Company Magazine for the Odfjell Group - March 2005
Company Magazine for the Odfjell Group - March 2005 Company Magazine for the Odfjell Group - March 2005
Odfjell Smartphones project Taking connectivity one step further! By Matt Duke, ICT Consultant, Network & Infrastructure For some time now ICT has devoted effort into researching and producing an Odfjell “Smartphone” solution for our employees. Odfjell processes around 10,000 email messages each working day, which roughly speaking equates to about 3.5 million email messages yearly. As these statistics may suggest, email is vital for healthy business activities, and it was requested by the business that a “Smartphone/PDA” solution be implemented for global mobile access. As with all ICT projects we started by defining a vision and scope with the business. The vision ICT proposed for the project was the following: Odfjell staff will be able to securely access their email, calendar and contacts from anywhere in the world, by the use of Microsoft powered mobile devices. Bergen will be able to host mailboxes for staff anywhere on the corporate Odfjell computer network, with the ability to connect locally or “On the road.” We will give our staff unrivalled flexibility in their ability to get their Outlook data any place, at any time. From a technical perspective this offered plenty of challenges! I’ll save our Odfjell Quarterly readers the geeky details, but from an ICT infrastructure point of view this project required the upgrade of many of our core systems, including the primary email servers themselves. The design documentation itself weighed in at 53 pages, a daunting task for Odfjell and our colleagues at Microsoft Norway. This hard work should be rewarded in the future as we now have a secure, modern mobile infrastructure that we can build upon. Whilst initially solving the Outlook requirements, we are sure the future will bring requests for other “Mobile” enabled Odfjell systems. This new infrastructure will help us to meet these demands. Then we have the devices themselves. When I first began working with Smartphones in 2002, the battery life was expected at one (1) day, sometimes less for heavy use! The memory and processors were slow and the user experience poor. But over the past three years the technology has really come along. The devices we can offer now have fast processors and a typical battery life of 3-4 days. (Source: Odfjell Smartphone Pilot Trial survey). But this didn't help us in a key area: usability! We needed the devices to be simple to operate. My goal was to allow users to simply press “Sync” and download their Outlook data to the phone, without having to go through lots of setup and configuration tasks. In order to achieve this goal, we enlisted some programmers to help us code two “Odfjell Applications”. These allow our users to simply and effectively sync their email from anywhere in the world that has GSM coverage. We have also tried to cater for two distinct types of user. We have a smaller “Smartphone” called the Qtek 8010, which offers great phone functionality and somewhat simple Outlook functionality. This phone is great for users who tend to do more “Reading” of email than “Writing” The phone has a good screen, but does not offer the ability to read office documents effectively. For users who require a more flexible device, we offer a “PDA Phone” the Qtek s100. This device is more powerful than office desktops five years ago! The s100 offers full Microsoft Office functionality (Word, Excel and Power Point) and access to the important Outlook data. The s100 is about the size of an iPod, and as such it packs a huge punch for its size. We have seen a dramatic rise in the number of devices being produced by the Smartphone manufacturers, the latest model of phone is current for about 12 months before it is superseded by a new model. By basing our solution on the latest Microsoft mobility solution, we are “Infrastructure Ready” for these exciting new devices as and when they are released. The final part of the solution is that the software can be remotely updated securely from Odfjell servers. We are very much at the cutting edge of mobile technology, and we can see the potential for virus and other risks in the future. We have therefore opted for a management tool that should allow us to keep devices updated “over the air”, so that time with the ICT support team can be kept to a minimum. The future of mobile security is still quite uncertain, so we cannot guarantee that we will not need to update the devices locally in the year to come. However, we have done the best with today’s security software to protect the Odfjell system, including the use of 128 Bit encryption on the devices. 10 ODFJELL Quarterly March 2005
The weakest link Safety and the ship/shore interface By Jan Hammer, Senior Vice President Odfjell Seachem Following the explosion and sinking of the chemical tanker Vicuna at the Cattalini terminal in Paranagua, Brazil, an overdue debate is finally in progress. While not at all attempting to pass judgment in the particular Vicuna case, the debate centers on ship safety versus terminal safety: in the important ship/shore interface, the weakest link in the chain determines its strength. No matter the strictest rules, regulations and upkeep of chemical tankers, safety standards not adhered to ashore and substandard terminals represent a risk to the safety of the ship and reliability of the distribution chain. The key issue is what to do about sub-standard terminals. As ship owners, we have the duty to protect our crews, the port communities and the environment – and we have to protect our assets. To help our industry reach a higher level of safety, two things need to happen: Firstly, captains should report immediately on perceived shore-based deficiencies through both commercial and operational channels (i.e. via the ship’s agent back to the commercial operator, back to the