EDITORIAL COMMENT


Bring on the new breed


Streamlined, simple and single information systems could prove vital in attracting younger personnel to the offshore sector (Credit: AVEVA).


I


f 2011 is destined to be remembered as the year in which the US nearly went bust, Greece went pop and England


went up in flames, at least the offshore sector has largely


had cause for cheer.


Whether measured in the form of offshore wind farm installation contracts pouring in by the dozen, or frantic drilling activity off the coastlines of Brazil and Africa, the successes enjoyed by the offshore segment this year have played out in sharp contrast to the doom and gloom experienced by many businesses on shore. To quote Jasmin Fichte, managing partner at maritime law special- ist Fichte Legal Consultants: “Offshore is the only sector in which we haven’t seen problems with financing.” Tat’s certainly more than you can say for the majority of SMEs, and the optimism expressed by offshore specialists at this year’s round of international shows and expos demonstrates that they know it. It is a shame then, as our Safety feature


highlights (see page 19), that, when it comes to the issue of health and safety (H&S) management, the offshore sector seems to be lagging behind by a decade. At a first glance, the AVEVA-sponsored, Aberdeen Business School’s offshore H&S survey, launched in September, will be familiar to anyone who’s ever perused a safety survey in the past two decades. These reports tend to run to a set order: initial affirma- tions of commitment to best H&S practice, with respondents stressing the ‘obvious’ importance of safety to their respective companies. However, the further you read, the more these sentiments are gradually undercut by individual doubts as to the effectiveness of their companies’ strategies. It would appear that, as is the case with the merchant marine sector, offshore person-


nel feel overworked, stressed and confused by the amount of documents they have to plough through, and are frequently unable to access required data when the need arises. Te question is, for how long does the


industry let this continue? Installing H&S management systems is all very well, but when vital information is fragmented across departments and incomplete (or missing), and systems are taking users 15 minutes to access the data they need, you don’t have a management strategy; you have a mess.


“Digital-savvy, younger entrants to the offshore sector are likely to be appalled by lack of access to reliable safety data”


While this lack of cohesion presents


an obvious risk to personnel safety, it has the potential to yield another tragic outcome –


coming into the industry. Like fisher- men, offshore veterans pride themselves on being a tough breed, with decades-old safety lessons firmly ingrained in their heads. While this rugged attitude is part and parcel of offshore culture (and to an extent, shipping culture as a whole), it ignores the fact that digital-savvy, younger entrants are likely to be appalled by lack of access to reliable safety data, as and when


Offshore Marine Technology 4th Quarter 2011 to deter new blood from


they need it. Tis is not just an H&S issue; the same could be said for outdated vessel design tools, mismanaged condition based monitoring databases and poorly maintained crew management systems. Te tug sector is already facing a shortage of qualified onboard personnel


in the


not-so-distant future, and one wonders how sincere some offshore operators are, as they bemoan a dearth of young pilots, crew members and support staff to take up the reins, when said companies seem incapa- ble of even licking their H&S information systems into shape. In the early 2000s, the maritime industry


was gripped by the trend for implementa- tion of management soſtware systems into vessel operations. A decade on, and it is clear that, no matter how flash the package, some companies are still struggling to use these tools to the best of their capabili- ties. Te Aberdeen Business School report reveals that more than 40% of respond- ents claimed to have encountered difficul- ties when searching for relevant safety information, the same amount calling for a need to improve information management systems and the quality of safety informa- tion available. Te offshore sector really needs to wake up and listen to this 40% - while it still enjoys their presence. Ensuring that safety data is accurate,


accessible, standardised, condensed and available from a single, centralised source is utterly crucial, should companies wish to attract younger personnel. What’s more, it’s no more than anyone should reasonably expect from a sector which has found itself in the privileged position of commanding investment and financing, in a period when other business segments are foundering. OMT


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