On March 12th 2015, a group of WISTA ladies gathered at the beautiful AKD office in Rotterdam for the Annual General Meeting. After the official part the ladies were treated to a very interesting presentation on Connectivity and Thinking Out of the Box by Lena Göthberg. Lena is an entrepreneur with a focus on getting the shipping business digital. She spent 25 years in the shipping industry, mainly working with marine insurance. She has also been Secretary-General for the Institute of Shipping Analysis. Strategic input and business planning for the global shipping industry has been her every day job the last 4 years. Nowadays she’s aiming at bringing the shipping industry up to speed on the digital arena.Lena gave the WISTA-ladies a heads up of what is going on in the digital arena, to make them more aware and prepared, as there are a number of challenges to face in the shipping industry. Changing World
First of all, there is a new generation of ship owners on the wheel; they have a different background, are younger and hence have a different mind-set. For them corporate social responsibility plays a big role. Besides this we are moving from an industrial industry to a knowledge society. This society requires a number of skills like networking, focusing more on the human side and sharing knowledge. Women in general possess these skills and therefore match with this new knowledge society. After all; the more you share with others, the stronger you get.Most WISTA ladies are digital immigrants, who were born before the widespread adoption of digital technology. However we get surrounded by more and more digital natives, who have been interacting with technology from childhood. We live in this changing world; we go from printed newspapers to online news, we check in online and we listen to Spotify instead of buying cd’s. The world changes fast; look for example at Kodak and Nokia. These changes happen to the shipping industry as well.The previous generation planted the seeds and the digital arena can be considered the trees. We can harvest in the now. We have all changed our behaviour to the internet of things. We are giving away our tracks every day; think of the shopping card at the supermarket, or the travel card at the train station. It is big data that can be analysed and used for certain purposes, and the internet connects it. We should be aware of this and adapt to the changing environment. Connecting Sea & Shore
There is a wonderful example in the maritime industry that demonstrates the internet of things. Ericson and Maersk Lines took communication at sea to another level when they installed mobile broadband and satellites to create a network over the seas. This is truly global communication.Due to the connectivity at sea we can monitor vessels from the shore. We have machine-2-machine (M2M), where sensors are talking to each other. The global network can help us reduce the impact of our activities on the environment. Take the new Triple-E container ships of Maersk, which are made possible by an efficient and effective network and by innovation. The Mona Lisa 2.0 project is also a beautiful example of creating a smarter maritime world by connecting sea and shore. This EU program is connecting links and reducing administration. It is creating a maritime transport chain, where all maritime companies are connected and cargo can move faster and cleverer. It can also create safety and security at sea, by creating safer and smarter routes. And it can help owners to save fuel and maintenance costs. The ´unmanned ships´ of Rolls Royce and the ‘Revolt unmanned zero emission’ short sea ship for the future of DNV-GL are also perfect examples of connecting sea and shore.Connectivity can also help with remote health care. We could monitor the physical condition of the crew by Google watches. Or think of what a chip in your hand could do; opening doors automatically or checking in. These developments will make certain jobs disappear, but is will also create new jobs. It makes us need to recruit in another way.The maritime industry is a very interesting industry, with lots of new ideas and innovations going on. We need to share this with the rest of the world. We also need to put connectivity at the top of our mind when writing our business plans.
WISTA : Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association is a dynamic and international networking organization of women at management level positions in the maritime industry. WISTA currently has national associations in 35 countries, with over 2100 members. WISTA is a dynamic and international networking organization of women at management level positions in the maritime industry.WISTA the Netherlands was established in 2000 and currently has 140 members.WISTA wants to inspire, energize, motivate, and educate women in themaritime industry, to increase their competence and empower them in their careers. WISTA also wants to be a diverse network where all maritime disciplines and age categories are represented.