Human performance and limitations
The Nautical Institute’s latest book, Human Performance and Limitation for Mariners, builds on a concept first introduced in the aviation industry that was responsible for a massive reduction in accidents.
It focuses on enabling seafarers to make the best use of their physical and mental abilities in the challenging shipboard environment.
Captain Robert McCabe FNI, the Institute’s President, said: “Although we seek to learn and benefit from these lessons out of the aviation industry, we recognise two major differences with the maritime industry.”
He said that vessels are subjected to different motions and effects such as noise, heat, and vibration. The second, and more significant difference that this book describes, is the ship is home for maritime professionals for many months at a time so there are more challenges to life onboard.
One of these challenges is fatigue, which is often implicated in casualty reports.
Captain McCabe said that all crew members have a part to play in the safety and commercial success of their vessels. Crews are responsible for the lives of all those onboard, for millions of dollars of company assets in the form of the ship itself, hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo value and billions of dollars in terms of liabilities and environmental impact.
All mariners need to be aware of how to protect themselves physically and mentally and to make the best use of their physical and mental abilities to manage modern ships in an increasingly complex and dynamic maritime environment.
By Anne-Marie Causer
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