All photos: Robert Allan Ltd.
INSIGHTS
Mike Fitzpatrick President and CEO, Robert Allan, Ltd.
R
obert Allan Ltd. is a consulting naval architectural firm, established in Vancouver, Canada in 1930. Mike Fitzpatrick has been a driving force in the company’s growth since joining the firm in 2003. As a key member of the initial employee ownership group, he was named president and CEO in 2015, responsible for corporate direction, business development, management of senior project managers, and project priorities, schedules and profitability. Fitzpatrick is a 1995 graduate of the University of New South Wales in Australia, with a Bach-
12 MN
elor of Engineering in naval architecture. Prior to joining RAL, he worked as a naval architect at InCat Designs in Sydney Australia. As tug designs continue to evolve, what are some of the key ways that Robert Allan Ltd. is helping to make these vessels safer, greener and more cost efficient?
Robert Allan Ltd. has made a considerable investment in the development of some very sophisticated design tools – in particular computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and finite element analysis (FEA). CFD allows us to accurately predict the characteristics of a vessel in ways that are not possible with conventional empirical methods. CFD also help us design hull shapes that are more efficient and therefore have better fuel economy. FEA allows us to calculate September 2020
