WAVELENGTH Q


Human element is key to digital formula To realise the full potential of digitalisation, the maritime sector must focus on


behavioural change by the human element, argues Transas CEO Frank Coles I


n all the excitement surrounding the digitalization of shipping it is easy to overlook the human element. Failing to appreciate and understand properly how people – and by extension organizations – interface with new technology can lead to poor implementation and unnecessary exposure to risk. Technology has sometimes been described


as an ecosystem. This analogy from the natural world is rather apt in a shipping environment struggling to adapt to digitalization, where at least three species are thriving. First are the ostriches with their heads in the sand who refuse to acknowledge that change is inevitable. Second are the bees buzzing around demanding change but satisfying themselves with the nectar of new technological clichés. Third are the headless chickens that, confused and irritated by the bees, are running around without purpose or direction. What these creatures have in common is an unwillingness to evolve. In the digital context, this might be described as the CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) mentality. The enlightenment needed to find a way out of the CAVE will require that the background noise is turned down, so that attention can focus on why and how industry must change through practical application. The creatures dwelling in this maritime ecosystem are stressed by increasingly stringent regulations, unremitting cost pressures and a need to co-exist with more advanced species, which populate the neighbouring habitats of logistics and the global supply chain. Oil majors are loath to charter poorly operated or poorly maintained vessels that may imperil their reputations, while the giant retailers that fulfil consumer desires demand ever greater reliability and transparency. Furthermore, our CAVE dwellers have begun to worry themselves sick over new viruses – in the form of cyber risks – to which they haven’t developed immunity. To evolve, maritime organizations must


adapt. However, the new, digitalized order will call for more than simply ‘physical’ adaptations in the shape of updated assets –


culture. How you man, train and equip your


It’s about ethos. It’s about


organization, how you structure it, and the operational concepts you apply


for example the development of safer, greener and more efficient ships. Rather, behavioural changes will be necessary to evolve new operational or business models, shared decision making and greater traffic monitoring and control. These activities interact with and are influenced by technol- ogy, but strictly speaking they fall into the domain of ‘the human element’. For one thing, behavioural adaptations


among this human element will be critical to dealing with cyber threats because today it is simply a fact that most attacks are facilitated by personnel – whether on ship or land – being duped into allowing rogue code to compro- mise a vessel or office network. Companies must tackle the problem head on by providing robust training on how to identify the tell-tale signs of an attack, and staff, once trained, must exercise vigilance at all times. The US military is a natural target for cyber attacks, attracting millions of would-be


infiltrators each month, but its systems are seldom compromised. Drawing from the experience of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of the nuclear fleet, it has found an answer in intense focus on training personnel in risk mitigation. To quote the man in charge of US Cyber Command, Admiral Mike Rogers: “It’s about ethos. It’s about culture. How you man, train and equip your organization, how you structure it – and the operational concepts that you apply.” The civil aviation, nuclear power and burgeoning space industries have successfully created High Reliability Organizations (HROs) by maintaining a strict culture of excellence and a commitment to correct deviations before disaster as well as developing a deep awareness of their own vulnerabilities. The maritime industry – whether it knows it or not – currently adopts a higher acceptance of risk. This is likely to become less tenable, because no technological fix for cyber risk is foolproof. The only long-term solution is to re-engineer how companies operate. Of course, creating an HRO takes time. It also requires wholehearted commit-


ment from the organization’s CEO and management team down. Everyone in the organization must be made accountable. Training and adherence to standards are vital. Mouthing platitudes about the International Safety Management Code and some guide- lines issued by class or BIMCO is not enough. In summary, digitalization will provide the


maritime sector with a platform to interact with modern e-commerce companies and charterers, which will ensure its survival and continued relevance in the coming decades, at the same time offering the potential to deliver safer, greener and more efficient carrier operations. We should not allow its limitations – primarily its susceptibility to cyber risk – to frighten us away from technology. By investing in the human element, the risks can be managed and our industry too can join the ranks of High Reliability Organizations, while reaping the benefits of digital operations.


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