There is a sort of triangulation behind any successful merchant ship – the designers and shipbuilders, the customer who will buy the product of their labours and those who will sail on that ship for its working life. The cynic might suggest that the shipbuilder is looking for a vessel he can build for the greatest profit, the owner wants the most ship for the cheapest price and the seafarers’ needs are just part of the collateral damage!
But this does not need to be the case. A good design and a shipbuilder with a reputation for looking to its customers’ needs will result in a ship that is good to operate and as such will be successful. It is helped, says Dr. Jonathan Earthy of Lloyd’s Register, if the matter of “usability” is considered from the beginning of the design process, with a “human-centred” approach.
Writing in the latest edition of the international maritime human element bulletin Alert! Dr. Earthy points out that while competence and leadership are ingredients in the human element, getting the design right is a “one-time activity”, whether we are considering the ship or its equipment. Usable equipment should not require heavy training requirements if the needs of its users has been considered in the design. By contrast, if the needs of the user have been ignored in the design stage, the demands on training and competence will be heavy.
Human centred design, according to LR’s best practice guides, will revolve around a clear understanding of the users’ needs, whether it is a ship or its equipment that is being designed. Ideally there will be the involvement of users in the design process, so that both the designer and manufacturer are not working in the dark or attaching the wrong priorities of what they think their product will achieve. “Designing for the user experience” is not some phrase dreamed up to be used by sale people, but should be a simple statement to the effect that the needs of the users have been pre-eminent in the design.
The society has produced a Ship Design Guide and Equipment Manufacturers’ Guide that have human-centred design as an important theme throughout, with practical advice as to how this can be integrated into a project for either a new ship of marine equipment that will go into it.
There is a consuming logic to this approach, a “virtuous circle” that advances best practice, and in practical terms, will see better designed ships and equipment coming forward. And while the author acknowledges that shipyards and manufacturers might not benefit directly from usability in the way the ship operators do, there is a feedback from the users that can be used to improve subsequent products. Engaging the user community is also an aid to technical innovation.
Many major companies in other sectors, writes Dr. Earthy “, find that their best ideas come from their users”.
But this does not need to be the case. A good design and a shipbuilder with a reputation for looking to its customers’ needs will result in a ship that is good to operate and as such will be successful. It is helped, says Dr. Jonathan Earthy of Lloyd’s Register, if the matter of “usability” is considered from the beginning of the design process, with a “human-centred” approach.
Writing in the latest edition of the international maritime human element bulletin Alert! Dr. Earthy points out that while competence and leadership are ingredients in the human element, getting the design right is a “one-time activity”, whether we are considering the ship or its equipment. Usable equipment should not require heavy training requirements if the needs of its users has been considered in the design. By contrast, if the needs of the user have been ignored in the design stage, the demands on training and competence will be heavy.
Human centred design, according to LR’s best practice guides, will revolve around a clear understanding of the users’ needs, whether it is a ship or its equipment that is being designed. Ideally there will be the involvement of users in the design process, so that both the designer and manufacturer are not working in the dark or attaching the wrong priorities of what they think their product will achieve. “Designing for the user experience” is not some phrase dreamed up to be used by sale people, but should be a simple statement to the effect that the needs of the users have been pre-eminent in the design.
The society has produced a Ship Design Guide and Equipment Manufacturers’ Guide that have human-centred design as an important theme throughout, with practical advice as to how this can be integrated into a project for either a new ship of marine equipment that will go into it.
There is a consuming logic to this approach, a “virtuous circle” that advances best practice, and in practical terms, will see better designed ships and equipment coming forward. And while the author acknowledges that shipyards and manufacturers might not benefit directly from usability in the way the ship operators do, there is a feedback from the users that can be used to improve subsequent products. Engaging the user community is also an aid to technical innovation.
Many major companies in other sectors, writes Dr. Earthy “, find that their best ideas come from their users”.