Prevention of Human Error Aboard Ships
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) is pleased to announce the publication of a new guideline entitled, Guidelines for the Prevention of Human Error aboard Ships. Man-made causes are said to account for some 80% of all marine casualties. Hence, reducing the possibility of human error can be considered as being both essential to and an effective means of reducing casualties. While many factors can contribute to a casualty, human error onboard ship can be often reduced by strengthening the training and education of all crew, and by addressing more indirect contributing factors such as hardware or other ergonomic related causes.
The implementation of the International Safety Management Code has played an important role in strengthening the training and education of crewmembers. At the same time, the shipping industry has globally also started to become aware of the importance of ergonomic considerations in the design and installation stages of marine equipment systems in recent years. In fact, ergonomic design of the man and machine interface is not only important for ensuring a smooth flow of information between man and machinery, but is also expected to make the working environment of marine equipment systems more effective and safer. It will also help to reduce the workload of the crew and contribute to minimizing the occurrence of errors.
These new guidelines start off by setting out principles on how to implement design considerations for reducing human error in the light of ergonomics. They emphasize ergonomic aspects of marine machinery systems provided onboard ships, mainly in the engine room, to ensure that due consideration is to be given to the mutual interaction between crew and equipment systems in the design and installation stages. Case studies of several instances from the viewpoint of ergonomic design along with design based preventive measures and thinking are also are given for reference.
Source:ClassNK
