Investing in training
Captain Watkins reflects on some important human element issues. Hitherto, the senior officers on most of our ships would come from the Commonwealth countries but we are now seeing some good masters emerging particularly from the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), the Ukraine and the Philippines.
The China Navigation Co Ltd is part of the Swire Group, responsible for the technical management of 19 owned and 45 chartered- in container, multipurpose, general cargo and dry bulk ships, employing some 700 officers and ratings. Captain Watkins reflects on some important human element issues.
Hitherto, the senior officers on most of our ships would come from the Common- wealth countries but we are now seeing some good masters emerging particularly from the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), the Ukraine and the Philippines. We have never in our history recruited our masters and chief engineers from outside - they have always come from within the company and we are very proud of that. As a result, we have people that have come through from second officer/third engineer, to master/chief engineer - they have absorbed the company's culture and policies, and in particular our Safety Management System and are able to deliver and administer these when they become master or chief engineer. We also want to send the signal out that we are working to promote from within.
We have just employed 17 deck cadets - far more than ever before - primarily from the Philippines and the PRC, and we sponsor them through college. We are also looking for engineer cadets, but there is a tremendous shortage of skilled engineers.
Retention is an issue that is facing everyone in shipping at the moment, and we have to ask ourselves: 'What can we do to differentiate ourselves to make us a company of choice?' We do not treat people as 'numbers'; we treat them as part of the family. Indeed, the Chairman and the General Manager are extremely keen wherever they can to push the message that the welfare of our seafarers is of importance. It is part of the job of the ship management team to deliver that message through our ship visits - to listen to what the seafarers have to say and to explain what is going on, so that they do not feel isolated. If they are needed at home, because of a family problem, we will do our utmost to get them off the ship.
Some 45 to 55 officers visit our office each month, for briefings from the ship management team. We tell them what is going on; there are no secrets - there must be transparency here.
For those who are due for promotion to chief officer or second engineer, we remind them that their responsibilities are about to change, not least that they will be managing people. For some it is difficult but others rise to the occasion. It is importantto get the message across that, if they have any issues, they should not keep them to themselves and that they should discuss them with the master or chief engineer and keep us, the management, in the picture. This could be seen as a move towards centralised control, and we often question whether we give the senior officers onboard enough freedom to make their own decisions. However, we also feel that because there is a lack of experience across the ranks, management has to provide a little more guidance for ships staff nowadays. They are, after all, under tremendous commercial and security pressures.
We also conduct one day seminars for ships crews, taking them away from the ship for a day, when it is in drydock. On these occasions, we encourage feedback, but also we see it is an occasion for social interaction.
In 2005, we introduced a 'train the trainer' programme. We now have 20 trainers - at master, chief engineer and chief officer levels - who go out to the ships and conduct briefing sessions and training onboard. Their own training is important, to give them the confidence to stand in front of the crew and deliver a presentation and then conduct onboard drills.
Onboard training includes talking the crew through the basics of housekeeping, conducting walkthroughs both on deck and in the engine room, and live drills. They will be briefed on, for example, the use of the oily water separator, the proper use of 'out of service' labels, and on tank entry and hot work. The trainers will conduct live drills and then have a debriefing afterwards. It can be quite eventful, it can get quite heated, and if it doesn't work out, it will be done again.
If someone is new to the ship, there is a requirement that they should be allowed at least half a day for familiarisation, being shown around the ship by the person that they are relieving. In many cases, crews stay with the same ship; it helps for them to be familiar with the trading pattern and operation of a particular ship. Indeed, we have a 'retainer' system for some of our masters and chief engineers because we feel that it is not only important for them to be familiar with the trade and the commercial aspects of the ship but it is also vital to ensure that they properly manage the whole ship. If they do not have to worry about the trade and the commercial aspects of the ship because they are used to it, then they will spend a lot more time considering the operational issues onboard and looking after the crew.
Generally, the basic education of officers and ratings is OK, but I am concerned at the lack of emphasis on mathematics and physics, because physics underpins everything. There is, perhaps, too much focus on subjects such as 'logistics' and 'supply chain management', but these subjects are not really of much value for a deck officer working on deck, who should be considering the forces that are affecting the derricks, the cranes, the hatch lids and the hull, and should be aware of the effects of placing and removing weights, of squat, dynamics, turning circles etc - all of which require a good knowledge of physics.
We are currently putting together a professional career development programme for our officers, to ensure that they are properly prepared for promotion, at each stage. It is a programme that takes time, energy, resources and commitment but it is nonetheless important. We also run Marine Resource Management Courses, to test assertiveness, crowd control, power, distance and communication. We ensure that all our bridge officers work to the principle of 'challenge and respond' with the master and of the master responding in the appropriate manner. It is all about teamwork, but it is not easy, given that there are some cultures where there are barriers to this type of approach. Although we have conducted a couple of engine room resource management courses, we are still developing this.
We do not involve crews, as such, in the design of new construction, but we do incorporate their feedback - it is very important. We have a new build coming out in 2 years time - it is our own design and the design team has consulted widely. All the ship managers from all disciplines have been very involved, and we very much value the feedback of ships' staff. Some sea staff will standby about 9 months before delivery. We consider it a good way to train future senior officers and ship managers, because all the senior managers in this office have, in the past, stood by the construction of new ships. As a company, we have control over the des- ign and construction of our ships; indeed, we have paid a lot of money for this.