Southampton Solent University School of: Engineering Construction and Maritime Faculty of: Technology

Managing Change

Author: Q79806279 Course title: Management of Organizations Tutors name: Derek Summers

Contents Page 1. Introduction..................................................................................................2 2. Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS) and Autopilot Systems 2.1 2.2 Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS) ..........................................................4 Autopilot ............................................................................................4

3. Impact of the Technology ..............................................................................6 4. Change of Work Pattern ................................................................................7 5. Ship Refurbishment and Improvements to Safety on Board .............................8 6. Conclusion ....................................................................................................9 7. Reference ....................................................................................................11

Introduction The report will investigate how Linkspan Shipping Company can design, implement and review the modernization program which they are going to introduce in their company. To start with they are going to install new technology on board their fleet of vessels, such as autopilot and integrated bridge systems (IBS). Then they are going to change their work patterns to make them more flexible and to improve their labor skills. Last step that they are going to take is the refurbishment of their current fleet including some of the existing equipment that they use for charging and discharging the cargo from the ships. Ther company is planning to implement an important innovation to improve the safety on board their ships. The companys primary goal is to reduce expenses and at the same time improve productivity and the working conditions on board their ships. My role is to give the company my advice as a Business Adviser on how they are going to plan for and implement these changes. For my resources I looked on the internet as well as the library internet resources. Then I read some books on the subject and the rest of the information is my own knowledge.

Companys Financial Information Fleet Size: 15 Handysize carriers Labor on each ship: average 18 crew members, including officers Ships Registration: United Kingdom Personnel: 300 seafaring personnel and 50 working on shore

Integrated Bridge Systems (IBS) and Autopilot Systems Integrated Bridge System (IBS) IBS is a number of systems that are connected computer together and by are a central transferring

information vital for the people working on board a ship. That information is usually about every single system or machine that is installed on the vessel and other related data including navigation. The system was introduced by IMO to improve the level of safety of the ships themselves and of the people working on ships. The efficiency improvement was also considered through this new system. Furthermore, in accordance with the SOLAS Convention 1974, the failure of one of the sub-systems of the IBS should not influence the working of any of the other systems on board the vessel and it should be noticed immediately by the officer in charge. Some IBSs are showing a lot of information some of which is not needed or is not so important thus, in order to have an even better and more successful result, Linkspan Shipping Company must carefully chose the right IBS system that will give only the information that they need for their operations. Autopilot Autopilot is a system an important system in the navigation of the ship. The system is connected with the vessels steering mechanism and it is used to sail the vessel at a constant course without the interface of the captain or any other human on board the ship. They can be either electrical or hydraulic autopilot systems and they are connected with a compass to maintain the ships course. Some additional pieces of information that you can obtain from the autopilot system are: current depth of water, distance, speed, etc. It is very helpful especially on a long voyage because the crew can make a break between the voyages to rest a bit and also they can do other things that require more work and therefore save some time. Except of the time saving another benefit that a shipping company gains from the autopilot system is savings in bunker costs of the vessel which are very high these days and,

more importantly, they can save some money. Linkspan Shipping Company, by installing the IBS and Autopilot systems can reduce the amount of staff working on board their ships, save time, improve efficiency & productivity and most importantly achieve some reduction in their costs of operation.

Impact of the Technology In the short run, the company will struggle because they will have to invest a lot of money in order to implement the new technology on their fleet. First of all they may have to make one third of the total crew that is working on their ships redundant. These redundant workers will have to be paid some redundancy compensation. The amount of money that each of them is going to receive will vary and be dependant on many factors such as: age, number of years worked, family economic position, skills, qualifications, etc. For the rest of the crew, the company will have to spend a significant amount of money to train them and get them familiar with the new technology so they have an idea of how the new systems are working. On the other hand, although in the short run it looks like the benefits are less than the costs that the company will incur from establishing the new technology on board their fleet, in the long run the benefits of these improvements will be greater than the disadvantages, particularly high investment costs in the short term, not only for the company but also for their people who work there. By installing the new technology the productivity and efficiency of the company are likely to increase and also the money that was used to pay the crew members made redundant, could now be used to increase the salaries of the remaining workers and for other improvements such as: fleet expansion, buildings & vessels improvements, etc. Workers also gain some benefits from the new technology with the most important one being, except from their salary increases, the improvement of their working skills and the opportunity to work with more modern technolgy.

Change of Work Pattern The company except of the installation of new technology on board their vessels wants also to change the working pattern under which their labor is working to increase their working abilities both in the field of engineering and deck hand duties. First of all, the company must give the workers that will remain a more flexible timetable and employees who are working together in the same department of the company could have the choice to decide between themselves the times that they will come to work. Furthermore, employees who are not needed to work every single day of the week may have the choice to choose which days they are going to work and between which hours. A significant number of workers because their work will be mostly in an office of the company and not on a vessel belonging to the company can give them the choice to work from their home, not through their whole working career in the company but at least some of their working time. Some people work better and give much better results when they work in a familiar environment instead of an office environment where may they feel less comfortable. In addition to the above group work is another measure for the company to take in mind and not forget. When more workers are working on the same project the result is always two or more times better compared with the result that a single worker can produce. Finally, the company could give the employees some kind of bonus after achieving a goal that, in the companys judgment, it had a level of difficulty where normal duties of the crew do not have. In conclusion, after the company implements the measures referred to above, the skills of their crew will increase and therefore productivity and efficiency of the company also increases. Their workers will learn to work not only by themselves but also in groups and the level of communication between the workers is going to have an interesting increase.

