Kongsberg Maritime reports that it will lead a new research project
Kongsberg Maritime reports that it will lead a new research project called ‘Situation Awareness and Decision Support Tools for demanding marine operations’ (SITAWARE), beginning in February 2012.
Part-funded by the Norwegian Research Council and undertaken in collaboration with academic research partners Chalmers University in Sweden, Vestfold University College and Haugesund University College in Norway, the new project has been implemented as the foundation for a new generation of support systems and solutions for marine operations.
Kongsberg says that, as marine operations have become more challenging, and control systems and organisations have consequently become more complicated, the trend has been to add more technology, functionality and routines to the technical system, creating a gap between the data available to the user and the information really needed.
The SITAWARE project intends to try and reverse the tide of growing complexity with a user centred design (UCD) approach that simplifies technical systems and interfaces and changes the focus from technology centred to human and task centred design processes.
The aim of the research project is to provide a solid scientific basis to achieve this.
“We will start with a literature study followed by detailed analysis of one or two advanced marine operations and a System Design Specification. A prototype will be built and implemented in a simulator environment where experienced operators and users will evaluate it and give their feedback,” explains Thor Hukkelås, principal engineer marine operations, Kongsberg Maritime.
The project will study how people make decisions during demanding marine operations, particularly under stress, with the purpose of learning how to build optimal systems for situational awareness and operator decision support.
This may include a combination of changes to control system design processes, information exchange methods, workload sharing and training. The project will address all phases of operations.
“Demanding and critical marine operations like anchor handling, rig moves, heavy lift operations, subsea construction, pipe-laying, and FPSO offloading all push people, vessels and systems to their limits,” said Mr Hukkelås.
“The consequences of making wrong decisions during failure or stress situations can be disastrous so sophisticated, but simple to understand decision support tools developed through user-centred design are vital.”
“We believe the research will show that a shift in focus from boxes, systems and equipment to function, information and operation will have tangible effects on safety and operational performance.”
A major emphasis is expected to be placed on functions that use all available information to predict future states and reduce the risk that critical situations develop.
The Prediction Module will be a collection of ‘What if’ simulation models based on current and forecast weather, vessel systems, sensors, motion and stability data, and data exchange (position, heading, speed etc) with all other vessels in the operation.
“The research phases of the project will be put to the test in collaboration with all partners, including SimSea AS, a new training facility in Haugesund that has just taken delivery of a highly sophisticated and fully integrated Kongsberg Maritime Offshore Vessel Simulator,” said Mr Hukkelås.
“The project will also benefit from results gained in the SIMAR project, which is being conducted with many of the same partners and is focused on human factors in simulation training.”
Source: Kongsberg
