THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN MARINE AUTOMATION

Thursday 11th April
The Ageas Bowl, Southampton

Conference Highlights:

  • Hear from technologists developing unmanned vessels
  • Hear the view of employers, academics and psychologists on future manning and training
  • A panel discussion of the lessons learned with automation in the maritime industry to date
  • Networking opportunities with professionals from around the world

Message from the imec ceo

Francesco Gargiulo

Chief Executive Officer - IMEC

It is our great pleasure to announce that in 2019, we will once again be holding a members’ conference.

Increased automation is a given in the logistics chain of the future. From the way we purchase goods around the world, to the way they are delivered to our front door, transportation is becoming faster and more sophisticated with a greater number of automated processes. This will undoubtedly have an effect on the core process of the global logistics chain – shipping. Whilst we may not see fully automated containerships navigating the Solent anytime soon, we have witnessed great automation leaps in the industry over the last decade. As a human elements organisation, our focus in this area is the interface between seafarers and onboard systems, to ensure safe operations. We are particularly interested in how we upskill the seafarer of the future, to meet the human-computer interfaces of tomorrows’ ships.

It is for this reason we have titled our 2019 conference ‘The Human Element in Marine Automation’. Over the course of the day, we aim to address the current human element issues within marine automation and take a look at likely technological developments to ensure that the various training programmes in the industry stay relevant. This will be a unique event which will facilitate discussions between shipping companies, manufacturers, educators and seafarers.

Message from the Conference Chairman

Dr Konstantinos Poulis

General Manager - Epsilon Hellas

Acts of disruptive innovation fundamentally change industry structures and question the viability of prevailing business models. New suppliers emerge, incumbents’ capabilities are challenged and operational requirements are reconfigured. In the course of this radical transformation, people are profoundly affected in positive and negative ways.

Therefore, it is timely that such themes as ‘digitalisation’ and ‘automation’ (and their recruitment and training ramifications) are openly discussed under IMEC’s auspices. IMEC, as the archetypical human resources organization in Shipping, is the natural institutional body to open up the debate on relevant issues.

We have drafted a practically meaningful agenda, we have secured a beautiful venue and we have a line-up of speakers from variegated backgrounds who promise a stimulating day of industry-laden relevance and insights of the highest academic rigour.

We are looking forward to your participation in what promises to be an exciting event for our industry!