During the past 40 years, ships have become larger – up to 650% – to increase cargo- and human-carrying capacities, while crews are getting smaller – up to 60% compared to 40 years ago (Mallam, 2016). Hence, the consequences of an incident and a single error also increase, as does the exposure risk.
Technological advancements, including automation of onboard systems, have become desirable to shipping companies’ due to their contribution to increasing efficiency (Grech, Horberry & Koester, 2008; Progoulaki & Roe, 2011). There is a clear and increasingly pressing need for the sector to increase the technological and human-factors core competencies of crew members to better manage complex, modern maritime vessels that have the potential to deliver catastrophic outcomes. Despite this, the maritime sector is reluctant to adopt new and innovative requirements, including training. This is particularly clear where additional expenditure is required, which is made worse by current economic strains that have led to cost-cutting in the sector (Allianz GCS, 2017). Our research has identified the processing industry as an ideal comparator and knowledge donor (and recipient) as it is considerably further ahead in combating human error through training and assessment and has many similarities with maritime sector. ENHANCE will improve the effectiveness of human factors training in the maritime sector by combining and applying multidisciplinary knowledge, capabilities and world-class facilities to research, create and validate a new approach to high-level, collaborative training, which ultimately reaches the developers and deliverers of training courses and the end users themselves. This project aims to “ENHANCE human performance in complex socio-technical systems” through a validated training and assessment package combining technological and human-factor core competencies. This will enable crew members to better manage complex, modern maritime vessels and be more resilient and adaptive to dynamic operating environments. The aims will be achieved through the following objectives (1) Increase the understanding of the current training practices and the human role in complex socio-technical systems by extensive sharing of knowledge, practices, and experiences among the research institutions, industrial partners across disciplines and countries. (2) Develop and validate improved and effective training and assessment packages - consisting of manuals, protocols, effective use of immersive technologies, online repository, software tools, handbooks - for enhancing the competence of maritime and process operators based on the state-of-the-art of training science. (3) Stimulate the academic community to create a legacy of maritime socio-technical research.
