Cecilia Österman

Exploring Maritime Ergonomics from a Bottom Line Perspective

The present paper reports a study composed of three research activities exploring the economics of ergonomics in a shipping context. First, a literature study aimed to review previous studies on the economics of ergonomics in general and within the maritime domain in particular; and moreover, to ascertain the key ergonomic factors addressed in contemporary maritime ergonomic research. Second, the concept of ergonomics was probed from a stakeholder perspective through nine semi-structured qualitative interviews. Third, structured interviews were held with representatives of ten Swedish shipping companies to investigate if the shipowners are aware of and calculate the economic effects of ergonomics.The results show that severalmodels andmethods have been developed to estimate costs and benefits of ergonomics in other industries, but no studies were found from the shipping industry.Whether thesemethods can be readily adapted to the shipping industry has to be investigated further. While contemporary maritime ergonomic literature showed a focus on physical ergonomic and health and safety issues, the results of the stakeholder interviews indicated a focus on organizational ergonomics. The Swedish shipowners calculate the costs of sick-leave, but do not estimate the economic effects of ergonomics on a regular basis.

Administrative burdens and over-exertion in Swedish short sea shipping

ABSTRACT Despite significant changes in work tasks performed on board, towards more sedentary monitoring and administrative work, the incidence of occupational injuries and disorders remains high among seafarers. In order to improve safety standards, industry stakeholders increasingly require written documentation of numerous routines, procedures and tasks performed on board. These increased demands have however added to the administrative burden. Some say, to the extent that administrative work has become a safety risk in itself. This paper presents the result of a survey investigating how Swedish seafarers perceive their own level of fatigue, stress and over-exertion related to work. The material consists of 1309 respondents originating from a random selection procedure, of which 651 reported to be employed in short sea shipping. Multiple regression analysis (OLS regression), allowing adjusted effects, were applied in several steps of the analysis. The highest levels of exertion were reported by employees in the catering department, positions not generally associated with high administrative burden. Perceived high levels of administrative work do increase the level of exertion, but cannot explain the observed pattern. Future ship and trade-specific studies on physical and mental well-being and complementary studies on the catering department’s working conditions and work environment are necessary.

Assessing financial impact of maritime ergonomics on company level: a case study

The present paper reports a case study examining a conceptual framework for assessing financial impact of occupational maritime ergonomics in a Swedish shipping company. Specifically, the aim was to study the availability and applicability of suggested determinants for operational performance, routines for estimating the effects of ergonomics and the customer’s (sea transport buyer’s) demands for ergonomics management on the case company. The results show that the determinants and subcategories for operational performance in terms of productivity, efficiency and quality are present and applicable, albeit not measured to any large extent. No routines or specific methods for measuring or estimating cost and effects of ergonomics investments, accidents and operational disturbances were found. Further, the results show that the sea transport buyers increasingly express interest for and place demands related to maritime ergonomics, for instance, through compliance of specific standards and guiding principles linked to maritime ergonomics. It is concluded that in order to support and enable managers’ ability to make well-informed decisions and prioritizations, between investments, ergonomic or other, increased knowledge is needed of the financial effects of ergonomics on company core value processes. There is also a need to develop and implement usable tools to simplify these measuring procedures.

Mind the Gap! Maritime Education for Gender-Equal Career Advancement

Seafaring as an occupation, and the maritime community as a whole, is still a male-dominated industry. In order to encourage more women to engage in a career at sea, a number of campaigns have been launched by various stakeholders. Since gender gaps in education generally are larger in the developing world, while steadily closing in the developed countries, it is both understandable and appropriate that efforts largely have been directed towards enabling women in developing countries to engage in professional education and training, may it be maritime or other. However, is opening the door and encouraging women to participate in maritime training sufficient to keep and encourage women to embark on a maritime career? In this paper, we set out to examine how gender equality is addressed in the curricula of maritime education. A document analysis was performed, examining official study plans and curricula from eight maritime universities in Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Philippines; all nations ranked in the top five in the Global gender Gap Index. The results show that gender issues are not explicitly mentioned or addressed in these documents, indicating a lack of clear strategies for these matters. Educational institutions are important bearers of societal norms and values. Without effective gender-inclusive strategies and pedagogical and didactic approaches, there is a risk of reproducing inequality, instead of producing equality. Increasing numbers of female students will not alone close the gender gap in the maritime industry. Gender issues must be well defined, operationalised and included in educational policy and curricula-making at individual, structural as well as symbolical levels.

