Human factors in the maritime domain

The piecemeal fashion in which human factors research has been conducted in the maritime domain makes information retrieval available only by scanning through numerous research journals and conference papers. Bringing together human factors information from this and other domains, Human Factors in the Maritime Domain integrates a common body of knowledge into one single volume.

The book provides the vital background information necessary to acquire a core knowledge base and a much-needed overview of human factors within the maritime domain. It starts by putting the topic into an historical and theoretical context, moves onto more specific and detailed topics and contemporary thinking in human factors, then reviews new maritime technology. The authors take a holistic approach based on a model of the socio-technical system of work in the maritime domain. They synthesize available knowledge and research, then present in an easily acceptable framework with example, illustrations, and case studies whenever possible, making the text rigorous, useful, and enjoyable.

The three authors draw on a range of diverse backgrounds including working as a maritime surveyor, transport consultant, human factors lecturer, and mechanical engineer. They have undertaken maritime research in Denmark, Australia, Malta, and the UK. They have published several other human factor books on related topics. This combination of human factors knowledge, maritime wisdom, and substantial publication experience results in a book that is effective and practical.

Author Notes

Michelle Rita Grech works for the Maritime Platforms Division within the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DTSO) in Australia. Her current work involves maritime-focused research on human systems integration and human factors. She joined DSTO after completeing her Ph.D. in human factors from the University of Queensland in 2005, specializing in fatigue, workload, and situation awareness in maritime domain. During her career she was involved in teaching and tutoring in human factors-related topics. Through her academic research work and experience, Michelle has acquired a comprehesive publications list, including refereed journal articles, as well as national and international conference papers. Michelle has also been involved in a number of European Union (EU) maritime safety projects. She is periodically involved as a maritime human factors expert in the evaluation of maritime research projects for the EU Director General of Transport. Michelle, a chartered engineer, has spent most of her career working within the maritime industry in Malta and in Australia starting off as a project engineer, engineering consultant, marine surveyor, and maritime human factors researcher.

Tim Horberry is associate professor of human factors at the University of Queensland, Australia. Before that, he was head of human factors within the transportation division at the UK Transport Research Laboratory. Dr. Horberry has successfully supervised several Ph.D. students working in the field of transport human factors. He has published his work widely and is a registered member of the UK Ergonomics Society. He coedited another book on transport safety, which was published by CRC Press in 2004.

Thomas Koester, psychologist, MA, is employed at FORCE Technology in Kongens Lyngby near Copenhagen. Thomas has during the last seven years worked with applied psychology and human factors in safety-critical domains including maritime transport, power plants, off-shore industry, railroads, and hospitals. Thomas has participated in EU projects and thematic networks about maritime safety and human factors, and he is working with development and teaching of human factors and crew resource management courses for maritime personnel, off-shore personnel, power plant personnel, personnel from the health care secotr, and accident investigators. He is cofounder of the Maritime Human Factors Research Group (www.maritimehumanfactors.org), member of Danish Human Factors Centre (www.dhfc.dk), and associated member of Centre for Human-Machine Interaction 2000-2003.

