow all employees, especially those working in digital roles, to grasp the complexity of issues on the ground. The next session is scheduled in November with the participation of about twenty employees from the sites of Angoulême-Ruelle, Ollioules and Bagneux!