Tag: human error

Digital technologies are triggering a revolution in the way ships are navigating. The traditional structure of a mariner’s working life will be reformed.

After realizing that people make mistakes, people’s actions are rarely malicious and mistakes are typically due to conditions and systems that make work difficult, the fourth guiding principle out of the eight OCIMF principals on human factors, comes to highlight the importance of understanding the conditions in which mistakes happen in order to prevent and correct them.

Incident investigations identify human failure as the key cause of almost all accidents, creating the impression that people cause incidents. However, human error is not simply a feature of individual failure, but is caused by workplace factors, equipment, and task design, among others. Mistakes are typically due to conditions and systems that make work difficult.

Human error has been a key area of concern for shipping as the major cause of navigation-related accidents, with 71 such occurrences recorded between 2015-2020, each incurring insurance claims of more than $10 million. Is human error in shipping navigation preventable?

Many major accidents eg Piper Alpha, Chernobyl, were initiated by human failure. Human failure is not random and people’s actions are rarely malicious and usually make sense to them at the time. This is the second guiding principle for OCIMF actions on human factors, highlighting the importance of understanding why errors occur in order to develop effective controls.

Mr. Ed Verbeek, Nautical Consultancy and Training investigates where we should focus on to bring down the number of human error within the maritime industry. 

Safety and its link to human factors is a multi-discussed issue for shipping, an industry, which has seen, several times, a simple omission leading to disastrous consequences. But how can safety management be properly implemented to minimize such adverse occurrences?

Whether it’s crew members on phones or an over-reliance on other forms of technology, fatigue, or a failure of organizational culture and behavior, human error remains a key safety issue for the maritime industry.

Autonomous ship technology can improve maritime safety according to One Sea, the industry grouping targeting 2025 as its target for the first autonomous maritime ecosystem. Some of One Sea’s leading technology company members explain why, and how.

As an underlying factor in many maritime claims, ‘human error’ remains a multi-debated safety issue for shipping, accounting for 80% of maritime accidents. But is ‘human error’ sufficient as a term to justify what goes wrong?