IT and communications for the deep sea commercial shipping sector
eNavigation - where to now?
The use of electronic aids to navigation is generally accepted as a positive influence on the industry, providing new tools that can offer better situational awareness and improve safety if used correctly.
However, despite advances in the field in recent years, too often we hear stories of collisions and groundings involving vessels that, despite having hi-tech systems, were unable to avoid an accident. Where do the problems lie - in training, lack of standardisation, confused regulation? Tell us how you think maritime eNavigation can be improved.
However, despite advances in the field in recent years, too often we hear stories of collisions and groundings involving vessels that, despite having hi-tech systems, were unable to avoid an accident. Where do the problems lie - in training, lack of standardisation, confused regulation? Tell us how you think maritime eNavigation can be improved.
Views: 62
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Keith Macdonald on -
I appreciate your frustration, but hope you can be patient! The rate of change of technology is usually faster than the rate at which "established people" in any industry can cope with, it is always the younger people coming into the industry who adapt and use the new technology, and say "what's the problem?" :-)
It might be grim reassurance, but this is typical in all industries. As a software producer, I also have a lot of work in the medical world. You might think that all doctors are highly skilled, looking to use that very latest technology, but of course they are human as well, and many cling to the old tried and trusted methods. Where I work, we have a Help Desk, and you would not believe some of the calls they get from doctors - like "how do I use a mouse?" and "why do I have do be connected to the internet to use your website?"
I suppose it's a balancing act as well, to get people who have the aptitude for a boat as sea, to know when "something feels wrong" and not be stuck looking at a screen, waiting for data to appear.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Bergmann on -
I see in this discussion good comments, which are hitting important parts of eNavigation, especially training.
We have to realize so, that eNavigation is much more then ECDIS display and usage.
While mariners need to be trained on the systems to be able using the tools on the bridge, the mariner needs to change attitude towards and context of navigation when using any integrated electronic navigational tools, be it an integrated ECS or an ECDIS or other aspects of eNavigation.
There are fundamental differences to be noted between traditional, enhanced navigation utilizing tools like IBS, ECDIS, ECS and others. Aspects like
"Chart data presentation" (e.g presentation of "meta data" - datum code, publisher, survey information, NtM applied)
"Data integration " (pre-combining information from charts, radar, sensor...)
"Limitations of electronic navigation" (e.g. high accurate GNSS on ENCs with limited accuracy)
need to be considered.
Finally I recommend reading Dave Hole's "The Shift Age" to get an appreciation of the changes in the view of reality between people born in "pre-computer times" and those young mariners coming on, not knowing how life is without computers, cell phones... We, the older one, are immigrants in the electronic age (Shift Age); the younger ones are “natives”.
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