Managing fatigue
Fatigue has long been a challenge for seafarers and a concern for shipowners as a key contributor to human errors that lead to injury, loss of life and property and marine casualties. As a result, the American P&I Club has taken a proactive approach to articulating the risks of fatigue in a way that is attractive to seafarers of all skill levels and backgrounds through its most recent publication, Preventing Fatigue. This is an easy-to-read and user-friendly publication for sea- farers as a means to familiarise themselves with the risk of fatigue while working aboard ship.
Preventing Fatigue, with its easy-to- read format made memorable by an undercurrent of humour, imparts a serious message, which everyone can under- stand and absorb. Most importantly, the message is one we hope which will have a genuinely positive bearing on reducing the effects of fatigue as a root cause of human error in maritime accidents and thus having a measurable effect in reducing accidents over the years ahead.
The publication of Preventing Fatigue was a direct response to comments made at the last session of the Joint Maritime Safety Committee and Marine Environ- mental Protection Committee Joint Human Element Working Group that met in May 2004. Comments were made during the meeting that it would be beneficial to communicate important IMO documents in a format that is user-friendly for seafarers.
Preventing Fatigue is the first in a series of similar publications to address human element related accident prevention. The next publications will address the prevention of work place injuries such as slips, trips and falls and marine pilotage.
For further information, please contact Dr. William Moore at +1 212 847 4542 or wmoore@american-club.net.