Challenges and potential of technology integration in modern ship management practices

This paper is based on the research project that ex plores the challenges and potential of technology i ntegration in current ship management practices. While technology advancements were designed to be contributing to m inimising task complexity, issues such as fatigue, increased dministrative burden and technology assisted accid ents still plague the industry. In spite of the clearly recognisable enefits of using modern technology in the manageme nt of ships, in practice its application appears lacking by a consi derable margin. The main driver of the study was to appreciate the cause of this disparity. The study first reviewed a wide body of literature on issues involving the use of technology which inc luded academic literature with empirical evidences and th eoretical explanations of implementation of technol ogy at work. With the help of the extant knowledge this research embarked on providing an explanation to the gap th t existed in the application of technology in the shipping industry. By taking a case study approach the thesis looked into the induction and integration of technology in the management and operation of ships that primarily interfaced close ly between the ship and its management unit on shore. Three compan ies with mutually diverse management setup were stu died. The fourth case comprised of purposefully selected seni or members of ships’ staff. The analysis of the data revealed that the manifest ation of the gap in technology implementation is ca used by deeper influences at work in the shipping industry. The un-optimised technology integration results in the seafarer, who is the keystone to the technology application, beco ming a victim of the circumstances. The technology that was intended to ease operations and burdens ends up in controlling him, even leaving him under-resourced a n causing fatigue. This was not an unintended outcome but the result of weak regulatory practices, short-term ca pital outlook and weakened labour practices in the shipping industry all caused by wider social and economic development s affecting not just this industry but businesses globally. The imp act of such influences was however more acute in th is industry resulting in such extreme consequence. By bringing to light the limited application of som e fundamental principles of human-systems integrati on, this study has attempted to expand the boundaries of res earch on the subject and contributed to the holisti c understanding of the various underlying factors that influence techn ology integration in ship management processes.