The importance of soft skills in shipping, their regulatory environment and methods to implement soft skill practices to shipping safety and quality systems

Abstract

This paper serves as an enquiry into the importance of soft skills in terms of promoting a safer and more efficient work environment with regard to shipping operations, both onboard and onshore. This work investigates the importance of the human element in shipping and reviews the penetration of behavioural management practices – pertaining to the adoption of soft skill-oriented processes – in the safety and quality management systems of ship management companies and suggests paths toward regulatory compliance and best practices for the future. In the first chapter of the dissertation, Ι aim at presenting the regulatory framework within which shipmanagement companies are required to operate. In identifying the pieces of legislation that underpin modern ship management, I initially elect to focus on key international conventions including, inter alia, the four pillars of ship management, i.e., SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW and MLC. Furthermore, I focus on those regulatory bodies directly involved in tanker ship management. The above will serve in introducing TMSA into my thesis. I am also of the opinion that it is necessary to discuss the origins of the notion of self-assessment in corporate culture, before delving into how TMSA came to be and implemented. Having considered the regulatory scheme, the second chapter gives a definition of what soft skills entail. The analysis aims at establishing how to successfully manage interpersonal relationships and getting one’s message across. Therefore, it is argued that on-the-job interplay in a modern workplace environment is the driving factor behind business outcomes. In that regard, we also argue that a workforce instilled with solid knowledge of soft skills leads to tangible results that are echoed in an organisation’s productivity, revenues, and overall profitability. Building upon the state of practice concerning the adaptation of soft skills in other industries, I then cast light upon soft skills in shipping operations. I examine the human capital in shipping and the nature of soft skills required for onboard and onshore operations. Tying with the aforementioned regulatory framework I also present how soft skills manifest in legislation relevant to shipping operations. 14 The third chapter of the dissertation provides an extensive analysis on the differences between the TMSA 2 and 3. Therefore, I focus on discussing the necessary actions that a tanker ship management company should undertake to achieve compliance with TMSA 3 standards and adopt industry’s best practices, again with our vantage point being the adoption and implementation of soft skill-related practices as manifested in a company’s safety and quality management system, including the ISM Code. The fourth chapter is heavily influenced by OCIMF’s report on the Behavioural Competency Assessment and Verification for Vessel Operators and relies heavily on the work material and issues discussed in the previous chapters. Here, I focus on explaining the possible ways that a shipmanagement company can build a behavioural competency framework in the context of its safety and quality protocols and delve into an enquiry into company-sanctioned education and personnel’s development. This TMSA 3- and soft skills-centred dissertation’s goal is to disambiguate the meaning of soft skills and enquire into their importance in the context of a ship management company’s operations. Having addressed both questions, our work suggests ways and methods that a shipmanagement company may embrace to exceed the TMSA 3 soft skills mandates, transcend minimum level of compliance and incorporate soft skill-related practices to its processes. Finally, this assignment is performed in accordance with the instructions received, and care and attention have been directed toward the proper citation of the referenced sources.