A new two-year study from researchers at Solent University entitled, ‘The Effective Crew Project’[i] has highlighted that stable crewing can improve safety, wellbeing and financial outcomes.
The research examined the benefits and challenges of implementing stable and fluid crews within the merchant shipping industry. It found that stable crewing results in improved accountability and responsibility leading to better vessel maintenance, reduced maintenance costs and shorter handover times. Stable crewing also promotes trust and good working relations, higher retention rates and increased capacity for on the job learning which in turn leads to improved inspection results, reduced training and recruitment and improved operational costs.
The report concludes that good leadership and management skills are fundamental, and companies need to collect more reliable data in order to better inform their crewing strategies.
Alexander Buchmann, Managing Director of Hanseaticsoft GmbH, a leading provider of innovative, cloud-based maritime software, says shipping companies can execute crewing strategies effectively by choosing the right software.
Alexander says, “This study highlights the importance of adopting a crewing strategy and monitoring it to ensure it’s the best option for maximizing cost efficiency, safety and crew wellbeing. To successfully evaluate the effectiveness of a crewing strategy, consistent data and metrics are essential as without these it is difficult to accurately measure cost savings.”
Hanseaticsoft has developed a cloud-based solution for shipping companies, Cloud Fleet Manager which allows information to be centralized, processed and accessed in real time using apps and mobile devices. This includes the Cloud Crewing module, an all-in-one solution for professional crew management.
Cloud Crewing includes the master data management of seafarers, planning crews on board as well as their relief, processing of activity-based payroll, management of the crew’s working and rest hours and detailed crew reports.
Alexander says, “It is essential that shipping companies select crews of people who work well together to maximize efficiency, improve safety and reduce costs. Our software optimizes crew management by streamlining all crew related processes in one central place. By reviewing information in the system about each seafarer’s experience, their individual certificates required by different entities (such as STCW, crew manager, owner or the vessel itself) and their key skills, companies can select people who will complement each other as a team. To further ease this process, companies can simply create seafarers pools with crew members that work together very well or have certain skills, and use this pool for further planning.
“People are the most valuable asset for any shipping company and cloud technology has the power to transform crew management to improve safety outcomes, crew wellbeing and long-term financial performance.”
