Watchkeeper: The chemistry of design

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

2 Sep 2010

What is the most important science to be applied in the design of ships? A strong case can be made for chemistry – not the science of formulae and test tubes, but the “personal chemistry” of understanding between the designers and the ultimate users of those vessels. There is no shortage of rules and regulations, standards and recommendations that govern much of the design of ships, but the designer needs to have some idea of the way in which the ship and its equipment will be used by the seafarers during its hopefully long and productive life. This assertion is made in the latest issue of the International Maritime Human Element Bulletin Alert! which focuses on the role of the designer in ensuring that the ship and its systems are “user-friendly”. To do this, it is argued, the designers need to have more than a passing knowledge of ship operation at sea and in port and the way that a crew interacts with the ship to which they are appointed.
The reader is introduced to what is described as “human-centred design”, in which there is a recognition that a ship reaches its optimum efficiency only because of its “usability”in the hands of its crew. The designer thus needs to be familiar with every aspect of ship operation, which is often easier said than done, since naval architects may not have much opportunity to go to sea and experience their products in action. It might be very beneficial but it is sometimes quite difficult to accomplish, as a naval architect’s training is already very crowded. Nevertheless, where this has been possible, it has clearly paid dividends in enabling designers to realise the reality of a dynamic work platform in a hostile environment, and the importance of a ship and equipment that is friendly to its crew.
The bulletin also notes that the shipowner/operator also has many responsibilities in this respect, as the context of use is established in the form of specifications. Here the link between the owner/operator and the ultimate users needs to be strong and positive, so that lessons learned from earlier designs and current operations can be implemented as the new ship is planned. This implies a healthy system of feedback from ship to shore.
Naval architects and systems designers, so the bulletin suggests, need to be able to properly identify and positively relate to the way in which the ship and its systems will be used by those who live and work aboard her. Human-centred design will ensure that there is “full integration” of the user with every system, and that the seafarer merely does not find that his or her contribution is an afterthought in the design process. And of course it is made more important by the fact that the seafarer does not merely work aboard a ship, but lives adjacent to his or her place of work.
It might be suggested that an experienced shipowner will invariably have such processes in place, but there is sometimes substantial distances between the designers of the “standard” ships of today, its buyers and its ultimate users. So it is perhaps doubly important to reiterate the need for designers to get closer to users, and to keep firmly in mind the important human element factors of habitability, maintainability, workability, controllability, manoeuvrability, survivability, reliability, supportability and acceptability. What has been described as the “man-machine interface” is the key.

Source: Watchkeeper, BIMCO