Stop Digitizing The Problem: A Smarter Approach To
Stop Digitizing The Problem: A Smarter Approach To
Publish Date: 2026-05-03 00:05:00
Source Domain: www.marinelink.com
The industry is focused on managing cost and maximizing efficiency, so why do some operators resist adopting technology, asks Captain Steve Bomgardner, CEO, ABS Wavesight
Why do some companies struggle with digital transformation? The answer is pretty clear if we trace the evolution of vessel operations over as little as the last 20 years.
At that time ships were much more heavily-crewed, but many operators progressively slimmed down crew sizes as they found they could manage with fewer seafarers and still remain compliant with minimum manning levels.
There was no digital transformation taking place – the loss of the radio operator in particular seemed to signal the opposite – but the burden of work on the crew continued to increase. A vessel might go from 25 or 30 crew to 15 or 20 which meant those onboard often had to do more work, but more quickly and under greater pressure.
Consequently, both the ships and shoreside managers have become used to doing more work in an increasingly lean way and – counter-intuitive as it may seem – are sometimes hesitant about adopting digital tools.
The very reasonable questions they ask themselves are: “if I adopt this new system, am I replacing myself?”; and perhaps more pertinently: “if it doesn’t perform as expected and I bring up issues, am I the one getting fired?”
The right technology can help release users from mundane, repetitive low value tasks and enable them to focus more on the safety needs at hand. However, poorly designed and badly implemented technology can introduce inefficiency, create more work and make users wary of relying on the output.
In my experience sailing as a master, there were days when I had so many meetings it was sometimes difficult to get onto the bridge, interact properly with the crew and check in detail that things were happening the way they should in the time I had available.
You might imagine that the opportunity…
