Titanic submarine used spreadsheets to track its movements

At Shoothill we know that spreadsheets while a versatile tool are frequently used in businesses and organisations as a stopgap before a better solution is found, but often these spreadsheets remain in place well-beyond their shelf life. While this can work for a while when you’re managing only a few leads and small accounting, it will eventually fall over.

Unfortunately, though many businesses they can’t have a half way house, in high pressure and risk scenarios the consequences are high. The tragic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible has brought to light a key revelation from a U.S. Coast Guard hearing was that OceanGate tracked the Titan’s position using a manual, hand-typed Excel spreadsheet—a system described by a former contractor as “absolutely idiotic” given the task at hand. Just one more example of a corner cut within this operation.

This situation demonstrates where spreadsheets can fail in business, especially in critical, data-sensitive operations. While spreadsheets like Microsoft Excel are versatile and widely used for various tasks, they are not suited for environments where real-time accuracy and automation are paramount.

As seen with the Titan sub, entering data manually into an Excel spreadsheet is prone to human error. In high-stakes environments,even minor mistakes or delays—such as transcribing coordinates every few minutes—can lead to catastrophic consequences. Errors in formulas, cell references, or input could be overlooked until it’s too late. This was a concern raised by OceanGate’s contractor, Antonella Wilby, who testified that the team had to write down coordinates in a notebook before typing them into the spreadsheet, which caused dangerous delays.

Spreadsheets are not designed for real-time processing. In OceanGate’s case, instead of automatically capturing data from the ultra-short baseline positioning system, a method of underwater acoustic positioning, the data was manually logged, resulting in unnecessary delays. In critical applications, automatic data collection and processing systems—like dedicated navigation software—are essential. The absence of this kind of system in OceanGate’s operations hindered their ability to track the submersible accurately and timely.

Spreadsheets are not scalable for complex or growing operations. As businesses or projects expand in scope, the limitations of Excel become apparent. A specialised system built for large volumes of data and complex operations—such as deep-sea navigation—would have been a better fit for OceanGate. Relying on Excel for such complex tasks suggests an underinvestment in proper technological solutions, which likely contributed to the tragedy.

In the aftermath of the Titan disaster, it is clear that businesses, particularly those operating in life-critical fields, must carefully evaluate the tools they use. Spreadsheets may be cost-effective and familiar, but they cannot replace the specialised software required for tasks involving real-time data, automation, and safety.

The implosion of the Titan and the testimony that followed serve as a stark reminder that cutting corners on technology can have fatal consequences.