SOFTWARE FOR SEAFARERS

A one day conference / workshop about efforts to improve usability of software and systems which seafarers use, identify best practise and look at areas which need improvement.

A lot of people have justifiably strong feelings about quality of life / equipment for seafarers - and manufacturers frequently claim to offer benefits from additional and improved software-based systems. For this conference we take the owner's and seafarer's perspective on such systems. Our speakers will present their experience of improving business value by making these systems easier for seafarers to use.

This working conference ties together navigation and control systems with software systems. It addresses the improvement of the usability of the increasing range of software-based systems used by seafarers. The broad range of issues to be considered and things that have to be done in order to achieve dependability and trust in these systems will be reviewed and facilitated discussions will seek to define good practice.

The conference is designed for people from shipping companies who want to maximise their knowledge about how to make sure shipboard systems are usable, and for people from class societies, systems and software developers who want to learn more and discuss best practise in making systems usable.

The ideas and theories generated in the conference about best practise will be reported in Digital Ship, so the whole shipping industry can learn from them.

If you want to maximise your knowledge about how to make shipboard systems more usable, and join the discussion about best practise, then we invite you to register to attend.

Consultant conference producer and chairman: Jonathan Earthy, principal human factors specialist, Lloyd's Register

9:20 Introduction - Theme for the day by conference chairman Jonathan Earthy
Terminology and standards for usability. The scope of the issue. Range of application in the marine sector. Users, Software intensive systems – what, why and so what? Human centred design, range of uses of software intensive systems on ships, scope of standardisation.

9.40 Session 1 – Owner's needs

Efficiency of service. The shipowner's perspective on usable shipboard systems. Defining the business case. Future warship bridges.

Speakers:
9.40 Stephan Polomsky, deputy managing director
John T. Essberger GmbH & Co. KG Shipmanagement

Dr.-Ing. Stephan Polomsky is deputy managing director, John T. Essberger GmbH & Co. KG Shipmanagement. Together with Broere Shipping, Dordrecht, NL, the Broere Essberger ChemPool operates a fleet of 26 modern and highly sophisticated chemical tankers throughout Europe from the upper Baltic region via the Continent to the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The Broere Essberger ChemPool vessels range from 2,500 to 6,500 dwt and comprise 110,000 deadweight tons. These vessels feature cargo tanks and associated pipes, fittings, pumps and valves of highly anticorrosive stainless steel. Besides other vessels like Bulk Carriers, Cement Carrier and Container Vessels Transocean Shipmanagement presently supervise the construction of two Ice Classed Aframax Tanker at Daewoo shipyard in Korea. www.tr-ocean.de

10.05 Simon Gaskin, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy

Lieutenant Commander Simon Gaskin is appointed to the Sea Systems Group of the UK Defence Procurement Agency, with responsibility for advising on marine navigation matters, including requirements and the interface between navigation and combat systems. He contributes to the Ships and Marine Equipment and Marine Navigation and Radiocommunication Equipment committees of the British Standards Institute, and the Marine Navigation Equipment committee of the UK Marine and Coastguard Agency. He became a member of the Nautical Institute in 1995 and an Associate Fellow Fellow of the RIN in 2005. He has served in the UK Royal Navy as bridge watchkeeper, Navigator or First Lieutenant in frigates, patrol craft and minesweepers (including the Falkland Islands operation in a converted deep sea trawler). Since 1988 he has served at sea as Navigation Officer in HM Ships CHALLENGER, ENDURANCE, POLAR CIRCLE and HMAS SUCCESS, and in shore appointments including Squadron Navigation Officer for the 10th MCM Squadron and Officer in Charge of the Royal Australian Navy's Navigation Faculty at HMAS WATSON.

10.30 Regulation, software and the seafarerDr Jonathan Earthy, Lloyd's Register
IEC approach to usability,
Type testing and notations,
Class and Regulatory approaches to Usability now and in the future.
State of the art in Ergonomics and Human Centred Design.
Why change is necessary.

