Acceptable Risk of New Technologies, Essay Example

In every aspect of life and segment of an industry, one of the inevitable features of human activity is a potential risk. Although each industry has different hazards and potential complications of efficient and safe performance, there are risks that can be acceptable for the benefit of implementing a certain technology or know-how, and there are risks that are not acceptable at any cost. Although it may seem that the acceptability of risk is case-sensitive, there are still certain overall rules and interdisciplinary approaches that define universality of acceptable risks. The aim of this paper is to outline what the acceptable risk is and how it is distinctive for other risks. Moreover, attention is paid to the emerging technology in the sector of maritime industry, particularly the ICT onboard technologies crafted for the maritime environment and justification of its relevance, safety and efficiency.

Risk is often perceived as a certain implication with negative consequences to one’s health, well-being, and even death under certain circumstances. In terms of industrial perspective, it also means the potential damage to property, infrastructure and consequent financial loss (Bronsword and Goodwin 34).  Thus, it may seem that risk should be avoided at all times and even a slight suggestion of the potential risk should discourage certain decision-making. On the other hand, from the realistic perspective, various activities imply a certain degree of potential risk. It is essential to realize how an acceptable risk is measured and how certain technologies should be adopted while other rejected.

Risk is identified as acceptable according to a few considerations. First of all, the probability of the risk should not be random and should not be below case and industry-specific level of already existing tolerated level of risks. Secondly, this risk should become a primary direct or indirect contributor to the health and welfare deterioration of the labor force (Heimann 52). Thirdly, in terms of costs, the risk is acceptable is the potential cost of reducing risk are higher than the saved costs, particularly when the costs of retribution and suffering payments are included in calculations. Fourthly, if public health and insurance companies identify the risk as an acceptable one, then it is acceptable. Finally, another criterion is if the risk is identified as acceptable within the industry and backed by the relevant legal and political frameworks (Bronsword and Goodwin123).

Another approach to identifying an acceptable risk is a predefined probability approach which is often used in environmental regulations and is also applicable to the emerging technologies of the maritime environment. The best example is the correlation between substance impact and the probability of developing cancer or, for the technical industries, the endurance of technologies and the impact of malfunction on one’s health (Bronsword and Goodwin 56). In other words:

“One definition of acceptable risk that has been widely accepted in environmental regulations, is if lifetime exposure to a substance increases a person’s chance of developing cancer by one chance in a million or less. This level, which has come to be taken as ‘essentially zero’, was apparently derived in the US in the 1960s during the development of guidelines for safety testing in animal studies. A figure, for the purposes of discussion, of 1 chance in 100 million of developing cancer was put forward as safe.” (Fewtrell, L and Bartram 208).

Placing the aforementioned discourse into the technical industries, it can be argued that the potentially introduced technology can be considered as an acceptable risk if its configurations do not result in random malfunctioning and the increase in other potential hazards for one’s health and increased costs of maintenance (Heimann 58). The technology also has to be accessed in terms of unpredictable circumstances particular for the target environment In the case of maritime environment, for the technology to be accepted it has to be capable of surviving the totality of the major circumstances possible in the environment. Although the protagonists of the technology could suggest that the totality of various factors influencing the technology at a single time is hardly possible the unpredictability factor of their occurrence should be taken into account and calculated (Bronsword and Goodwin 79).

ICT Maritime technology

Irrespective of the advancement of the ICT in various industries, its implementation in the maritime segment is far from being well-established. The primary concern has always been the reliability of the old-fashioned and thus trusted ways technologies. Another consideration is dictated by the maritime environment itself, meaning its self-sufficiency and autonomy. Depending on the type of vessels and aim, some would go for months at sea while other would have a skeleton crew for which equipment calculations are vital (Bradbury). Consequently, the maritime industry still uses RS-232-connected cables instead of the contemporary Ethernet networks and most of the board computers still are not compatible with the MS Windows.

The primary benefits of the new ICT for the maritime industry are the following modifications. First of all, the introduction of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) and Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) satellite services that are created specifically for the maritime requirements aimed at providing a better navigation (Bradbury). In terms of communications opportunities, various options of Wi-Fi and close-range antenna’s installations are available in order to enhance connectivity between ships and mainland (Heimann 54). This is particularly essential under the overall hostile conditions of the maritime environment and usual cases when time is crucial in communicating with the ships. Another opportunity of ICT is the availability of cargo-tracking applications and devices. From the perspectives of customer service and the reliability of delivery, cargo-tracking is an essential tool of the contemporary business:

“The sensors register the location of the container, along with the environmental variables, and they then communicate the data to the receivers. The receivers can then send that information via local Wi-Fi to a central data aggregation system o the vessel, and from there it can be returned to the client’s tracking system in one of two ways. It can either be sent directly from the vessel for instant updates, or it can be sent when the vessel docks” (Bradbury).

Thus from outlined above features and opportunities ICT provides, it is represented as a means of cost-efficiency and modernization of the industry and particular services provided by it. On the other hand, the technology would be widely adopted if it did not raise certain concerns and potential risks, which should be addressed. First of all, the primary concern is the additional weight and safety concerns of the additional structures incorporated into the ships. Although it can be argued that added weight would affect cargo calculations, this risk can be managed by altering calculations and skeleton crew modifications with taking into account new parameters of the ship (Bronsword and Goodwin 76). In terms of health and safety, the introduction of new equipment and its potential hazards can be eliminated through the introduction of training programs where the issues would be addressed, and personnel trained accordingly to the new requirements.

Another consideration is directly related to the severity of the maritime environment and the potential increase of hazards related to the introduction of new technologies and materials. In this regard, one of the primary concerns is how the infrastructure for the new technologies will withstand the impact of water, salt and pressure of the storm. This concern is overruled by the prevalence of fiber-optics in the ICT infrastructure and their safer characteristics in terms of health and fire security matters (Bradbury). Consequently, with the due calculations and incorporation of the fiber-optics infrastructure into the ship, this concern can be overruled. Moreover, ICT companies are designing technologies particularly for the maritime environment making the infrastructure more water and salt resistant. In terms of vibration that has a significant impact on the ICT performance, there are various anti-vibration mechanisms that secure servers from shaking with the use of vibration absorbers (Bradbury).

Overall, from all mentioned above, it can be concluded that although the definition and the calculation of the accepted risk vary from industry to industry and has case-specific features, the common approach to it exists. The primary requirement for the acceptable risk is to have the minimum human and financial damage within the framework of existing health and safety standards. As an example of the ICT maritime technology demonstrated, various hazards need to be considered and consequent modifications of the principles are to be made if they can reduce the potential hazards with lesser cost than the application of the technology itself.

Works Cited

Bradbury, D. Maritime ICT: a new wave of technology. Engineering and Technology Magazine, 17 June 2013. Web. 6 July 2015. < http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2013/06/a-new-wave-of-technology.cfm >.

Bronsword, R. and Goodwin, G. Law and the Technologies of the Twenty-First Century: Text and Materials. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2012. Print.

Fewtrell, L and Bartram, J. Water Quality: Guidelines, Standards and Health. London: IWA Publishing. 2001. Print.

Heimann, L. Acceptable Risks: Politics, policy, and Risky Technologies. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press. 2010. Print.