The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant personal grief and despair for people all around the world – whether directly or indirectly affected. It has changed the world in ways that no-one had predicted, even those few people who had warned that a pandemic like this would strike.
Reflecting and adapting to a changing world
Challenging times like these require reflection to adapt and progress forward. Hafnia Technical has learned a lot and adjusted as a result of this. I am sure the same can be said for all Hafnia departments, as well as our peers in the market. We have changed our way of thinking about our business and, consequently, the way we work. The leaders on all levels have been forced to focus more on each individual employee, in a more inclusive way, discussing job tasks and expectations of job deliverance. It has been necessary to revisit our entire travel policy, reorganizing our workdays and the way we conduct internal meetings – adopting more disciplined attendance requirements and being more mindful of how to communicate effectively. Changes to our project management methods have actually improved results remarkably, with a lot of process optimization. Internally Hafnia Technical will never be the same again: we will be more efficient with resources and the way we work and seek solutions in general.
One Innovative Result: The Remote Audit
Our collaboration with our customers, vendors, suppliers, partners and the shipping industry-at-large has been very educational during this period. We are doing remote ship visits, remote surveys, remote SIRE evaluations. Dry Dock planning has been a journey in itself. Perhaps our milestone achievement thus far is the remotely conducted “Externa Audit” of our Safety, Environmental and Quality systems.
Hafnia Technical (BWFM) successfully completed remote DOC and ISO audits with Lloyd´s Register, under the approval of MPA, during the present circuit breaker (colloquially known as a “lockdown” across the world) in Singapore.
The Office had recently completed its internal audit remotely over four days, which proved to be very interactive and effective. With the confidence gained in the remote audit process, we requested Lloyd’s Register to carry out remote DOC and ISO audits. Lloyd´s Register supported our decision and obtained approval from MPA.
Over three days, May 18-20, two Lloyd´s Register auditors and an observer conducted an exhaustive remote audit over Microsoft Teams. Documents and presentations were shared, live interviews conducted, ideas exchanged – and all through our computer screens.
A Smooth Process and Perhaps a Preview of the “New Normal”
For the Lloyd’s Register team working with Hafnia, this joint four-day exercise was yet another example of how remote capability can support client needs. “Technology is the enabler, but the value continues to be the human expertise and experience – there are still experts reviewing inputs and making decisions based on their extensive knowledge to ensure safety and best practice,” says James Forsdyke, LR M&O head of product management.
All Hafnia personnel involved demonstrated the Company’s processes with ease to the satisfaction of the auditors. Remote audits can obviously present some challenges, but our team was well prepared – ensuring an efficient yet high quality and rigorous process.
With the continuous development of technology, the day is not far when remote ship and office inspections and audits will be the new normal. We are poised and eager to embrace this when the day comes.
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