Jonathan Earthy is principal human factors specialist for Lloyd's Register. He joined Lloyd's Register in 1992 after ten years with British Petroleum. After working in a range of projects and jobs related to safety and information technology. Jonathan is now responsible for coordinating Lloyd’s Register's Marine research and development with respect to the Human Element and Systems Engineering. He represents the UK interests in international standards committees for Ergonomics, Marine systems and system and software engineering. In addition to chairing the presentations and facilitating the discussion sessions Jonathan will open the event with a presentation of ISO 17894 the new standard for marine systems development. www.lr.org

10:45 Break

11:15 Session 2 – Seafarer's needs
Safety and satisfaction. Maritime incidents caused by poor usability of systems. The seafarer's perspective. The management of alarms. How to do it – the RNLI example

Speakers:
11.15 Capt Margareta Lützhöft, researcher, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute

11.45 Professor Brian Sherwood Jones, Lloyd's Register

Captain Margareta Lützhöft is a researcher with Swedish National Road and Transportation Research Institute (VTI). She has a PhD from Linköping University in Sweden in human-machine-interaction and a master's degree in cognitive science. She has several years experience as a bridge officer, and traveled with 15 vessels to study work on the bridge as part of her research. She is very in demand as a speaker on issues of bridge systems ergonomics. www.vti.se

Professor Brian Sherwood Jones is a consultant to Lloyd's Register on the Human Element. After ten years in aircraft design, he spent over twenty years in marine and naval design. He co-ordinates the Maritime Ergonomics Special Interest Group of the Ergonomics Society. He contributed to the update to ISO 8468 on bridge layout (due to be published next year). Brian is an Honorary Professor at the Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art, where he is contributes to the virtual shipbuilding initiative. www.lr.org


12:15 Panel discussion- How much usability is practical?
- Can too much usability create a false sense of security?
- Does additional usability mean additional expense?

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Session 4 - Delivering usability
1Designing automation for seafarers. Design and ergonomics of bridge systems. Documentation and training.

14.00 John Nurser, principal electronics engineer with the RNLI Joint presentation with

Neil Chaplin, principal naval architect, UK RNLI


Neil Chaplin is a principal naval architect at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Trained as a Naval Architect under MoD sponsorship, then worked in both ship support and procurement capacities on a wide variety of vessels. Joined the RNLI in 1997 as a Naval Architect, and in 2000 became project manager of the Fast Slipway Boat 2 (now Tamar) project. Responsible for the design, development, production and introduction into service of the Tamar, Neil has recently taken up the post of In Service Support Manager

John Nurser BA(Hons) IEng MRIN, Principal Electronics Engineer with the RNLI. He served in the Royal Navy for nearly 35 years as a Weapons Engineering Officer, serving in both sea and shore appointments, until retirement in 1997. He joined the RNLI on leaving the Royal Navy, and as Principal Electronics Engineer head a small team engineers responsible for all electronics systems fitted to lifeboats. This involves through-life support for legacy systems, and design of all new equipment including SIMS. www.rnli.org.uk

14.50 Research into seafarer friendly software, how you do it and why, the benefits,Panteleimon Pantelis, services director, Ulysses Systems
Panteleimon Pantelis is services director of Ulysses Systems, a maritime software company with a strong emphasis on usability. Ulysses is developing knowledge management software which aims to do more than make standard documents electronic - it will absorb knowledge from seafarers about what they are doing while they are doing it, then present safety critical information to them when they need it. Pantelis joined Ulysses in 1998 to assist with supporting their customers. Previously, he had worked in the technical department in Lyras Shipping and had firsthand experience in ship repair, maintenance and operations. Pantelis has a BEng in Mechanical Engineering, an MSc in Advanced Manufacturing Systems and is an Associate of the City and Guilds Institute.

15.15 Erik Styhr Petersen, advanced systems manager, Lyngsoe Marine


Erik Styhr Petersen, manager special projects, Lyngsø Marine, which supplies automation systems, control and alarm systems, main engine control systems. Today more than 8.000 ships world-wide have been outfitted with Lyngsø Marine automation or surveillance systems. Lyngsø Marine A/S has offices in Denmark, Korea and China, and is a daughter-company to SAM Electronics, together supplying the brand names STELLA, SAM Electronics and DEBEG to customers world-wide. www.lyngsoe.com

15.40 Break

16:00 Panel discussion and chairman's summary- Does additional usability mean additional expense?
What is good practice and can we define a code of practice?

16:30 Close