Valencia Base Construction

Valencia, April 2005

SGS, a strategic partner of the Alinghi team in Valencia

“SGS experts and technicians in Valencia have become our friends,” says Patrick Magyar, Managing Director of Alinghi

The construction of a nautical base to house the current holder of the America’s Cup for the forthcoming regattas in Valencia in 2007 has been a major undertaking in which the stakes are very high. How can one make sure that the nautical base would be completed on schedule, that the crew and support staff fully complies with labour regulations and safety provisions, and that none of the equipment on the boats would let the crew down during a race? With a competition of this magnitude that brings together the best yachts-men in the world, nothing can be left to chance.

And it was with these highly demanding operational and technical requirements in mind that the Alinghi team decided to call on the services of SGS. The world leader in inspection, verification, testing and certification services, which is also a co-sponsor of Team Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup, has become a key strategic partner of the Alinghi team in its technical and logistic preparations for this event.

Comprehensive project management

Right from the start, SGS adopted a leading role in the areas of planning and project management. Its specialists and technicians carefully examined offers and submissions, and drew up comparative reports and technical studies on the various contractors in-volved in the project.

SGS teams worked in such varied areas as budget control, inspection of the quality of building materials, supervision of construction work and monitoring of schedules. SGS also provided consulting services relating to economic and legal aspects.

Occupational health and safety at the nautical base

Another major task adopted by SGS was to ensure that the respective Spanish and Swiss regulations governing occupational health and workplace safety at the nautical base were duly complied with. For this purpose it carried out a risk analysis for each task and pre-pared an accident prevention plan for all the scheduled activities. It also paid special at-tention to the potential dangers facing the crew and technical personnel both on land and at sea, especially when working at mast level.

Accident prevention also extends to machinery and equipment. SGS specialists therefore had to closely examine the various cranes and platforms required for lifting and transfer-ring the boats from the water to the maintenance area: activities here included performing load tests, testing alarm and warning devices, supervising the use of equipment in line with applicable Spanish regulations, etc., as well as preparing reports to certify the proper functioning of the machinery and various installations.

“The performance by SGS experts and technicians has been remarkable. Thanks to their knowledge of regulations and of all our suppliers, we have been able to overcome count-less problems, especially with respect to the preparation of the large volume of documen-tation relating to occupational health and safety that is required in Spain,” said Patrick Magyar, managing director of Alinghi. “Thanks to their motivation, efficiency and pleasant attitude, the experts and technicians in the SGS team have not only gained our respect and admiration, they have also become our friends,” he went on to point out, adding that SGS personnel were always there to help solve any problems that arose, round the clock if necessary.

“SGS’s strong presence in the city of Valencia and its port undoubtedly generated added value in the relationship between the Alinghi team and its technical support partner,” ex-plained Pablo Garcia, co-ordinator of the Alinghi project on behalf of SGS.

State-of-the-art expertise: non-destructive tests and analyses

SGS also provided the Alinghi team with non-destructive testing services, an activity that will become increasingly important between now and 2007.

To date, SGS has carried out non-destructive tests and analyses on certain parts of the boat in order to check the quality and volume of the materials used and to detect any in-ternal defects. For this purpose it is using ultrasound equipment and carrying out x-rays in its own laboratories where necessary. Here, too, SGS is deploying all its expertise and professional skills to enable the holder of the America's Cup to focus on its key objective: to win this highly prestigious trophy again in 2007.