Change Management News

Shipping’s journey of digital transformation is as much about cultural change - from the boardroom to onboard vessels - to adapt to new ways of working with data collaboration at the core as it is about technology adoption, according to a new Bureau Veritas-backed research study.Digital transformation of the industry “demands a systemic shift in how we work together,” Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore’s VP Digital Solutions & Transformation, Laurent Hentges, said in the foreword to the report by research firm Thetius…

Hornblower Group on Monday announced the promotions of several key members of its leadership team.“These changes within the leadership team represent a significant milestone for Hornblower Group as we forge ahead in working toward our company’s ambitions goals,” said Kevin Rabbitt, Chief Executive Officer for Hornblower Group. “I have full confidence that this group, with their impressive backgrounds and extensive industry knowledge, will significantly contribute to supporting our company's overall business strategy and lead us toward a successful future.

Realizing the full value of digital solutions far exceeds the capability of technology. The technology exists today to help offshore energy and maritime operators radically improve efficiency and cut costs in equal measure. The real trick to driving efficiencies is to take advantage of the latest technologies while at the same time negotiating the necessary culture change within individual organizations, to really reap the benefits.Harvest Technology Group is a relatively young and small Australian company that has caught the attention of a number of offshore and subsea industry heavyweights…

Birdon, a defense contractor specializing in maritime solutions, announced it has expanded its U.S. Board of Outside Directors through the recent election of two members with extensive backgrounds with U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard shipbuilding and ship repair. Kevin Mooney and Ronald Rábago, (Rear Admiral, USCG-Ret.) have agreed to serve as Chairperson and Member, respectively.“Kevin and Ron will provide invaluable insight and guidance to our management team as Birdon continues to grow and deliver major programs to its customers,” said Birdon CEO and owner, Jamie Bruce.

A joint study into ammonia safety onboard ships undertaken by the Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS), has found that a range of mitigation methods, from ship design to crew training and operations, are required to keep toxicity risks to crew within published tolerable limits.‘Recommendations for Design and Operation of Ammonia-Fuelled Vessels based on Multi-disciplinary Risk Analysis' presents a study of the effectiveness of risk mitigation measures in three ammonia-fueled vessels – a container ship…

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) a consultancy and advisor on decarbonization to the maritime industry, and maritime classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), have signed a memorandum of understanding to combine their technical and consulting expertise in the maritime and offshore industries, providing joint support to clients’ decarbonization journeys.Peter Jameson, Partner and Global Lead for Climate and Sustainability in BCG’s Infrastructure, Transport and Cities practice…

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

Offshore service vessels owner Tidewater has signed a partnership agreement with Tero Marine to provide consultancy services and the fleetwide implementation of Tero Marine’s TM Master fleet management software suite.The move is part of Tidewater's wider initiative aiming to transform its fleet to global systems and processes, create efficiencies through automation, digitalization to connect and integrate onshore and offshore, and scalability to optimize fleet efficiency for new acquisitions.

Global engineering and defense technologies provider Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today the promotion of Edmond Hughes to executive vice president and chief human resources officer. Hughes, formerly the vice president of human resources and administration contracts at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division and at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding since 2006, will replace William “Bill” R. Ermatinger, who will retire on April 1 after 35 years of service. HII also appointed Susan Jacobs to replace Hughes as the vice president…

Freight and logistics insurer TT Club said it has appointed Kevin Blunsum as its first Chief Technology Officer.Blunsum is a highly experienced and well-respected member of the London-market insurance community. Over his 30-year career he has held a variety of positions engaged in insurance technology development and change management with Deloitte, EY, Accenture, and more recently with Aspen Insurance as Director of Business Transformation.Blunsum will be working closely with Lisa Gibbard…

Singapore-based marine and offshore pump manufacturer Hamworthy Pumps has appointed Hans Christiaan Laheij, 48, as its new CEO.The new CEO will join the company on January 15, 2021. He has recently worked with German propulsion specialist Schottel in the position of Deputy CEO & President Marine. For a number of years, he has held several managerial positions at Wärtsilä and he has previously been living and working in the Asia-Pacific Region for a total of 15 years."Hans Christiaan…

German software provider Hanseaticsoft said Copenhagen-based Maersk Supply Service has opted to implement its Cloud Fleet Manager ship management system for vessels and shore-bases to manage crews and handle all crew-related tasks.Kevin Bro Beier, Head of Crewing, Maersk Supply Service said, “We selected Cloud Fleet Manager from Hanseaticsoft as our new crew management system. It combines a standard platform with comprehensive functionality with a high degree of usability, enabling us to deploy new features at a faster pace.

VT Halter in Pascagoula, MS has been on a strong run, capped by its winning the high-profile contract to build the U.S. Coast Guard’s next generation of icebreakers. Maritime Reporter recently spoke with Ron Baczkowski, President and CEO, VT Halter Marine, for insights on the shipyard’s recent success and future prospects. Globally, the shipbuilding industry has gone through some ‘interesting’ times of late. How has it looked from your perspective?The shipbuilding market and activity at VT Halter during the past 12 months has been dynamic.

