2. GUIDE | Get ready for port state control inspectations
IMO member states are
welcoming the concept of
moving from paper to electronic
record. This shift allows shipping
companies not only to ensure
compliance but to improve
business performance.
We can all agree that it is important
to enhance maritime safety and
prevent pollution, but it also takes
a lot of hard work! To achieve
compliance, shipping companies
are seeking to invest in digital
tools and by doing so, they also
have the opportunity to go beyond
compliance.
The workload to achieve
compliance onboard vessels
is becoming time consuming,
and this is something shipping
companies must deal with in a
smart and efficient way to stay
competitive.
Several digital tools have already
seen the light of day, and you need
to prepare your setup now, so
you are ready to face tomorrow’s
challenges and demands for
documentation and compliance.
So let’s dive into it and see how
you by digitalizing your records for
Port State Control Inspections can
improve your business (without
heavy investments).
Contents
Digitalize your data with Electronic Logbooks
Improve performance with data-driven decisions
Moving from compliance to business improvement
Reduce the administrative burden onboard your vessels
Optimizing internal workflows
Prepare your documents for PSC Inspections 1
3
5
7
8
9
01
03
05
02
04
06
3. 1 GUIDE | Prepare your documents for PSC inspections
Prepare your
documents
for PSC
Inspections
01 A Port State Control (PSC) survey not only
includes inspection of machinery and equip-
ment such as the deck and engine. It also
involves verifying of several ship certificates,
documents, technical details, and structural
elements of the ship.
The Port State Control Officer starts out by
checking relevant PSC Documentation and
certificates during the initial inspection. If
your documents are well prepared, available
and not falsely maintained, you can avoid a
more detailed inspection.
Examples of documents which are typically
checked:
» Trading certificates (validity, overdue,
timeframe and well arranged)
» Test certificates
» Previous PSC reports
» Safety Management Certificate
» International Tonnage Certificate
» Documentation abt. Order for spares or
services
» Work plan and rest hour documentation
» Crew certificates
» Flag endorsements
4. 2 GUIDE | Prepare your documents for PSC inspections
During initial inspection, your official logbooks
are checked to see if they are correct and up-to
date. The Oil Record Book is a key document, and
it is important to make correct entries every time.
Signatures and format such as date, operational
code and item number are always checked.
Any errors will cause unnecessary problems with
Port State Control and the most frequent Port State
Control detention deficiency is actually the result of
anomalies with the Oil Record Book.
The PSC officer may inspect the Oil Record Book
onboard and compare the entries with the tank
sounding log to understand the correctness of the
records. He may also make a copy of any entry in the
book and require the master of the ship to certify
that the copy is a true copy. This copy is admissible
in any juridical proceedings as evidence of the facts
stated in the entry.
To avoid a more detailed inspection, it is important
to demonstrate that the master and crew are
familiar with essential operations relating to the
prevention of pollution. To assist in this, many
shipping companies implement an Environmental
Compliance Plan including training.
Structure your documentation already today
and be prepared for future PSC inspections.
i
5. 3
Digitalizing your internal workflows
enables you to keep your fleet in total
compliance with rules, regulations and
inspections - which means no detained
ships. You can even lower the costs of
documenting, sharing, and analyzing data.
In addition, when you transition from a
paper-based system to a digital record
keeping system, you are able to manage
and control your fleet more efficiently.
Thereby, you achieve reduced costs,
improved efficiency, and compliance
across your entire fleet operation.
We all know that tasks vary from the
engine room to the head office, but in
order to improve workflows throughout
the entire organization, it is important that
everyone collects their information in one
place and follows the same procedures.
For instance, the accessibility of
digital logbooks helps everyone in the
organization follow procedures and
guidelines, thereby ensuring high
standards and stability.
Access to these logbooks and other
relevant documentation can also reduce
accidents and increase safety levels
because everyone is informed.
Digitalization helps in creating a ship
management culture designed to ensure
compliance with MARPOL by focusing on
minimizing the conditions that may lead
to non-conformities.
Optimizing internal
workflows
GUIDE | Optimizing internal workflows
3
02
6. 4
4 GUIDE | Get ready for port state control inspectations
Other advantages include:
» Less deficiencies related to logbooks,
such as Oil Record Book or Ballast
» Preventive actions to avoid detailed
inspections and detainment
» Powerful Data Analysis Tools
» Knowledge sharing
» Full availability of the records
7. 5 GUIDE | Reduce the administrative burden onboard your vessel
Reduce the
administrative
burden onboard
your vessels
03
Moving from paper to digital record books means
that calculations that before were filled in manually
in Excel are now digitalized and connected directly
to other relevant data. With a digital record book,
the crew onboard can rely on the system for
automatic calculations.
Digitalizing your record keeping reduces the
administrative burden by eliminating a lot of
spreadsheets and collecting all relevant data in one
system. This centralization will result in less mistakes
from the crew and optimize procedures onboard
your vessels.
Logbooks are often needed on shore side, and
the electronic format makes it easier to handle
verifications and reduces the burdens both ashore
and onboard. With a digital logbook, you will never
lose or misplace a logbook again and can always
retrieve your data.