ship manager and of course to the terminal). This way the charterer can be alerted to risks and take action to improve or eliminate sub-standard operations in their own supply chain. This reporting could also help avoid costly delays caused by poor terminal equipment, or for that matter port equipment and/or operational practices in general. Secondly, there needs to be stronger focus by terminal customers on thorough vetting and inspection of terminals. Critical to this is consistent application of rigorous quality and safety standards everywhere, such as Responsible Care ®. The challenge for the chemical industry is that there is still a lot of work to be done in this area before one can say that the same standard is valid for all. This challenge may be most notable in some developing countries. Our captains know, and all too well, how their ships are being thoroughly vetted by the large oil and chemical companies. A similar focus on terminal safety would go a long way. In conclusion, through thorough reporting on terminal conditions and consistent application of safety and quality principles we can evolve to a single standard and improved safety for all. The ship/shore interface is critical to the safety and efficiency of the supply chain. The picture is for illustration purposes only and has no connection to the accident referred to. ODFJELL Quarterly March 2005 11
- Page 1 and 2: Company Magazine for the Odfjell Gr
- Page 3 and 4: Dear Colleagues... On March 7th, Od
- Page 5 and 6: Commemorating the loss of Bow Marin
- Page 7 and 8: Basic training for 2005. Aside from
- Page 9: During drydocking sium where a few
- Page 13 and 14: YoungShip Shipping for the younger
- Page 15 and 16: The pilot and bridge crew. From lef
- Page 17 and 18: colonies. In contrast to the privat
- Page 19 and 20: Transhipment in Singapore By Captai
- Page 21 and 22: Tricky discharge at the Mhes Zi ter
- Page 23 and 24: Sailors in snow White Christmas in
- Page 25 and 26: Postcards from Chile Odfjell Quarte
- Page 27 and 28: Owners and Managers Safety and Qual
- Page 29 and 30: IN SERVICE FOR ODFJELL 40 25 25 YEA
- Page 31 and 32: REGIONAL TRADE YEAR STAINLESS NUMBE
The weakest link<br />
Safety and <strong>the</strong> ship/shore interface<br />
By Jan Hammer, Senior Vice President <strong>Odfjell</strong> Seachem<br />
Following <strong>the</strong><br />
explosion and<br />
sinking of <strong>the</strong><br />
chemical tanker<br />
Vicuna at <strong>the</strong><br />
Cattalini terminal<br />
in Paranagua,<br />
Brazil, an overdue<br />
debate is<br />
finally in progress.<br />
While not<br />
at all attempting to pass judgment in<br />
<strong>the</strong> particular Vicuna case, <strong>the</strong> debate<br />
centers on ship safety versus terminal<br />
safety: in <strong>the</strong> important ship/shore<br />
interface, <strong>the</strong> weakest link in <strong>the</strong> chain<br />
determines its strength.<br />
No matter <strong>the</strong> strictest rules, regulations<br />
and upkeep of chemical tankers,<br />
safety standards not adhered to ashore<br />
and substandard terminals represent a<br />
risk to <strong>the</strong> safety of <strong>the</strong> ship and reliability<br />
of <strong>the</strong> distribution chain. The key<br />
issue is what to do about sub-standard<br />
terminals. As ship owners, we have <strong>the</strong><br />
duty to protect our crews, <strong>the</strong> port<br />
communities and <strong>the</strong> environment –<br />
and we have to protect our assets. To<br />
help our industry reach a higher level<br />
of safety, two things need to happen:<br />
Firstly, captains should report immediately<br />
on perceived shore-based deficiencies<br />
through both commercial and operational<br />
channels (i.e. via <strong>the</strong> ship’s<br />
agent back to <strong>the</strong> commercial operator,<br />
back to <strong>the</strong> ship manager and of<br />
course to <strong>the</strong> terminal). This way <strong>the</strong><br />
charterer can be alerted to risks and<br />
take action to improve or eliminate<br />
sub-standard operations in <strong>the</strong>ir own<br />
supply chain. This reporting could also<br />
help avoid costly delays caused by poor<br />
terminal equipment, or <strong>for</strong> that matter<br />
port equipment and/or operational<br />
practices in general.<br />
Secondly, <strong>the</strong>re needs to be stronger<br />
focus by terminal customers on thorough<br />
vetting and inspection of terminals.<br />
Critical to this is consistent application<br />
of rigorous quality and safety<br />
standards everywhere, such as<br />
Responsible Care ®. The challenge <strong>for</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> chemical industry is that <strong>the</strong>re is<br />
still a lot of work to be done in this area<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e one can say that <strong>the</strong> same<br />
standard is valid <strong>for</strong> all. This challenge<br />
may be most notable in some developing<br />
countries.<br />
Our captains know, and all too well,<br />
how <strong>the</strong>ir ships are being thoroughly<br />
vetted by <strong>the</strong> large oil and chemical<br />
companies. A similar focus on terminal<br />
safety would go a long way.<br />
In conclusion, through thorough reporting<br />
on terminal conditions and consistent<br />
application of safety and quality<br />
principles we can evolve to a single<br />
standard and improved safety <strong>for</strong> all.<br />
The ship/shore interface is critical to <strong>the</strong> safety and efficiency of <strong>the</strong> supply chain. The picture is <strong>for</strong> illustration purposes<br />
only and has no connection to <strong>the</strong> accident referred to.<br />
ODFJELL Quarterly <strong>March</strong> <strong>2005</strong> 11
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