Putting People at the Centre as Technology Takes Over

Putting People at the Centre as Technology Takes Over

Shipping is about to enter one of the biggest technological shifts in its history. Artificial intelligence, automation and remote operation are moving more and more physical decisions away from the operators and into algorithms and shore-based control centres. The paradox is that the more autonomous the systems become, the more important it is that people understand them, trust them, and can override them when necessary. As technology takes over routine tasks, it is the human ability to spot the unexpected, whichthe systems are not programmed for, that matters most.

Safety By Design: A New Book launched by the MIDAS Project

This summer, the MIDAS project published the book Safety By Design, edited by Frøy Birte Bjørneseth, Stig Ole Johnsen, Ole Andreas Alsos, Vidar Hepsø and Gunhild Birgitte Sætren. The book is open access and brings together research on how digitalisation, automation and AI can be designed so that people retain meaningful control across the aviation, maritime, energy and transport sector

One chapter, Designing for the Night Watch, illustrates well why the book has drawn attention within the cluster. It opens with a visit aboard a brand-new passenger ship, where an experienced captain had to work through as many as 30 touch commands just to dim the bridge lights for night navigation. The chapter reviews a series of well-known accidents, including KNM Helge Ingstad and Viking Sky, and shows that the recurring pattern later labelled "human error" is very often a symptom of poorly designed systems, information scattered across too many screens, and alarm fatigue. The conclusion is that if shipping is to become safer, technology must be designed around people and not the other way around.

Meeting in Ålesund: Human Factors in Control Forum, 20–21 October

All these threads from the book, the research and the cases from industry come together as GCE Blue Maritime Cluster co-hosts the Human Factors in Control Forum in Ålesund on 20–21 October. As part of the programme, MIDAS and the cluster are running a dedicated prelude event on the morning of 20 October, 09:00–11:30, at Norsk Maritime Competence Center (NMK), featuring six presentations covering everything from human-centred design and night-watch bridge operations to remote-controlled ferries, autonomous operations centres, and training in an era of increasing digitalisation. The prelude event serves as an introduction to the field of Human Factors, and is worth attending for most companies and not just specialists. The event is open to everyone.

The main conference itself, which runs over both days, has a clear emphasis on walk-to-work (W2W) operations, how personnel are safely and efficiently transferred between vessels and offshore installations. The theme runs throughout the programme, from operating concepts and challenges seen from the operator side (Equinor) and the regulator's perspective (the Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority, Havtil), via its use in offshore wind (DNV, Norwind Offshore) and the supplier perspective (Seaonics, Ulmatec), to a dedicated session on gangway simulators and training opportunities (Offshore Simulator Centre). Together with contributions from NTNU, Kongsberg, the University of South-Eastern Norway, DNV, Safetec and the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the programme shows the breadth of the field, from bridge design to safe personnel transport in both the oil and gas and offshore wind industries. The main conference requires registration, with a discount for GCE Blue Maritime Cluster members.

"Human factors are often dismissed as something soft and hard to measure, but it is precisely this insight that determines whether new technology actually works in practice. That is why MIDAS and our collaboration with the HFC Forum are so valuable for our member companies. Here they gain access to research and experience that few have the resources to build themselves. I believe that those who understand the people in the system now will gain the edge once autonomy truly takes over," says Knut Tore Aurdal, Head of Projects at GCE Blue Maritime Cluster.

For the cluster, these two days in Ålesund mark one of many highlights in an eventful autumn.

Innovation in Practice: Squarehead Wins the Blue Maritime Innovation Award 2026

That cluster collaboration around people and technology delivers concrete results was recently underlined when Squarehead Technology won the Blue Maritime Innovation Award 2026 for its sound-based condition-monitoring system at sea, which picks up sounds the human ear cannot detect and flags problems before they become serious. The technology has already been tested on Norwegian ferries and is set to be deployed on four new autonomous ferries on the Sognefjord this autumn – a good example of how cross-disciplinary thinking drives innovation in the cluster.

MIDAS Academy: Building the Competence of the Future

If Norwegian maritime industry is to keep pace with automation, competence must be built alongside the technology. MIDAS Academy is the learning platform developed by the MIDAS Project to do exactly that. It gives companies a direct route to building the kind of competence that lets Norwegian companies lead internationally, rather than simply follow.

MIDAS: People in the Future of Ocean Space Operations

MIDAS – People in the Future of Ocean Space Operations – is a capacity-building project funded by the Research Council of Norway, focused on design and business models for autonomous maritime technology. The project is built as a collaboration between research and industry, in which GCE Blue Maritime Cluster is a key partner.