Cruise & Ferry Review - Autumn/Winter 2021

1 5 8 INTERV IEW Remaining resilient Patrick McNulty explains to Rebecca Gibson how Bourne Group has adapted to overcome the challenges of the pandemic to continue delivering signage that exceeds cruise clients’ expectations S ince the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, US-based company Bourne Group has been fighting to overcome a myriad of challenges to provide its cruise clients with the signage they need to safely resume operations and welcome guests back onboard their ships. “Our priority has been to continually learn and adapt to ensure we can anticipate and meet clients’ needs, so we can deliver the best possible products and services every time,” says Patrick McNulty, owner and principal at Bourne Group. “However, it’s been challenging as everything is changing on an almost daily basis. We might start working on signage with specific health and safety messaging on Monday but by Friday the guidance has evolved, so everything must be redesigned, re-approved and re-sourced. It decreases our productivity, adds delays and increases costs.” Moving goods and people around the world is now more complex and expensive too. “Supply chains have been severely impacted by global shortages of goods and delivery drivers, which means longer lead times and much higher shipping costs,” explains McNulty. “In addition, we’re grappling with strict restrictions and regulations on travel, visas, testing, quarantine and vaccinations, all of which vary depending on the country and make it hard to get our technicians to where they need to be for installations. Technicians are away weeks at a time, which is detrimental to their personal lives and means we have fewer staff available for other projects.” Bourne Group has adapted quickly to circumvent these challenges. “We’ve devised several innovation solutions,” says McNulty. “For instance, when restrictions prevented us from sending Poland-based technicians directly to the USA, we quarantined them in Mexico for two weeks first. In other cases, we’ve been able to quarantine technicians on vessels in between projects.” One of McNulty’s top priorities is to find ways to serve the cruise industry on a regional basis. “Pre-pandemic, we had an interconnected global economy, but we’re now operating in a disconnected regional economy,” he says. “Transporting goods and people between different continents will remain tricky for the foreseeable future, so we want dedicated teams in key cruise markets, such as Asia, Europe and the USA. This will enable us to avoid the travel restrictions and visa issues associated with sending US-based technicians to Europe, for example.” McNulty is acutely aware of the toll the pandemic has taken on his employees and has been striving to keep them connected and motivated. “The way we live and work has completely changed and this has been tough for our employees,” he says. “However, we’re training and upskilling them for the