Ship Refurbishment and Improvements to Safety on Board All new vessels are so technologically advanced that the level of safety is very high in comparison to past years but the company is not in the position to pay for buying new vessels because they are so expensive. Therefore, the company chooses to refurbish their ships by installing new technology and by improving the existing one including the cranes for loading and unloading. The company could change some of the current cranes that they have with new ones that are installed with new features such as: lifting more weights, lifting two containers at the same time, etc. Efficiency, time and safety on board the vessels of the company during any type of operation will improve even more up to an important level after those innovations are completed. In addition they could improve the interior design of the ship to improve the safety of the crew and of the ship. At the end of this it may be cheaper and better for the company compared with the expenses of buying brand new ships. The company must be careful with the procedure of making those changes so they are in accordance with the International Safety Management (ISM) code and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974. SOLAS international convention stands for the safety not only of the workers that are on the vessels but also for the safety of the environment. By improving those standards and establishing the latest versions, the ISM code and the SOLAS convention 1974 the company will increase its position in the market and its standards. Due to that increase the company will be a stronger competitor in the market for the other shipping companies and they will be in a better position to compete.

Conclusion Linkspan Shipping Company aims to reduce their expenses and at the same time to improve productivity of their company and the conditions under which the crew is working on their vessels by implementing new technology innovations such as IBS and autopilot systems on their fleet of vessels, by changing the working patterns of the crew, by refurbishment of their ships and by improving their safety regulations. For the IBS and autopilot systems they have to let go one third of the total amount of crew they currently have and for the rest of the crew they must spend money to retrain them and get them familiar with the new technology on board. The Companys productivity and efficiency will go up and also salaries for the workers may be able to be raised increasing motivation of the employees. Except from their salaries, workers skills are also going to increase. Working patterns are another important element they want to change especially for their labor. It would be a good idea first to give their staff a more flexible timetable and then for those who are working in the same department to have the opportunity to chose between them what time and days there are going to work. Furthermore, they can give staff who are not needed every day the ability to come to work only the days they are needed and others who are mostly working in an office the ability to work from their homes some days of the week. One measure that it would be good to have in mind is to give crew members bonuses if they achieve a target that is important to the company and the opportunity to work in a group for a significant project. Furthermore, proposed change is the ships refurbishment including cranes. They could, for example, change some existing cranes they have for loading and unloading cargo with new, more technologically advanced cranes, or install new features on the ones they currently have.

The company must be careful in their choice of methods to implement the proposed changes so that they are in accordance with the latest regulation versions of the ISM code and SOLAS international convention 1974. Finally, the company after establishing the above measures and changes to their fleet of vessels and their crew that is working on board their ships and on shore in their offices, is hopefully going to witness an improvement to the productivity and efficiency of their company. Working skills of the employees are going to have a huge increase together with their safety especially on board but also on shore at a lower level. Any kind of operation on board vessels and on shore such as loading and unloading cargo will be faster, safer and more efficient. A final benefit that the company will hopefully enjoy is an improved market position and an improvement in its ability to compete with other companies in the market.

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7. Mapps, 2009. Marine systems and Simulation. Integrated Bridge System Navigate the future today (online). Available from: http://www.mapps.l-3com.com/datasheets/ibs.pdf (Accessed 23 November 2011) 8. Northstar, 2011. Northstarnav - What is an Autopilot (online). Available from: http://www.northstarnav.com/Support/Library/What-is-an-Autopilot/ (Accessed 22 November 2011) 9. Tinsley D, 2007. Lloyds list - Owners to fund joint research into fuel efficiency (online). Available from: http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/sector/ship-operations/article54572.ece (Accessed 21 November 2011) 10. Simrad, 2011. Simrad-yachting: What is a Marine Autopilot and why do I need one? (online). Available from: http://www.simrad-yachting.com/Support/Library/What-is-an-Autopilot/ (Accessed 22 November 2011) 11. Verma S. and Dewe P., 2008. Journal of HRCA: Human resource costing and accounting. Valuing human resources: perceptions and practices in UK organizations (online), vol. 12(2), p. 102-123. Available from: ProQuest (Accessed 25 November 2011) Pictures 1. Image 1. Raymarine autopilot systems (online). Available from: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=raymarine+autopilot+system&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLR_ enCY444CY444&gbv=2&biw=1366&bih=642&tbm=isch&tbnid=kEQXLnyfq0dRsM:&imgr efurl=http://www.psicompany.com/raymarine-st8002-s1e12116/&docid=ulpc5PNnAlIWiM&itg=1&imgurl=http://www.psicompany.com/catalog/i mages/product%252520st8001%252520pilot.jpg&w=295&h=225&ei=nDbETuvRGILw8 QPG6_SyBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=888&vpy=257&dur=66&hovh=180&hovw=236&tx =165&ty=88&sig=114575631925561120437&page=10&tbnh=126&tbnw=165&start=1 92&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:17,s:192

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(Accessed 26 November 2011) 2. Image 2. IBS Systems on vessels (online). Available from: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=IBS+Systems+on+vessels&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLR_en CY444CY444&gbv=2&biw=1366&bih=642&tbm=isch&tbnid=maCNwIEZKJAMM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com/products/E CDIS_Integrated_Navigation_Bridge_Systems/ibs&docid=Er41WXmrv7Pg_M&imgurl=ht tp://www.sperrymarine.northropgrumman.com/PageResources/434/images/IntegratedBridgeSystem.jpg&w=575&h=188&ei=wjfETv_rBIXx8QOJpOj_Cg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=619 &vpy=319&dur=714&hovh=128&hovw=393&tx=258&ty=70&sig=11457563192556112 0437&page=7&tbnh=58&tbnw=178&start=121&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:121 (Accessed 26 November 2011)

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