Garbage In, Garbage Out.....
People are important and ships need good, qualified, and motivated people to operate well. The use of technology has been introduced into many aspects of ship operation and design in recent years in order to reduce manning levels and costs, and improve operations.
People are important and ships need good, qualified, and motivated people to operate well. The use of technology has been introduced into many aspects of ship operation and design in recent years in order to reduce manning levels and costs, and improve operations.
Previous issues of Alert! have examined Performance Influencing Factors (Issue 2) and Ergonomics (Issue 3), but what of the basic human needs of the Mind, the Body and the ? Today’s maritime employment trends often concentrate on low crew costs, with workloads and living environments that can cause fatigue and frustration. Is this value for money?
One mariner, in a letter to Alert! suggests that the only motivation at sea now is money; that short turn- round times and pressure of work ensure that shore leave is brief and infrequent; and that ethnic and cultural diversity limit social life.
He adds: ‘Seamen are intensely proud of their job, their position, and their uniform yet we are increasingly feeling alienated from the world around us.’ He suggests that ‘the most effective way to treat the human element is to treat the seafarer as a human, with human pride.’
The term Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) is one of the great proverbs of the computer age which says that if invalid, inaccurate or inappropriate data is entered into a system, the resulting output will be invalid, inaccurate or inappropriate. In other words, the quality of the output is directly dependent on the quality of the input.
If we apply this to the maritime human element, the personal output of the mariner is dependant on 7 needs:
- Moral values (Spirit)
- Self actualisation (Spirit)
- Happy & healthy lifestyle (Body)
- Attitude (Mind)
- Safe & secure working environment (Body)
- Competence (Mind)
- Motivation (Mind)
As most shipboard systems depend on some level of human involvement, the human link is a potential frailty that needs to be managed, monitored and nurtured. Healthy, happy, well trained and motivated mariners are essential to the safe running and commercial efficiency of any ship.