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
The Authors	p. xvii
Chapter 1 Introduction to maritime human factors	p. 1
1.1 History and development of maritime human factors	p. 1
1.1.1 Early days: hazards of shipping	p. 1
1.1.2 1800s to World War II: birth of international ship safety regulations	p. 3
1.1.3 World War II to the end of the 1960s: beginnings of maritime human factors	p. 4
1.1.4 1970s and beyond	p. 6
1.2 Complexity of commercial shipping	p. 8
1.2.1 Organizational change in shipping	p. 9
1.2.2 The regulatory aspect	p. 9
1.2.3 The classification aspect	p. 10
1.3 Human factors	p. 11
1.3.1 Human factors and the maritime domain	p. 12
1.3.1.1 Crewing numbers	p. 13
1.3.1.2 New technology	p. 15
1.3.1.3 Crew demographics and social factors	p. 16
1.4 Accidents and human error	p. 17
1.4.1 The accident pyramid	p. 17
1.4.2 The human error concept	p. 18
1.5 The sociotechnical system model	p. 19
1.5.1 Why a sociotechnical system model?	p. 19
1.5.2 Maritime organizations and the sociotechnical system	p. 19
1.5.3 Development of the sociotechnical system model	p. 20
1.5.4 The sociotechnical system model	p. 23
1.5.5 Application of the sociotechnical system model	p. 25
1.6 Conclusion	p. 32
Chapter 2 Individual factors: Psychological capabilities and limitations	p. 33
2.1 Introduction	p. 33
2.2 Human senses	p. 34
2.2.1 Vision	p. 34
2.2.2 Hearing	p. 37
2.2.3 Tactile senses	p. 39
2.2.4 Vestibular senses	p. 40
2.3 Perception	p. 42
2.4 Cognition	p. 44
2.4.1 Memory and knowledge	p. 44
2.4.2 Attention	p. 46
2.4.3 Situation awareness	p. 47
2.4.4 Decision making	p. 51
2.5 Behavior	p. 52
2.5.1 Skill-based behavior	p. 53
2.5.2 Rule-based behavior	p. 53
2.5.3 Knowledge-based behavior	p. 54
2.5.4 Automated behavior	p. 54
2.5.5 Risk-taking behavior	p. 54
2.6 Conclusion	p. 55
Chapter 3 Individual-task interaction factors	p. 57
3.1 Introduction	p. 57
3.2 Work, rest, and work-rest cycles	p. 58
3.2.1 Occupational fatigue	p. 58
3.2.1.1 Example: fatigue in watchkeeping	p. 58
3.2.2 Prolonged working hours	p. 61
3.2.3 Rest breaks	p. 61
3.2.4 Nightwork, shiftwork, and the circadian rhythm	p. 62
3.3 Mental workload	p. 64
3.3.1 Workload and capacity	p. 64
3.3.2 Simultaneous tasks and distraction	p. 65
3.4 Physical workload	p. 65
3.4.1 Muscular work	p. 66
3.4.2 Dynamic and static muscular effort	p. 66
3.5 Work-related musculoskeletal disorders	p. 67
3.6 Anthropometrics and anatomy	p. 67
3.7 General principles of workstation design on ships	p. 68
3.8 Stress	p. 69
3.9 Illness, concerns, anxiety, and pressures	p. 70
3.9.1 Effect of physical illness	p. 70
3.9.2 Effect of concerns, anxiety, and pressures	p. 71
3.10 Alcohol	p. 71
3.11 Conclusion	p. 72
Chapter 4 Communication and team work	p. 73
4.1 Introduction	p. 73
4.2 Communication	p. 73
4.2.1 Multimodal communication	p. 75
4.2.2 Context and mutual understanding	p. 77
4.2.3 Closed-loop communication	p. 78
4.3 Social role and power	p. 79
4.4 Four dimensions of verbal communication	p. 80
4.5 Transaction analysis	p. 82
4.6 Teamwork	p. 83
4.6.1 Authority gradient	p. 83
4.6.2 Leadership styles	p. 85
4.6.2.1 Autocratic leadership style	p. 85
4.6.2.2 Laissez-faire leadership style	p. 86
4.6.2.3 Self-centered leadership style	p. 86
4.6.2.4 Democratic leadership style	p. 86
4.6.2.5 Leadership style summary	p. 86
4.7 Conclusion	p. 87
Chapter 5 Work environment	p. 89
5.1 Introduction	p. 89
5.2 Noise	p. 90
5.2.1 Noise and sound	p. 90
5.2.2 Noise exposure effects	p. 91
5.2.2.1 Hearing impairments	p. 91
5.2.2.2 Increases in stress	p. 92
5.2.2.3 Decrements in performance	p. 92
5.2.2.4 Sleep disturbances	p. 92
5.2.2.5 Communication interferences	p. 93
5.2.3 Protection strategies	p. 93
5.2.3.1 Reduce noise at source	p. 93
5.2.3.2 Reduce exposure	p. 93
5.2.3.3 Management strategies	p. 94
5.3 Vibration	p. 94
5.3.1 Whole body vibration	p. 94
5.3.2 Measuring vibration	p. 95
5.3.3 Protection strategies	p. 96
5.4 Lighting	p. 96
5.4.1 Why we need to consider lighting	p. 96
5.4.2 Light, illumination, and luminance	p. 96
5.4.3 Indoor lighting	p. 97
5.4.4 Visual comfort	p. 97
5.4.4.1 Level of illumination	p. 97
5.4.4.2 Spatial balance of surface luminance	p. 97
5.4.4.3 Temporal uniformity of lighting	p. 98
