SOUTH TYNESIDE COLLEGE ADDRESSES HUMAN FACTORS AFFECTING SAFETY AT SEA

Many of the accidents at sea today are a direct result of human failure. South Tyneside College, the UKs National Nautical Centre of Excellence, has taken a leaf out of the aviation industrys book and developed a course that addresses the need for enhanced crew training and explores the human factors that affect safety and safety management at sea.

South Tyneside College is a leading provider of marine training and its Crew Resource Management (CRM) course is one example of how it provides training that answers some of the most pertinent questions arising in the industry today. Run in association with the Danish Maritime Institute, the course combines classroom teaching with deck and/ or engine room simulation.

CRM training involves learning to understand and manage the human aspects, behaviours and attitudes within a crew in order to improve the efficiency of individuals and the teams that they work in, with the aim of reducing accident rates.

Sometimes called Bridge Resource Management, South Tyneside Colleges title Crew Resource Management emphasises the wider context for the application of human safety issues. These extend beyond the bridge and engine room, through the whole crew, and all the way to the corporate boardroom. The airline industry has already realised the benefits that CRM training can deliver when it is part of an overall company philosophy of safety and management.

Understanding these benefits has made CRM training commonplace for all airline crew in order to appreciate the importance of the different roles of the crew and how working together effectively can greatly reduce the risk of serious incidents. CRM training in this industry has developed from being purely cockpit based to all areas of the crew.

The emphasis of CRM training is to provide the appropriate knowledge for better individual and crew performance. This matches the requirements for teamwork training as outlined in the revised Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Convention, and is achieved by encouraging experienced mariners and marine managers alike to examine their own behaviour and attitudes, increasing their knowledge and awareness of human factor issues.

Managing available crew resources better, thereby reducing accident rates and minimising consequential costs, is one area of marine training that still offers room for development and improvement -- especially given the prevalence of 'human error involvement in marine accidents and claims.

Head of marine simulation at South Tyneside College, Chris Thompson, said: South Tyneside College has recognised the importance of these factors at sea and the part that they play in the industry today, and the CRM course highlights the ways in which training can begin to provide practical solutions and skills for crews and managers for the future."

ENDS