People (soft) skills for quality and safety management : the case of the maritime industry
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Keywords
Soft skills ; Maritime safety management ; Quality Management Systems (QMS) ; Human element ; Bridge Resource Management (BRM)Abstract
This dissertation examines how soft skills help or block the application of quality and
safety management systems in the maritime industry. Although shipping companies
invest in SMS/ISM and ISO-based procedures, interviews with nine maritime
professionals (four senior ship officers and five shore-based safety/quality staff) all
employed in the same tanker ship(tanker) management company where the researcher
works showed that non-conformities still appear mainly because small behaviors are
missing in daily work. A composite case study of pilotage in restricted waters confirmed
this: the ship followed the technical part of the operation, but the team did not brief, did
not assign roles and did not use closed-loop communication, so the company recorded
a quality non-conformity.
The study focused on six soft skills that the literature and the interviewees identified as
most important: communication, leadership, teamwork, decision-making, situational
awareness and problem solving. When crews use short briefings, clear roles, mutual
monitoring and readbacks, the SMS and the quality system work as intended, even
under time pressure. When these behaviors are skipped, the same systems become
weak, even if the manuals exist.
Based on these findings, the dissertation proposes that maritime training should link
BRM/ERM more closely to onboard routines (brief–do–debrief), and that companies
should assess soft skills through observable actions during real operations. Finally, it
recommends that regulators and auditors look not only for documents but also for
behavioral evidence of soft skills, so that the human element is addressed in practice
and not only in theory.
Postgraduate Studies Programme
Shipping ManagementDepartment
Σχολή Ναυτιλίας και Βιομηχανίας. Τμήμα Ναυτιλιακών ΣπουδώνNumber of pages
46Language
EnglishCollections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as
Αναφορά Δημιουργού-Μη Εμπορική Χρήση-Όχι Παράγωγα Έργα 3.0 Ελλάδα
Αναφορά Δημιουργού-Μη Εμπορική Χρήση-Όχι Παράγωγα Έργα 3.0 Ελλάδα