Supporting participatory practices in ship design and construction - Challenges and opportunities

Paper in proceeding, 2016

The maritime shipping industry is a safety-critical domain where onboard work organization continues to evolve with advancing technologies. Recent research has revealed that altering operational conditions and task demands are not supported or optimized by typical onboard working environments. The application of ergonomics and participatory design practices in ship design and construction is generally not well supported by regulation or implemented by designers. The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyse the potential of practical application of ergonomics and participatory design practices in ship design and construction. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and PEST (political, economic, social and technological) analyses were used to investigate the internal, and of particular interest, the external macro-environmental factors of the shipping industry which influence the success of ergonomics applications in ship development processes.