Visual Ergonomics in Control Room Environments: A Case Study from a Swedish Paper Mill

This paper presents results from a case study at a Swedish paper mill. The study is part of a larger ongoing research project aiming to investigate visual ergonomics in control room environments. Visual conditions were measured and evaluated in five control rooms, and nine process operators answered questions about perceived workload and visual experience.

Conceptual and Practical Strategy Work to Promote Ergonomics/Human Factors in Sweden

This paper describes the results of the conceptual and practical strategy work performed by the Swedish Ergonomics and Human Factors Society (EHSS) today. The rationale of EHSS is to strengthen the quality of ergonomics/human factors knowledge and practice in Sweden and form a multidisciplinary platform across disciplines and professions for collaboration and for knowledge sharing. EHSS gathers about 350 members, representing different occupations in industry, academia and the public sector. Together, EHSS members hold knowledge and experience in physical, cognitive and organizational ergonomics and its application in working life and society. The overall aim of this paper is to inspire related societies and stakeholders to initiate discussions about strategies and future projects that allow for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Proposedly follow the EHSS model where we have formed a multidisciplinary platform for collaboration across disciplines and professions. The activities initiated and supported by EHSS are one step towards broadening the knowledge and application of HFE in Sweden, and to comprise new arenas of specialization. By participating in the key areas in society such as teaching, standardization, product development and occupational safety and health, the work of EHSS is one piece of the puzzle to improve human activities in the future. The vision is that together, we can improve safety, efficiency and well-being for all.

Have a Healthy Lifestyle or Organize Work – Creating Healthy Shipboard Work Environments

This paper presents findings from a study concerning the work environment on board Swedish passenger vessels. The study explored work-related experiences of personnel in the service department (hotel, restaurant, catering, shops) based on individual and group interviews, observations, survey data and social insurance statistics concerning sick leave longer than 60 days. The results of this paper are based on ten semi-structured individual and group interviews with 16 respondents. The respondents were HR personnel from six shipping companies and crewmembers working onboard.

Developing an International Master’s Programme in Ergonomics at a Technical University in Sweden

The objective of this paper is to present the rationale for, and the development process of, a new international master’s programme in Ergonomics, here framed as ‘Technology, Work and Health’, at KTH, Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The masters’ programme is designed for two years of full-time studies (120 credits).

Underlying Causes of and Potential Measures to Reduce Long-term Sick Leave Among Employees in the Service Department on Board Swedish Passenger Vessels

This paper presents findings from a workshop focused on the physical, social and organizational work environment in the service department on board Swedish passenger vessels. Twentyseven maritime p ...

The Impact of Family and Job Content on Swedish Seafarers' Occupational Commitment : A Gendered Issue?

Ongoing research has indicated important effects on seafarers’ occupational commitment due to gender and family situation. In this study, these findings have been elaborated further by controlling for the effect of perceived work content. Statistical analyses were employed, using a survey material of Swedish seafarers collected from a national register in 2010. The results showed that the effect on occupational commitment of having children at home is strongly positive and statistically significant for women. However, the significance was dependent on the level of satisfaction with the job content. It was suggested that the seafaring occupation could be viewed as a coping strategy, although only appropriate if the job content is agreeable. Another important family effect was, as expected, the positive effect of having a relative working, or having worked, at sea. This effect was, however, only significant for male seafarers in the age group below the early 40’s. It was concluded that this effect is mainly emotionally driven and not particularly influenced by the actual job content. The results further showed that working in the catering department comes with a strong negative effect on commitment to the seafaring occupation for women. This effect, however, lost its significance after control for job content. It was concluded that the effect of satisfaction with job content on occupational commitment is generally important, with the exception of women, without children, working in the catering department.