Making sense of situational awareness
David Patraiko, Director of Projects for The Nautical Institute, examines what good situational awareness looks like and why it involves every single one of our human senses – including that all-important sixth sense
Good situational awareness is about how you perceive the environment around you, how you understand it and how you are aware of the ways in which that environment will change with time. Good situational awareness is important to humans at all times, but it is especially important to mariners, and navigators in particular. Critical decisions for your own safety and the safety of the ship rely on your having good situational awareness.
For the best situational awareness, it is important to use all your senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch – even taste. Some would argue that good situational awareness also includes an elusive ‘sixth sense’, where a ‘gut feeling’ based on experience can offer real insights. Not all senses are used equally but they must all be taken into account to help us recognise, organise and understand our environment. One report suggests that 30% of our brain cortex is devoted to seeing, 8% to touch and 3% to hearing.
8% to touch and 3% to hearing. On an individual basis, all mariners should use all their senses all the time. Observing the weather will give an indication of predicted ship movement and risks. Hearing an odd sound may give an indication of cargo coming loose – the absence of sound has certainly woken me from sleep (ship blackout)! Smells can warn of burning or leaks, while even taste can be used to identify a contaminated water tank.
On the bridge, situational awareness is crucial for safe navigation and collision avoidance. Sight is used both externally (out the window) and internally (Radar, ECDIS, etc.) and is backed up by the sounds of alarms and VHF and the feel of vibrations, for example when running into shallow water. Changes in smell can indicate problems with cargo.
No ‘I’ in TEAM
When things get busy, it may not be possible for one person to maintain good situational awareness alone. There are just too many things to take account of. Instead, the task must be shared among the team. It may be necessary to have people focused solely on lookout, navigation, communication and collision avoidance. In these cases, all members of the bridge team need to communicate effectively so the officer in charge can maintain overall situational awareness. For example, if the ship is picking up a pilot or approaching a dock, is someone monitoring the other sectors to ensure there are no surprises?
Many accident reports cite loss of situational awareness as the root cause. Good situational awareness is not a state of being; it is an activity that needs to be focused on, discussed, and even trained for. It has many enemies, including boredom, distraction and overload. Most ships ban personal mobile phones for this reason.
Situational awareness is a very human activity involving perception, comprehension and projection. Technology can aid us by offering additional sources of information. However, it can also become confusing if too much emphasis is placed on adding more and more technology for its own sake. Today’s ship’s bridge bristles with more information sources than ever before. Automatic plotting, weather/tidal overlays, MSI and even decision support systems for collision avoidance all aim to help navigators improve their situational awareness. Sometimes they do, but sometimes they can distract.
The amount of data and information will only increase, with some ships already using tools like Lidar, sonar, infrared, low light optics and Augmented Reality (AR) to try to ‘improve’ mariners’ situational awareness. The challenge for the industry will be to develop these systems so they are fit for purpose, and then ensure mariners are well trained in their use and understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Check your understanding
It is important for navigators to focus on ensuring good situational awareness, and to recognise signs of its loss in themselves and others. One positive indicator is that team members are cross-checking systems with other systems or observations. What might this look like in practice?
Do members of the bridge team share information and try to ensure that that they have a shared ‘mental image’? For example, when a lookout observes a light, does the OOW check the radar (or vice versa)?
Does everyone try to anticipate risk and compare ideas about contingency plans?
Do bridge officers monitor the weather against forecasts and try to anticipate how a change in the weather may affect other departments on board and the seaworthiness of the vessel?
Situational awareness, and the lack of it, is not limited to the maritime sector. Most car accidents can be traced to poor situational awareness and most industries have some sort of guidance on best practice. However, good situational awareness is vitally important to mariners in all departments for all tasks, even when asleep.
Take any opportunity to consider how you can increase your own situational awareness, how you can check your understanding of your environment and risks, compare event forecasts with reality and reflect on any differences you may find.