5.4.4.4 Avoidance of glare with appropriate lights	p. 98
5.4.4.5 Summary	p. 98
5.5 Climatic conditions	p. 99
5.5.1 Temperature	p. 99
5.5.2 Humidity	p. 99
5.5.3 Air movements	p. 100
5.5.4 Air quality	p. 100
5.5.5 Body temperature regulation	p. 100
5.5.6 Management of heat and cold stress	p. 101
5.5.6.1 Heat stress	p. 101
5.5.6.2 Cold stress	p. 102
5.6 Accommodation and social factors	p. 102
5.7 Ship motions	p. 103
5.7.1 Seasickness	p. 103
5.7.2 Motion-induced interruptions	p. 104
5.7.3 Motion-induced fatigue	p. 104
5.7.4 Prevention strategies	p. 105
5.8 Physical environment standards	p. 105
5.9 Conclusion	p. 107
Chapter 6 Interacting with technology	p. 109
6.1 Introduction	p. 109
6.2 Importance of human-machine interaction in maritime safety	p. 110
6.3 Types of HMI problems on ships	p. 110
6.3.1 Lack of equipment standardization	p. 111
6.3.2 Lack of equipment usability	p. 114
6.3.3 Automation issues	p. 114
6.4 Specific issues in the design and integration of maritime equipment	p. 116
6.4.1 Controls and displays	p. 117
6.4.2 Warnings and alarms	p. 118
6.4.2.1 Visual warnings	p. 119
6.4.2.2 Audible warnings (alarms)	p. 119
6.4.3 E-Navigation	p. 120
6.5 Crew responses to technology	p. 122
6.5.1 Operator workload	p. 122
6.5.2 Behavioral adaptation	p. 123
6.5.3 Loss of skills	p. 123
6.5.4 Understanding the limitations of the technology	p. 123
6.5.5 Crew acceptance	p. 124
6.5.6 Technology and situation awareness	p. 124
6.6 Possible solutions for the maritime domain and further work in this area	p. 125
6.7 Conclusion	p. 127
Chapter 7 Organization, society and culture	p. 129
7.1 Introduction	p. 129
7.2 From individual to organizational failure	p. 130
7.2.1 To blame or not to blame	p. 130
7.2.2 Active and latent failures	p. 132
7.2.3 Drift into failure	p. 134
7.3 Culture in the maritime work environment	p. 135
7.3.1 National culture	p. 135
7.3.2 Professional culture	p. 136
7.3.3 Organizational culture	p. 136
7.3.3.1 From organizational culture to safety culture	p. 137
7.3.4 Safety culture	p. 138
7.3.5 Safety control strategies	p. 143
7.3.5.1 Safety management systems	p. 144
7.3.5.2 Crew resource management	p. 146
7.3.5.3 Procedures and job aids	p. 148
7.3.5.4 Procedural and adaptive training	p. 150
7.3.5.5 Warnings	p. 151
7.4 Maintenance failures	p. 152
7.5 Practice	p. 154
7.6 Conclusion	p. 155
Chapter 8 Methods for data collection	p. 157
8.1 Introduction	p. 157
8.2 Why collect human factors data?	p. 158
8.3 An introduction to maritime human factors methods	p. 158
8.3.1 Collecting maritime human factors data	p. 159
8.3.1.1 Where to conduct the study	p. 159
8.3.1.2 What to examine	p. 159
8.3.1.3 What measures to record	p. 160
8.3.1.4 Who to study	p. 160
8.3.1.5 How to collect the data	p. 160
8.3.1.6 How to analyze the data	p. 160
8.3.1.7 Study requirements	p. 160
8.3.2 Overview of maritime human factors data collection methods	p. 161
8.3.2.1 Accidents and incident analysis	p. 161
8.3.2.2 Simulations/human performance studies	p. 161
8.3.2.3 Eye movements/visual behavior	p. 161
8.3.2.4 Concurrent or retrospective verbal protocols	p. 161
8.3.2.5 Environmental measuring	p. 162
8.3.2.6 Physical measuring	p. 162
8.3.2.7 Task analyses	p. 162
8.3.2.8 Checklists/standards/audits	p. 162
8.3.2.9 "Walk-through" evaluations	p. 162
8.3.2.10 Computer-aided design/evaluations	p. 163
8.3.2.11 Observations	p. 163
8.3.2.12 Interviews/focus groups/questionnaires	p. 163
8.3.2.13 Log books	p. 163
8.4 Application of data acquisition and analysis techniques to key human factors issues	p. 163
8.4.1 Fatigue	p. 164
8.4.2 Workload	p. 164
8.4.2.1 Physical workload	p. 164
8.4.2.2 Mental workload	p. 165
8.4.3 Accident analysis and the importance of incident and near-miss data	p. 166
8.4.3.1 Maritime accident reports	p. 167
8.4.3.2 Accident versus incident and near-miss data	p. 168
8.4.4 Human reliability analysis	p. 169
8.4.5 Safety climate/safety culture questionnaires and surveys	p. 170
8.5 Cost-benefit analysis and human factors	p. 171
8.6 Conclusions	p. 173
Chapter 9 The future: Trends in maritime human factors	p. 175
References	p. 181
Glossary	p. 185
Index	p. 189

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