A Classification Society’s View of Human Element Issues

Since the 18th century, Classification Societies have served the public interest, as well as the needs of clients, by promoting the security of life, property, and the natural environment. This has been accomplished primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities.

About ten years ago, ABS recognized that to better fulfill its role, the scope of classification would need to be broadened to address the “human element”. The STCW Convention and the ISM Code established a baseline approach to such concerns, yet ABS recognized that further efforts were needed if significant gains in safety were to be realized.

ABS’ efforts began with research and development activities related to safety assessment, human factors and risk. Since design is a traditional area of concern for Classification, it was logical to begin by providing ergonomic design guidance. In 1998, the “ABS Guidance Notes for the Application of Ergonomics to Marine Systems” were published. This effort was followed by documents addressing Crew Habitability, Passenger Comfort, and the Ergonomics of Navigation Bridge Design.

ABS is now moving beyond simple ergonomic design issues, and is looking into areas such as human fatigue, situation awareness, management and organizational factors, and root cause analysis for incidents. ABS is committed to discovering new means to enhance human and organizational performance - means that will reduce the number of casualties and incidents resulting from human error.

Free downloads of the various ABS Guides can be obtained at: www.eagle.org/rules/downloads.html