Professional Skipper Magazine from VIP Publications

A VI EW F ROM TH E CHAIR INFORMATION ABOUT INFORMATION BY DAVID LEDSON, CHAIR OF THE MARITIME NEW ZEALAND AUTHORITY I VIP.S89 VIP S89 ���ve been thinking recently about ���information��� ��� as a concept and as a tool. It may seem a ���dry��� subject, but I find information in an organisational context, and information in relation to measurement, to be both fascinating and provocative. I particularly like the fact that knowledge often hides its real treasures; it needs to ���interrogated��� to deliver its full value, and that for organisations to exploit this characteristic they need to develop an ���inquisitive culture���. The fact of the matter is that without the right information being provided at the right time, in the right form, to the right decision maker, then no organisation can genuinely aspire to excellence. And an important part of getting the right information is to ensure that the right things are being measured. The right information has to ���add value��� to decision making and to meet some quality criteria such as accuracy, relevance and timeliness, and it should be practicable to obtain it. All these elements of course need to be placed in the right context. I would not place any one of these criteria above any other, although I would accept that while it���s not possible to have information that is too relevant, it is possible to have information that is too accurate and information that is provided in, and set in, too short a timescale. Sometimes information can meet the quality criteria but still deliver little value. I recall some years ago attending a conference at which there was a presentation on some scientific research into conducting naval blockades. We were told about the methodology, the rationale that was applied to the results of the different modelling that had been done, and then the conclusion was delivered to an expectant audience: two ships would be beyond a doubt more effective than one in enforcing a blockade..! This information is undoubtedly accurate, relevant to the question it was answering, and it was probably timely. However it delivered little of value. Accuracy and relevance are my favourite qualities because in order to achieve these the decision maker must ask the right questions. I have an example of the importance of getting to the right question. It is from the Second World War, and I have remembered it for over twenty years because I find it so compelling. In the early stages of the War merchant ships were being badly damaged and sunk by German dive bombers. To 28 Professional Skipper January/February 2013 counter this threat the British fitted large calibre guns with a slow rate of fire with the goal being to provide the best answer to the question, ���How do we shoot down the planes?��� Eventually they worked out that the best option was actually the answer to the question, ���How do we put the pilots off their aim?��� This required lots of small calibre and rapid firing guns, and that is the approach that was ultimately taken. As an example from my time in the Navy when satellite navigation systems were just being introduced, I asked a young officer for the course to a rendezvous point. He replied ���310���. I asked whether there was any land between ���here and there��� on that course. After thinking for a moment he replied that he would check the chart. The information he had provided was accurate, relevant and timely ��� but I had failed to ask him to give me a safe course. There is a recent example of where the right question was asked and the information provided in the answer was accurate, but it was generally irrelevant. Early in October there were media headlines about the ���fact��� that there had been, ���11 ���near misses��� since Rena���, and there was some advocacy for the implementation of shipping lanes. A variety of accusations based on this information such as that ���good luck��� was being relied upon to ���keep us safe from cargo ship crashes���, and a variety of suggestions for improving safety, most of which focused on the implementation of compulsory shipping lanes. The list of the ���11 near misses��� provided by us in Maritime New Zealand included seven incidents inside ���harbour limits��� Other recent examples of why it is essential that we get on top of collecting information, analysing it, and using it to shape decisions that in turn, drive actions. The Foreign Charter Fishing Vessel Inquiry identified the need for government agencies to share and integrate information. Furthermore, a key requirement to making progress in the health and safety area, is to have a definition of key terms agreed to by the whole of government and the maritime sector, so that we are comparing the same thing between agencies. And, reports to the Authority over the past couple of years have demonstrated that better use of information in Port and Flag State Inspections would very likely have led to better use of resources and may well have enabled improved safety outcomes. Just as I have a real interest in information, so do other people in Maritime New Zealand. As an organisation we understand that the right information is vital if Maritime New Zealand is to make the best decisions to deliver our safety, security and environmental outcomes, in a way that is both effective and efficient. We also know there is room to lift our game and so are focusing on this area of our work over the next few years. While we can improve our systems and processes inside Maritime New Zealand our results are very dependent on the quality of the information we get to work with. Industry and sector organisations have an important role to play here. So, if our requests for information start to get tiresome it may be helpful to think of what we are doing not as some bureaucratic device to drive up the costs of business, but rather as, us doing what we need to do to exploit a powerful tool in our work that enables people to be safe, on secure, clean, seas and waterways.

• A4 TO ADVERTISE
• 01-20
• 21-40
• 41-60
• 61-80
• S91 covers
• AC51 web