October the 12 th 2017 : We visited planes and liners size XXL !

AIRBUS :

LES CHANTIERS DE L'ATLANTIQUE :

On Thursday morning we had to wake up earlier than the other days, because this day was very special, it was a field trip this day, but not just any to the beach or an other place, but in in the Airbus Company in Saint Nazaire and in The Atlantic Naval Dockyard.

First of all, I will give you a presentation of Airbus, what we have see there, and in a second time, what we have learn about The Naval Dockyard of Atlantic.

When all the students were ready, we boarded the coach for a one and a half hour drive, we spent the time, by talking and playing games together with the other students. When we arrived at Airbus, we had to give our identity cards for the security of the site. Take photos was forbidden because it’s considered as industrial spying. The visit was divided in three parts, the first was the assembly plant, the second one was for the isolation and all the things concerning the electric installation, and the final part the fuel tank.

For the first part of the expedition, we saw how the employees joined the different parts of the plane. These parts are built in different places, the back of the plane in Hamburg, the wings in Spain, and the cockpit in France.

We saw how they transported a part of the plane from one plant to another then where the plane is custom made, and at this moment the guide told us that each plane is built to meet the customer’s needs.

For the second part, we saw how they isolate the cabin, they go on the plane and they put the rock wool on the “wall”. When the guide asked us wide of the carling was, we were frozen by the answer: it was 1.2 mm. From then on some students will definitely be scared to fly.

And finally the last part, for the fuel tank the guide explained us that this part of the plane is like the frame for a car. This is where the wings are joined. We learned with what type of equipment the A350 is built, with composite (carbon fiber), it’s more resistant and lighter. But only for the body of the plane, the cockpit is in aluminum because it’s more flexible, thus when a bird collides the front of the plane it doesn’t break.

This day we were very lucky because, we saw an A380 and the Famous Beluga. The A380 is the biggest commercial plane in the world. And the Beluga is a plane which transports the other planes.

To conclude on this expedition at Airbus company, we focused on, How this Company works. They are always looking for the best organisation from their crew to optimise the work to save time. Before they were able to build one plane per week, and now after some optimisations they can deliver two planes a week.

We also saw that all the employees know what they have to do, They are all skilled workers.

After visiting Airbus, we came back to the coach and we went to Saint Nazaire's docks, and we ate on a bunkers. After eating we walked in the town from approximately thirty minutes (we had to come back at 01.30pm). I went to the town hall, it was old and elegant.

We arrived at The Atlantic Naval Dockyard around 02.00 pm. Here we met our guide, the visit was carried out from the coach. Sometimes we went outside: to visit the first shed. In which there were all the things concerning the welding of the wall.

In a second time we saw the dry dock, it’s the biggest in the world, it measures approximately one kilometer. There are two steps, one for the liner which is not finished and the second for the one which can float but is not completed yet. There is still the painting to be done, and inside all the equipments like the swimming pool, slides and many more again.

And at the end of the visit we saw the biggest cruise ship in the world “The Harmony of the Seas”.

To conclude on this expedition at The Atlantic Naval Dockyard, we can note that in this domain there are a lot of different jobs: welder, electrician and more.

Finally, I would like to share with you my point of view about these two big Companies. If we compare, we can see that in Airbus employees are quieter and they have less stress, they have several breaks a day and they listen to music during their work. While in The Atlantic Naval Dockyard, employees work with a lot of noise, in summer they are hot because they wear a lot of protections against fire. They haven’t got a lot of breaks in their working day, they have maybe one hour to lunch.

We can say that the working conditions are not the same. But during both visits I noticed that they have a common point as they use bikes and electric cars to move inside the factories, thus they are ecological companies.

Sofyan.