Written by Lesley Bankes-Hughes
Published: 12 February 2024
A six-month trial involving Ridgebury Tankers and behaviour change start-up Signol has found that ships’ crews made fuel-saving decisions 21% more often.
Signol’s technology was used to support Masters and Chief Engineers across four of Ridgebury’s ships, managed by German ship manager BSM, to shift their behaviour towards more fuel-efficient decisions.
The Signol platform leverages 17 separate behaviour change techniques which prime individuals to think differently about fuel efficiency and decarbonisation so that they are more proactive in taking available opportunities to reduce energy usage.
For the trial, Signol and Ridgebury Tankers identified three operational processes where crew members had opportunities to save fuel, including using the main engine efficiently given the operating conditions, and using auxiliary engines efficiently given the demand for power on board.
Signol’s behaviour change techniques were delivered through multiple channels, including specifically timed emails and a web app personalised for each user.
Harriet Johnson, Head of Maritime at Signol, commented: ‘The maritime industry is increasingly focusing on promoting operational efficiency to reduce its environmental impact, and Ridgebury’s fuel-saving demonstrates how ship owners and managers can harness the power of their crews and ensure each individual plays their part.
‘We are delighted that the strong spirit of collaboration between Ridgebury, BSM and Signol produced such results, adding more weight to our conviction that ‘the human factor’ is key to immediately reducing ships’ emissions without the capital-intensive, longer-term solutions which will decarbonise the sector in the future.’