HE00715 - What constitutes a human factor?

It has consistently been reported in recent years that human factors account for 75-80% of marine accidents.

That may (or may not) be true, but I would argue that there is insufficient aggregated data, either nationally or internationally to be able to have confidence in this claim. Apart from the lack of aggregated data, just what exactly are the human factors that are being held to account for marine accidents?

There seems to be little consistency in the definition of what constitutes a human factor. While it is true that fatigue, the influence of drugs and alcohol, crew training and qualifications are certainly human factors and have been implicated in many a marine accident, a number of other so-called 201Chuman factors201D may not in fact be so. For example, Issue No. 2 of Alert! contained an item on the Report on Marine Accidents 2002 by the Japan Marine Accident Inquiry Agency. Improper lookout and non-compliance with marine traffic rules are cited as accident causes, along with difficulties in communication between crew members.

While communication difficulties resulting from crew members speaking different languages and the impact of other cultural factors is certainly a human factor, I would argue that improper lookout and non-compliance with marine traffic rules are not in themselves human factors. Rather they are the result or symptom of another human factor or factors at work. Improper lookout may be the result of fatigue or crew training and/or qualifications while non-compliance with marine traffic rules is most likely a result of a deficiency in crew training and/or qualifications.

It is also possible that non-compliance with marine traffic rules was the result of a deliberate or wilful action by the navigation watch-keeper. The Japan Marine Accident Inquiry Agency report also reports 201Cdozing201D as a cause of collisions and groundings. While 201Cdozing201D is a human factor, is it the result of fatigue or perhaps the excessive consumption of alcohol?

So, the first task in being able to accurately determine the impact of human factors in marine accidents is to develop a set of mutually agreed, recognised and accepted definitions of human factors. Once this has been achieved, national and international agencies can start collecting consistent data that can be analysed in order that strategies for reducing the impact of human factors in marine accidents can be developed and implemented.

DNV has recently noted (at the Connecticut Maritime Association conference) an increase in the frequency of serious maritime accidents since the start of the century. DNV suggest that growing crew incompetence, possibly as a result of poor retention, overwork and new recruits could be the reason for the increase. Australian data seem to support this view with a significant increase in the number of collisions and groundings occurring in Australian waters since 2001/02 (see below).