In-depth | TECHNOLOGY Automating ship navigation must be less


complex than a busy street and better able to absorb the eye watering costs. In the same way the automation of ship engines, equipment, their operation and maintenance will produce many hidden benefits, including preventive maintenance. Much of the technology is already in place5


. So the benefits could be wide-ranging


and in other industries automation has proved more financially rewarding than senior management expected, because quality control systems function better6


. In the case of shipping the performance


data generated by automatic systems could provide improved vessel performance in terms of the efficiency of the ship and the voyage performance. A study by Morgan Stanley illustrates


the benefits anticipated for the Google car and maybe the type of hidden benefits that might be expected from an automated shipping system. Tey estimate 38% of the savings arising from reduced accidents; 39% in better productivity; 12% fuel saving and 11% congestion. Tese savings may not be exactly replicated in shipping, and may not show up in the management accounts, but they will show up in the long-term performance of the business.


From ship design to sea transport design But, to make these smart digital systems will require much more than just commissioning some soſtware and leaving it to the IT geeks to sort out. It calls for a rethink of the whole fleet management organisational structure. One of the biggest problems the commercial shipping industry will face in doing this is that aſter three decades of building fairly similar ships, flagging out and cutting costs to the bone, technical resources are in short supply. In recent years there has been little need for


this expertise and few shipping companies have a technical department, a technical director, or a principal with a technical qualification, in the way they did fiſty years ago.


Human resources Te seagoing staff problem is just as daunting. Tere are over 50,000 ships in the deep sea trades, all requiring skilled engineers and deck officers. Providing properly qualified professionals in the coming decade is a challenge which worries many CEOs today. Keeping them in the company in the face of attractive opportunities ashore, or higher salaries offered by competitors is another worry. Tis ranks high in the priorities of shipping today. There may be plenty of unskilled people willing to come from the rural areas to man ships, but qualified staff is a different story. Te relevance of automated systems to


these personnel issues is that in an automated system much of the expertise is held by the system, not the individual. Automatic monitoring can avoid engine room problems just as effectively as navigational problems. Skilled fleet support teams, located in the


main office or a ship network, monitor data reporting systems and working with capable, but less experienced, crew on board to ensure problems are rectified. Tis would require a culture in which personnel work as a team, without ship-shore barriers.


Figure 2: Containership fleet fuel performance


Although this may sound extreme, it might


also open the way to a better career structure for bright young employees, with a flexible career path as they move between different roles on ships and in the office. Te single channel career (i.e. “engineer for life”) would broaden to a career path within the company. At a company level this might have


interesting results. Shipping companies have far more employees on board ship than in the office, especially in bulk shipping. Smart shipping might be a way to use these resources better by removing barriers. Te possibilities are interesting and may be compelling.


It’s a reorganisation revolution Okay, all of this sounds so far from reality, it’s hard to believe. But, people said the same thing about containerisation. And you could have said the same thing about smart phones. It’s only 10 years since your mobile phone made calls and sent texts. Today it finds you the best restaurant for dinner in Beijing, tells you how to get there and translates the menu into English. Admittedly company automation systems are more difficult, but the tools are there to allow the shipping companies to reorganise the way the business is run.


4


Since the 1980s “we trade ships not cargoes” has been a widely quoted bulk shipping industry mantra. Liner services are less speculative, but the ships only accounts for about 25%


of the door to door cost. 5


use of their cranes. 6


e.g. diagnostic tools identify and remedy marine engine faults using live data by plugging into the engine’s on-board computer. Or crane manufacturers remotely monitoring the


Drucker, Peter (1985) “Why Automation Pays Off” in Te Frontiers of Management p 271 “Automation, wherever installed in a manufacturing plant, has paid for itself in three years, oſten much faster. Automation builds quality standards and quality control into every step of the process.. quality savings alone are likely to repay the cost of automation”.


20 The Naval Architect January 2015


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