With Navis N4 TOS, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) has again broken the record for vessel utilization after the MSC Gulsun, the largest container ship in the world, departed with 19,574 TEU in July 2019.This milestone means PTP has broken the record three times in a row and has become the first port in the world to set back-to-back records for container vessel utilization.Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading terminal operators said that PTP terminal has gone live with the Navis N4 TOS to help them scale as demand at the terminal grows.PTP…

Product and chemical tanker operator Ardmore Shipping has chosen SEDNA as its new email management and team collaboration platform for their global commercial desks, including operations, chartering and commercial finance teams.According to Ha Eun Ruppelt, Ardmore Shipping’s Commercial Project Manager, the decision to choose SEDNA began with the organization’s commitment to achieving the same high standards of efficiency and operational performance in its commercial activities as it has achieved across its fleet:“How we collaborate as a team and how we manage our relationships with customers and partners needs to be as efficient and effective as possible. However, we were encountering critical issues with email, in terms of storage space, speed of search and a lack of transparency.

Bourbon Corporation CEO Gael Bodénès & his team plot a bold new course for this offshore industry stalwart.Your career with Bourbon has traversed many industry fluctuations. Looking back to when you joined the company, how is Bourbon today most the same, and most different?Bourbon has transformed from a small regional company to a world recognized leader in offshore marine services. It has seen its teams grow from a 3,000 to more than 8,000 employees of 88 nationalities, the fleet has grown to more than 500 units…

When it comes to shipbuilding, the numbers are staggering: hundreds of millions of parts in one aircraft carrier. Billions of dollars proposed for Naval fleet development in the latest NDAA. Hundreds of thousands of private sector jobs in the U.S. alone. A 2015 MARAD report, for example, pegged the total economic impact associate with the industry at 400,000 jobs, $25 billion in labor income, and 37 billion in GDP (based on data from 2013). When the financing, jobs, technological developments and supply chain trade dedicated to shipbuilding around the world are added in…

Tom Crowley has become the face of the U.S. maritime industry, steadily building his transport and logistics company into a formidable goliath. From Jones Act waivers to emerging emissions technology to the devastation of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, Crowley weighs in on the pressing matters of maritime with refreshing candor. The last time we caught up with Tom Crowley two years ago at this headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., we were handed a safety bulletin and Tom Crowley himself came down to the lobby to greet us.

Trojan Battery Co., LLC, the world’s leading manufacturer of deep-cycle batteries, has named Phillip Taylor as senior vice president, and chief human resources (HR) officer to lead the company’s global workforce of more than 1,000 employees. Taylor brings over 30 years of experience to this position, which includes his most recent tenure at legendary toy maker Mattel, Inc. Battery. Taylor is responsible for the development of corporate HR strategies for Trojan’s worldwide operations in the areas of recruitment, compensation, benefits, performance management and organizational development for the company. While at Mattel, Taylor served as senior vice president of HR for the commercial and corporate divisions.

Tomorrow’s high tech fleets will depend on shipyards – long after the christening is over. Siemens PLM software makes that dream possible – today. According to global powerhouse Siemens, a major transformation is underway in the marine sector. As operators strive to develop more energy-efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly vessels that also lower operating costs, they will increasingly depend on shipyards to make that happen. That’s right: shipyards. Long after the vessel slides into the water and the christening party is but a distant memory, the clean and efficient workboat of tomorrow will leverage a wealth of data that the builder will manage. Before any of that happens, shipbuilders will also need to design and build ships faster and better than ever before.

Fleet Performance Management (FPM) can drive efficiency improvements of up to 38 percent, but many ship owners and operators are finding that FPM is costing, rather than saving them money. The expectation that once you plug and play an FPM system the savings will be immediate, has set a precedent that in real terms, is simply unachievable. Peter Mantel, Managing Director of BMT SMART, a subsidiary of BMT Group, argues that FPM is a marathon, not a sprint and long-term collaboration is required to ensure a return on their investment.

North P&I Club has appointed a new Global Director of People as part of a company-wide focus on driving forward leadership and development. Dawn Robinson has joined the global marine insurer following three years in a world-wide role at Nomad Digital and previous appointments with Sage PLC as well as Finland based Outotec. Dawn brings with her a wealth of experience in change management, leadership and development, operations and employee relations. Working with the senior operations team, Dawn will initially focus on delivering a leadership and development programme for North’s 370 staff over the next 18 months, 255 of which are based at North’s headquarters on Newcastle Quayside.

In today’s marine-scape of declining newbuild activity, many boatbuilders are seeking to buoy up productivity by reducing time to market. But how do you go about contracting intricate concurrent design and production flows without loss of quality, let alone the risk of production spiraling out of control? The general tendency is to overlap design phases. However, this potentially creates a greater number of uncertainties. Ship design includes multiple disciplines and specialties in spiraling activity cycles.