ABSTRACT
Ship design decisions and regulations are made with the intentions of improving ship performance and safety. While design decisions and regulations may have strong theoretical merits, there can be uncertainty regarding if the intended improvements are experienced in practice. The approach put forth in this paper demonstrates how it can be checked and understood if these design decisions and regulations are having the intended impact on ship operations. The performance of a shipping operation can be tracked using system performance measurement techniques, which help understand if improved performance is being achieved. Then, by using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) to monitor the functional dynamics of each performance measurement, an understanding the processes that produce that measurement can be obtained. The combined understanding obtained from using system performance measurement and the FRAM over time, provide a framework to evaluate, justify, adjust, and make better ship designs and regulations, informed by practical ship performance.
