In the first blog i mentioned briefly the morbid fascination in the Shipping Industry with 'Discipline and Command'. It was mentioned in context with examples of Nation States and organizations that make these as primary motivators to work ethic or an elusively satiated society. Truth is just as those examples depict, it never happens or has ever happened as was evident in Nazi Germany, Fascist Japan, Maoist China or North Korea. Centralized Command Systems have been a failure throughout.
It's only the Authoritarian without any real ideas, that banks on 'Discipline and Command' as the primary motivator to do the 'idealistic' work intended. However that requires a massive trampling and crushing of basic Human rights and Individual principles, despite the known fact that the ideal system remains elusive. Such organizations in the commercial environment of better managed Companies have been largely obliterated as a result both of enhanced awareness of rights and also better and higher commercial and ethical objectives pursued.
So is 'Discipline ' a wrong yardstick to go by? Indeed it is if used as a primary. I have met people from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) who swore the Calcutta Metro would go to dogs considering the 'indiscipline' and chaos on the Streets above. That the Metro would never succeed because people were 'undisciplined'. But did it happen? The same sentiment was expressed when the Delhi Metro came up in a city known for it's traffic 'unruliness'. What were the results when a well thought out System was laid out for so called 'undisciplined' clients? 3 times in a decade the Calcutta Metro was declared amongst the Worlds best services. The Delhi Metro continues to provide excellent to the 'second' services with great facilities. No fuss and no imposition, just a good system in itself leads to orderly behavior.
Shipping failed in all it's 'disciplinary' endeavors. It's top Managers, Masters, owners willfully subverted and exploited to their commercial advantage all what could be possible in the name of 'Discipline', including scuttling ships, not providing crew and family legitimate redressal to injuries and death, causing over decades incalculable harm to the environment through pollution and more. Come Exxon Valdez and a wiping out of a few Insurance firms and Banking companies and as a result pressure on authorities to 'control' the Industry led to 'implementation' of stricter norms and auditing procedures. The suggested revamp on Management was accompanied by howls of protest. By whom? Ship owners, Management and Masters community. Every trick in the trade was and has been used to try and subvert the changes till it was no longer possible to do so. But one 'trick' succeeded and went through. It subverts the entire chain in the Shipping Industry till date. The 'Chain of Command' on Board.
When the force to instill a Safety Management System on Board became unbearable, it was accepted with a condition that is transparent in all Management Manuals: That the Command can and may at it's pleasure supersede the Code, in the name of Discipline and Safety of course. In the enthusiasm to overplay this point, the Management Manuals of all Companies are accompanied by the dictum that 'Come what may, we shall always protect and assist the Master. Good sentiments really, but what is the net reality of this? Who has been given these over riding powers? What checks and balances are given to avoid misuse of those powers? These pertinent questions though not asked often, will be answered herewith:
Firstly the notion that Command runs Ships: Ironically the Command system fails every day in that endeavor. The Master does not possess the Knowledge, the capability to command work in the technical field.
Ship Systems: Masters are not trained in ship systems knowledge that is largely technical now and thus barely superficially knowledgeable about Ship Systems including safety and back up systems
Primarily as the Cadet and Officer subsequently moves up the 'Chain of Command', he is taught primarily to preserve this integrity above all. This training rubs of negatively on all interactions on board. This leads to ridiculous situations where the Cadets have access to Ship communication and mail addressed to Master/ Chief Engineers, but is not accessible to a Chief Engineer. The conflict in the interaction of a Management system and the 'Command System' or 'Chain of Command' comes into the picture at every possible interaction. While Chief Engineers may be Chief Fire coordinators because of their knowledge on the safety systems, there have been cases of Masters ordering CO2 release in Engine Rooms without operation of Quick closing valves or other shut down devices/ sprinkler systems. That most Masters retain all Master keys with themselves or the Mate/ Steward rather than share one with a Chief Engineer, puts clearly the pressure of the conflict on the Chief Engineer.
It reflects rather poorly on Management Companies who have failed to analyze and understand the root cause of problems and conflicting circumstances and situations on board. The conflict with their desire to have a proper management system versus the desire of the Master community to overplay the centralized Command dogma.
In view of the fact that Masters neither understand, appreciate the complexity of on board systems and their interactions, and act on mostly on the basis of a failed dogma in a way that accountability is hard to maintain. There are no checks or balances on how a Master delivers with reference to improving Management on board. Most have no clue on Process Management Systems as are most Shipping Company Managements. Thus simple things take a long time for a company to evolve a basic process solution. A documented process with checks. It has not been yet achieved with respect to many items as yet in most companies.
The created conflict between maintaining 'integrity of command' over proper implementation of a management systems with proper checks and balances is artificial, with the Master being the personification of that conflict. This has in the past and continues to jeopardize safety of personnel, environment and more on board as a consequence. That makes the Master a non conformity on board.
