Alert Series

Another issue of the Human Element bulletin, this one is devoted to the ergonomics and maintainability. Note that subject matter has already been partly addressed in the previous issues of Alert, such as the Issue 3 - Ergonomics and Issue 7- Design and Usability.

Making the vessel and the systems on board ergonomic is making them fit for the crew members operating them rather than fitting people to the vessel and the systems, which, unfortunately, is often the case. The accidents occurring at sea commonly manifest themselves in many different ways, for example lack of attention, operator error, or poor ergonomics.

Should insufficient attention be paid to the maintainability during the design of the ship and systems, this can eventually result in such issues as slips, trips and falls (addressed in the Issue 17) and many other problems. The risks stated above can be mitigated through the human-centered design of the vessel since well-designed one will meet all needs of the operator and will be easy to use and maintain; what is the most important, it will be reliable. have a look in this issue of Alert to have better understanding of how important the maintainability and ergonomics are.

This issue of Alert bulletin is devoted to the Habitability. The very first impression in most cases has a long lasting effect on any person joining a vessel, that is why provision of good accommodation facilities is very important, and this is what the present issue of Alert is focusing on.

The purpose of Reg. 3.1 of Title 3 of the MLC 2006 is to ensure that the accommodation facilities are safe and decent. In one of the previous issues of the bulletin and associated video the Habitability has already been addressed. It is very important that all working spaces on board vessel are clean, comfortable and convivial, since the vessel environment directly affect conditions in which crew members work and rest.

Therefore the vessel shall be designed and built with the seafarers in mind and it is truly incumbent upon operators to make all above stated arrangements complying with the established and acceptable standards for both workplace and habitability on board. Regular inspections shall be conducted by the Master of the vessel in order to ensure that the highest standards are complied with. In addition, the Master shall conduct all require follow-up actions to rectify any deficiencies...

This issue of Alert Human Element Bulletin is devoted to the fatigue, offering some good thought related to the safe manning of the vessels as well as mitigating the most frequently occurring fatigue effects together with the other important risk factors. The content of this issue is expanding the topic addressed within the previously released issue also dealing with the fatigue, and associated video.

The booklet starts with the short guide used for proper interpretation of the main safe manning principles. Human errors have been implicated in most of the maritime casualties. The play major role in grounding and collision cases. This has prompted to EU to conduct thorough investigation of the human factors directly relating to the working conditions and workloads contributing to the shipping accidents.

You will find some results of the subject investigation in this document and this information may help in prevention of such accidents in the future through avoiding the situations that may lead to the fatigue of the personnel and eventually to the serious consequences such as casualties. Since this directly affecting safety of the vessel's crew we recommend you to have a close look in the study.

This is the human resources-related issue of our bulletin. Throughout the last three issues of Alert, the authors have been focusing on the matters influencing the interaction between people as well as between people and machines or systems aboard vessel. We have performed through examination of all potential causes and effects of the fatigue and offered some effective solutions for mitigating it.

The importance of establishing effective communication has been stresses; we have also explained the best ways to avoid complacency. We have touched the design of the vessels and seafarers' rights for decent living and working conditions on board their vessels, emphasized the critical importance of professional training, technical skills, practical experience and competence, and cautioned our readers against ineffective management systems.

In short, we did our best to provide coverage of all important aspects of human life and work on board. And now we will be trying to discuss human resources. It is important to have right number and correct mix of people having required competencies as well as familiarity with the vessel to achieve the desired effectiveness of the vessel and avoid any accidents...

The thirtieth issue of Alert bulletin, devoted to the people managers. The initial contact person for the persons willing to work at sea will most probably be a HRD, i.e. human resources department, member. Accordingly, the seafarers outside the vessel will have the crewing manager as the contact point.

That is the reason why the people involved in the management of seafarers' working lives shall not forget that these people are truly unique since most of the time they are aboard a vessel or floating structure and therefore subject to the caprices of the sea and the wind - they live, work and rest there, so far away from normal family life.

It is important for the crewing managers and maritime HRD not only to possess required HR practice knowledge but also to have due understanding of all challenges seafarers and their families face through the above mentioned separation - they shall provide a sort of link between the seafarer on board and his/her family ashore. The abbreviation HR and corresponding term Human are relatively new.

The people are considered vital to the eventual success of any operation and in any industry including shipping. People in charge of the people management shall have some key attributes like integrity and motivation, attitude and transparency and others considered critically important.

The present issue of Alert bulletin is devoted to such important aspect of the human element as education and we will talk about maritime educators. One of the requirements of STCW Convention is that all seafarers must have proper qualification for the position held on board. And all maritime educators including supervisors, training instructors and assessors shall be appropriately qualified to provide training.

This all was addressed in the 20th issue of our bulletin. Being an instructor requires person to be of some special sort. They shall not only be qualified but also have necessary knowledge and due understanding of the subject and also have received special training in effective instructional techniques as well as methods of training and assessment. Of course, they must be fully aware of the issues related to the human element since they directly affect the design of the vessels, their operation and management.

Maritime trainers are required to have a clear and thorough understanding of the life and work at sea and should preferably possess some seagoing experience, better of higher senior level, and to be fully up to date with the modern ship operations and newly introduced technologies. It is also essential for them to be able to communicate with the trainees to ensure successful training...

The twenty-eight issue of the human element bulletin is dealing with the surveys. The inspectors and surveyors normally interact directly with people, mainly with the seafarers. That is why they require to have not only the professional knowledge and technical skills allowing to do his/her job but also shall possess some of the important human element attributes.

Of course, they are not expected to be experts in human element; however, they should at least be aware of the relevance of human element in the ship design, construction and operation. It is preferable if the surveyor has held some senior position when working at sea - in this case the surveyor will be able to use the technical skills and practical experience to make professional judgment.

They shall be up to date with the latest regulations and have a clear understanding of the technological developments and their practical application on board ship they survey. In addition, the surveyors shall demonstrate their leadership and their ability and willingness to establish effective communication with the persons whose native language may differ from the surveyor's first language. Finally, they shall be able to produce concise and readable survey reports concluding their survey on board.

This twenty-six issue of the Alert bulletin is devoted to the HSEQ. Throughout the last several issues of the bulletin its authors have provided a lot of useful information about the health of the people working on vessels, their safety and wellbeing. However, they have not covered the environment and quality as thoroughly as these aspects should have been addressed.

Combined, these four are forming the acronym HSEQ which is in the title of this paper; note, however, that each of them can actually affect safe operation of the vessel and have serious impact om the safe of the cargo on board and its timely delivery. If we add Security, we will get the essentials of an IMS, standing for the Integrated Management System. It's success is mainly dependent on the human element.

For the effective work of any integrated management system, we will need to look at the organization as a whole, covering the living and working conditions created for the people both on board and ashore. Of course, there should be regulation to help making shipping safer and more secure. The standards should be established applying to the design and construction of the vessel, as well as to the training of the persons involved.

The operational procedures have to be regulated. The idea is to develop and implement regulation protecting a seafarer and providing him/er with safest working and living environment, fair conditions of employment and a decent healthy lifestyle.