Jørn Fenstad

Shipboard safety: exploring organizational and regulatory factors

ABSTRACT How vessel crews perceive safety on board (shipboard safety) is a useful indication for the general safety level. In this study a theoretical model was explored, involving factors that could possibly influence shipboard safety. Based on a survey questionnaire (n = 244), safety climate, shipowner efficiency demands and regulatory activities were investigated as influencing factors. Structural equation modelling gave support to the theoretical model and the findings illustrate that simultaneous involvement of various levels of the maritime system (crews, shipowners, regulators) can be effective for safety improvements. The study indicates that shipboard safety is affected by actions and prioritization by external actors through safety climate. It suggests that the maritime industry will profit from monitoring safety climate as part of the ongoing risk considerations, as a supplement to reactive parameters such as accident statistics.

Antecedents of safety-compliant behaviour on offshore service vessels: a multi-factorial approach

Procedure violations are commonly identified as an essential causal factor in maritime accidents. This also applies to the Norwegian offshore service vessel sector. This illustrates that there is a need to study compliance and non-compliance in a broad context and to explore the factors that affect the propensity to act in accordance with prevailing procedures. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine the antecedents of safety-compliant behaviour among workers on offshore service vessels operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. With reference to a survey of 1108 offshore service vessel workers, this was done by analysing the relationship between a set of predictor variables and a self-report measure of safety-compliant behaviour. Using binary logistic regression analysis, the present study revealed that the safety climate and the vessel workers’ age were positively related to safety compliance, whereas job experience and perceived procedure vagueness were negatively related to safety compliance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. In sum, the findings indicate that shipowners, captains and other stakeholders within the offshore service vessel industry should consider a broad multi-factorial approach to increase safety compliance.

Reliability Consequences of Liberalization in the Electricity Sector: Existing Research and Remaining Questions

The generation, transmission and distribution of energy are among the most vital prerequisites for the functioning of modern societies. Since the early 1990s, the energy sectors of Western societies have been through a process of institutional restructuring, where large state-owned monopolies have been divided into several independent organizations. Also, the organizations responsible for providing energy, like most other industrial organizations today, have made increasing use of outsourcing strategies. Taken together, these developments represent a significant change in the framework conditions for the energy sector. How this development affects the reliability of energy supply and the capacity for effective crisis management is an important question from both a research perspective as well as from a societal point of view. This article reviews the current literature on these issues, aiming to identify research gaps in the existing literature. Several research gaps are identified.

Organizational Challenges Regarding Risk Management in Critical Infrastructures

Understanding the interconnections between critical infrastructures is a demanding task. This is even more the case when one includes their organizational contexts. In this chapter, we discuss some of the organizational challenges that have to be addressed when analysing and managing risks that involve several infrastructure sectors. The infrastructures of today are often run by networks of private and public entities, rather than single utility companies. Consequently, the number of organizations that need to be involved to map, analyse and manage risks that cross-sectors is increasing. The organizational changes also imply that work is managed and coordinated in ways that imply a stricter focus on efficiency and accountability with regard to core tasks and responsibilities. We argue that cross-sectorial safety management requires other organizational qualities as well. We outline a landscape where technologies become increasingly interconnected at the same time that the organizations managing them become increasingly fragmented. Risk identification and management requires increased transparency between companies that have few incentives to share information or cooperate. We present a set of recommendations and suggestions with relevance for public agencies and for infrastructure owners on how to address the organizational and institutional challenges born out of these processes.