A digital logbook also allows you to implement an
8. 6 GUIDE | Reduce the administrative burden onboard your vessel
alarm system by setting the parameters
you want to monitor. By doing this, you
will never oversee critical data nor hot
spots.
With an efficient electronic logbook,
you can:
» Ensure compliance with current
regulations
» Increase crew awareness about
onboard operations
» Increase ashore awareness about bilge
and sludge handling and production
» Reduce onboard paperwork with smart
and error proof pre-coded entries
» Have all the logbooks, BDNs and
receipts available and ready both
onboard and onshore
» Store tank soundings and Record Book
operations in the same environment
» Enforce company procedures and
achieve a healthy safety culture
» Manage seals efficiently
» Log breakage of seals and trace this
procedure
9. 7 GUIDE | Moving from compliance to business improvement
Shipping companies often set a goal of
reaching compliance, but what if you –
without additional costs - could do more
to improve maritime safety and spare the
environment? A digital tool allows you to
go beyond compliance.
Digitalization is, however, a matter of
changing your mindset. In the past, some
shipping companies may have preferred
to be unaware of what was going on
onboard their vessels and turned a blind
eye to modifications or even lost logbooks.
This way they would not be blamed in
case of problems and could leave the legal
responsibility to the crew.
In today’s modern world, shipping compa-
nies want to increase transparency and
awareness by introducing digital tools
onboard. The crew are guided in their
daily operations, and since they know
they have to report their actions, they pay
more attention to what they do and how
they do it. In the long run, this leads to
fewer mistakes, fewer detentions, and a
healthier business.
Crew monitoring and support is key to
improving business. You want to make
sure that no monkey-business is going on
at sea to keep your reputation as a reliable
company. Paper logbooks can cause
Moving from compliance
to business improvement
04
10. 8 GUIDE | Moving from compliance to business improvement
you to be completely blinded to what is recorded and what happens
onboard.
By introducing electronic logbooks, you can check what is going on
in real time. This allows you to stay close to the vessel and support the
crew in case of need. Furthermore, you learn in which areas training is
needed and you have full control of what the vessel can report.
Digital record keeping allows you to go beyond
compliance
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11. 9 GUIDE | Improve performance with data-driven decisions
Improve
performance
with data-driven
decisions
06
Once you have your crew onboard the di-
gital wave, you can reap the benefits of a
complete overview of your fleet. Electronic
logbooks pro-vide ongoing synchronization
of data between ship and shore. Therefore,
you no longer need to go onboard vessels
to scan logbooks and receive data. You can
immediately access data whenever you
need to get an overview.
By digitalizing your record keeping,
you can decide which data are relevant
to report. On the basis of these consi-
derations, you develop a standardized
recording system so misunderstandings
and confusions are avoided. This also
improves communication between ship
and shore as handwritten logs no longer
need to be interpreted. In the long run,
these standardized processes enable you
to save both time and costs.
Data, on the other hand, is not much
12. 10 GUIDE | Improve performance with data-driven decisions
worth without a way of interpretating
them. With a digital tool, features for
data analysis is often provided. Analytical
dashboards provide an overview of your
company’s performance in relation to KPIs
and quality.
For example, when the crew make sludge
reports, you can use these data to analyze
the quality of fuel. By doing this, you can
make corrective actions in case the fuel
quality reaches a critical level.
Translating data into actions does
not only apply to sludge reports. All
deficiencies raised to the company can be
caught with data analysis and corrective
measurements can be made in time. For
this reason, data is valuable given that it
enables you improve the performance of
your fleet!
Examples of Dashboards
» OWS performance monitoring
» Incinerator performance monitoring
» Sludge generated VS fuel consumed
» Bilge generated VS steaming time
» Treated sludge VS Ch. Engineer
» Comparison of sister ships
Structured record keeping means fewer
detained ships, more efficient workflows, and a
compliant fleet.
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13. GUIDE | Get ready for port state control inspectations
11
Digitalize your data with SERTICA Electronic Logbook
Investing in intuitive electronic logbooks enables you to
introduce paperless logging and use logbook information
for analysis.
We develop, implement and support software systems
with focus on optimizing processes that create value and
reduce costs. Our software solution, SERTICA Electronic
Logbook, helps shipping companies worldwide reduce
the paper burden onboard vessels, enhance compliance,
and improve data reliability.
SERTICA Electronic Logbook is a user-friendly software
solution capable of fully replacing paper logbooks
with regard to the relevant regulations and circulars. It
requires minimal training and can be combined with our
OPTIMIMUN software, which collects real-time data from
automation and other systems. But we are more than just
software.
Our expertise is based on 150 years of experience as
a Classification Society. We have helped numerous
shipping companies on-scene at PSC Inspections and
with assessing PSC reports. This means that we possess
extensive knowledge about the maritime business, and
we are involved in the development of regulations. This
knowledge benefits our customers worldwide.
We value long-term business relationships, we prioritize
close dialogue, and we get involved. This makes us a
stable and valuable partner – now and in the future.
+30 6932 756 809
contact@sertica.com
