HE01280 - On future ship safety – people, complexity and systems
This paper considers the characteristics of risk and the important influences of the human element, innovative solutions and complex engineered systems on the future of maritime safety. Residual risk remains once all practicable steps have been taken to manage the risks.
This paper considers the characteristics of risk and the important influences of the human
element, innovative solutions and complex engineered systems on the future of maritime
safety. Residual risk remains once all practicable steps have been taken to manage the
risks associated with any undertaking.For complex engineered systems,and these include
modern merchantships,there will always be a limit on the attainable level of safety,where
human performance and technical issues such as complexity and novelty will dominate
the residual risk and the causes of incidents. Recent work has also shown a divergence
between the historical record and the perception of risks held by a range of maritime
professionals.This divergence may explain some of the maritime incidents that appear to
be the consequence of apparently inexplicable acts.
The paper sets outsome of the issues relating to residual risk.It concludes by considering
the future of ship safety, and the effective regulation of safety for future ships, taking into
consideration people, systems and the management of risk.