The Office Boom — the shift from ship to shore

Nature is healing itself was the general thrust of those who gathered across a range of recent maritime events. From London to Connecticut and Rotterdam, at receptions and Expos, exhibitions and conferences, the talk was of ships, data and seafarers. With a surprisingly circumspect view of technology. So what does it all mean?

BLOATED BUILDINGS

While the crowds didn’t quite come from quite as far, as usual, think Sheerness, not Shanghai, or even New Haven and Amsterdam. That said, with many watching events online there was still a sense of an industry watching, learning, waiting and trying to get a handle on where COVID has left us all.

There was no getting away from the elephant in the room, and that was the seemingly ever-present discussion on seafarers. How we treat them, what they think and what they are likely to do next.

The verdict, across a range of events, was that seafarers are vital, the world doesn’t know about them, some employers don’t seem to care, while some care very much. They want shore leave, connectivity, professional respect and common human courtesy. Perhaps some things are just too much to ask for?

What also became increasingly common was to hear of the growth in both size and seeming importance of the executives ashore. In shipping company offices from Aarhus to Zamboanga, there is a swelling core of control over ships, seafarers and all that happens in between.

ONE STEP BACK

There is also a discussion about autonomous ships these days, that kind of goes without saying. However, there seems to be a definite slowing of eagerness. Time and time again, insurers muttered that ships without people are as far away as they have ever been. Which given that the Nippon Foundation says that automation will be within twenty years, and US longshoremen are already blackballing crewless ships, could be a case of reactionary London insurers pushing back. That said, perhaps automation has always just been a decade or so away…but tomorrow never quite comes.

The feeling is of slow evolution, regardless of what the technology can do. This glacial shift is actually being seen now ashore. The growth of bums on seats in huge shipping company offices is part of a technological shift, even though it may not seem it.

This is the bow of change pushing through the water of resistance, fear, uncertainty and hesitancy. What we are seeing today is more people ashore, while the crew are reduced. So, this is the eye of the tech hurricane, a seemingly quiet, passive and sensible readying for the storm of autonomy to hit.

With a sense that even if the navigation is looked after, there will be plenty of work still to be done. With claims to handle, clients to win, data to sift, research to be done and compliance to be ensured and reassured back up the chain. So, we are hearing of rocketing salaries in offices, recruitment drives to attract the brightest talent and a vision to paint shipping as a great career, even as seafaring withers on the vine.

TROUBLE AHEAD

What this shift from a ship to shore focus does is create both threats and opportunities. Yes, of course, more people should mean more getting done. It should translate to positives at every turn. However, as we know the world is not perfect and there are surprises, unknown unknowns and laws of unintended consequences to contend with.

This is where we are from my perspective, we are riding a beautiful curving wave of optimism. Now, will it take us surfing to the beach on triumph, or will it break and wipe us out?

There is no doubt that data, digitalisation and all that maritime informatics can deliver to a shipping company can make an incredible difference. Something even more vital when competitors are evolving also. That said, this is not simply about bringing more people into a company and flicking a switch marked data and expecting results.

The process needs planning, it needs strategic vision and tactical rigour. Speaking at KVH Industries #LISW21 event, Mike Powell of StratumFive said that everything is new, that expertise is not a given for any company and so we all need to learn, to earn our place and to create systems that deserve the results and benefits which we crave.

A MESS OR MASS

I have written before on the dangers of “digital cholesterol” — where we have so much information coursing through the veins of a company that everything becomes gummed up. It can be a real problem and one that is not often considered or mitigated well enough.

Data is always seen as a positive. Every company thinks that by knowing more they can achieve more. This is great in theory, but in practice as with so much in life, the reality is a little more problematic.

Where data has never really been a focus before, to suddenly leap from gut feelings to granularity can be disconcerting, it can be confusing and it can throw companies out of kilter.

The danger then becomes that the ship works fine, the data flows wonderfully, but the office becomes the sticking point. The barnacles of data shift from the hull and into the office. People become fixated or overwhelmed, they cannot understand and sometimes to capability to act.

DEVIL IN THE DETAIL

Data is a little like chocolate. It sounds wonderful, it smells good, some are addicted and can’t get enough, and yet for some, it needs to be nibbled in very small chunks or can get overwhelming.

That is the journey to real digital nirvana, where a company can appreciate the value of data, knows how to handle it, and when to snap big bits off or when to have a little so as not to ruin one’s appetite.

Companies that are desperate for information, regardless of what it is going to be used for, they remind me of a movie, “Bedazzled”. The proper 1967 version with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, though the Brendan Fraser/Liz Hurley version has its charms.

Anyway…in the movie, the hero Stanley Moon is granted a set of wishes by the devil. He thinks he’s asking for the right things, he knows what he wants — and yet at every turn is outfoxed, tricked, fooled and frustrated. So, we need to be careful what we ask for and need to make sure we know exactly what we will do with all the data which comes our way.