Factors that promote innovation in shipping companies

This study seeks to identify factors that promote innovation in shipping companies. The study is based on an empirical investigation of 63 companies headquartered in Norway. The results imply that organizational and interorganizational variables are important to innovation. Three aspects of innovation are focused on: (1) service/product innovations, (2) market innovations, and (3) production method innovations. The explanatory variables that are applied in this study capture between 13-51% of the variability of the measures of innovation. The results indicate that an explicit strategy that promotes innovation is very important for the actual level of innovation within shipping companies. In management literature, it is often assumed that organic organizational features like decentralized decision-making promote innovation. The opposite features are assumed to restrain innovation. However, the results do not support these basic assumptions. For example, it seems to be important that managers make precise decisions in order to promote innovation.     

Crew resource management training in the maritime industry: a literature review

The study is based on a literature review of recent empirical research on crew resource management (CRM) training in the maritime industry, organised around what non-technical skills to learn and how. The review indicates that existing work is dominated by individualistic theories of learning with less focus on learning as a social process. Five main categories of skills that need to be trained are identified: assertiveness, decision-making, communication, situation awareness and team coordination. We argue that it is necessary to operationalise these broad concepts further, emphasising the work context and crew-specific needs. The review also shows that a combination of classroom lectures and simulator-based exercises is commonly used in maritime education and training in these skills. The learning effect seems to be suffering from training programmes that are exported ‘as is’ from aviation and not adjusted to the maritime domain or to operation-specific needs. This paper examines maritime crew resource management training from a social learning perspective, involving the view that learning is a context bound, social process that might take place in communities of practice (CoP). A CoP is a group (e.g. a crew) wherein members share an activity and learn from each other. It is argued that CRM training programmes will benefit from including a social learning perspective. Factors that enable the assessment of teams are discussed, and it is argued that the training should be tailored to existing crews, emphasising a learning environment as close to reality as possible.     

Environmental and transport effects of warehouse relocationing: evidence from Norway

Reducing traffic volumes and CO2-emissions from freight transport has proven difficult in many countries. Although the increasing suburbanization of warehouses is seen as a relevant land use trend, comprehensive analyses of their impact remain scarce. This study uses real data in modeling transport, costs, environmental and modal effects from warehouse relocations around Oslo and Trondheim (Norway). Results indicate that for Oslo, traffic performance (ton-km), CO2-emissions, and transport costs increase following warehouse suburbanization. For Trondheim, transport performance and CO2-emissions increase less, while transport costs decrease marginally. We conclude that specific case characteristics (geography and trade patterns) are important in determining the strength and direction of effects, and expect that common concomitant developments (warehouse centralization and consolidation) would lead to more pronounced results. Our findings confirm some, but challenge other, findings from the relatively scarcely literature available. Finally, the study's more general insights and observations can help advance similar analyses beyond Norway.     

Simple Identification of Some Coastal Marine Habitats by Modeling with Sea-Chart Data

A simple numerical model was applied to distinguish permanently oxygenated marine sill basins from periodically anoxic basins in Nordland County, northern Norway. Input data are sill depth, width of the tidal channel, sea surface area, and tidal range. The model produces a Topography Tidal Factor (TTF) that seems to be an adequate index correlating with empirical field data when sills have saddle depths <30 m. The depth of the pycnocline, and the oxygen concentration of the basin water increases logarithmically with the calculated TTF value toward an asymptotic level. At TTF ≥0.02 basins are mostly well-oxygenated and have a permanent fauna of epibenthic and hyperbenthic animals. Basins with TTF <0.02 may become anoxic each autumn, which permanently prevents establishment of communities with multi-annual sessile benthos. Low oxygen concentration may also cause seasonal variation in the occurrence of motile species. In tidal channels, the abundance of bivalves and fish, as well as the biodiversity in general, probably increases with TTF. The applied method may be universally valid in regions shaped by glacial erosion but needs to be further developed by more detailed studies.     

A survey of the Swiss public transport system and policy

This paper surveys Swiss public transport structure and policy. The regulatory regime is explained with the division between the two operators working under federal monopoly — the State railways (SBB) and the postbuses (PTT) — and the rest of the system. The rather complicated Swiss subsidy arrangements are described. The federal government's emphasis on introducing cheap public transport fares on environmental grounds through the federal transport measures (BTM) and the use of cheap fares in urban areas are discussed. The paper notes the Swiss people's rejection by a referendum of a federal commission's proposal for an integrated transport policy, though some of the solutions were introduced in their own right: the division of SBB into two parts, and the creation of the concept Rail 2000, later developed into Rail + Bus 2000. Finally, the paper reviews problems of the Swiss policy, including the future of cheap fares, making some comparisons with developments in Scandinavia.     

全球形势回暖 中国汽车市场增长将放缓

中国动态市场在不断变化,但在变化中依然能抓住不变的本质。其实中国车市走的是成熟市场的发展道路,只是速度加快了。     

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.     

列车交会压力波对高速磁浮列车横向动态响应的影响分析

以上海磁浮列车为研究对象,将车体、夹层、摇臂、摆杆以及悬浮架作为弹性体,磁系、二系悬挂、磁铁连接装置和其它弹性辅助元件作为弹簧—阻尼单元,建立了整车动力学计算模型。对列车交会瞬态压力冲击作用下的高速磁浮列车进行横向动态响应研究。研究结果表明,在磁浮列车高速运行时产生的交会压力波作用下,车体产生了较大的横向振动,经过二系悬挂的缓冲作用后悬浮架的振动明显减小。     

Propeller torque load and propeller shaft torque response correlation during ice-propeller interaction

Ships use propulsion machinery systems to create directional thrust. Sailing in ice-covered waters involves the breaking of ice pieces and their submergence as the ship hull advances. Sometimes, submerged ice pieces interact with the propeller and cause irregular fluctuations of the torque load. As a result, the propeller and engine dynamics become imbalanced, and energy propagates through the propulsion machinery system until equilibrium is reached. In such imbalanced situations, the measured propeller shaft torque response is not equal to the propeller torque. Therefore, in this work, the overall system response is simulated under the ice-related torque load using the Bond graph model. The energy difference between the propeller and propeller shaft is estimated and related to their corresponding mechanical energy. Additionally, the mechanical energy is distributed among modes. Based on the distribution, kinetic and potential energy are important for the correlation between propeller torque and propeller shaft response.     

The performance effect of innovation in shipping companies

The aim of this study is to investigate how innovation contributes to company performance in Norwegian shipping and to extend our knowledge concerning what organizational and inter-organizational factors influence innovation in shipping firms. The study is based on a survey of 46 Norwegian shipping companies. We find that innovation contributes to firm performance. We also find that a conscious strategy, strategy involvement, external relationships, especially market relationships, and productivity slack have a significant positive effect on the degree of innovation. The results are dependent upon the companies' degree of differentiation and the type of innovation.