Human Factors course
WrightWay has been conducting Human Factor (Resource Management) courses for 15 years, with up to 27 courses per year. For all of those years all the courses had been company specific, but in March this year WrightWay held its first Open Course. It was a resounding success; in fact WrightWay had been so confident that it would be, that another was already planned. This is scheduled to take place at South Tyneside College, South Shields in the week commencing 12th November 2012. There will be more Open Courses in 2013, and it is possible that due to requests already made, we will need to programme an additional one before the end of this year.
What is Human Factors (Resource Management)?
“The use and co‐ordination of all skills and resources available to the crew to achieve the established goals of a safe, efficient and comfortable voyage”
Additionally, it is now known, in the 21st century, the human element of an operation is the weakest link in the chain of systems, and the human has limitations on performance. Therefore, there is a need to train to achieve an improved response to high stress in high-risk environments. Our standpoint is that to achieve this effectively, one has to practice the same behaviours in what might be called ‘normal’ operations, when there is less stress and less risk.
WrightWay has updated the course content to comply with the requirements of the The Manila amendments to the STCW Convention. In fact of course, we always ensure that the content of any course or intervention meets the needs of the day. Attendance on a course that meets the amended STCW Convention requirements will become a standard part of certification for all officers in the future.
Those attending the March course were from different parts of the maritime industry and included masters of large passenger ferries and both bridge and engineering officers from a very large super yacht. All we ask of the delegates is to be ‘open minded, and ready for change’. It is not easy to change when you know, and have been told, that you are an experienced expert in your field. However, all of the delegates left on Friday lunchtime acknowledging that they had picked up new ‘tools’ for their toolbox, and they also told us that they thoroughly enjoyed the course and that it would be of enormous benefit to them in their work.
During the week there were opportunities for everyone to spend time together away from the classroom and the simulators, and to get to know better those from different parts of the industry. A meaningful consequence of this is that learning from others is achieved both in the learning environment and away from it. One of our philosophies is that everybody can learn something from everybody else. On one evening, WrightWay hosted dinner for all the delegates and facilitators together.
The course consisted of, and will continue to do so, a series of theoretical sessions and at least one session each day using the advanced marine simulation facilities at South Tyneside College. The simulator sessions give delegates the chance to practice the theory that has been covered in the classroom, and make mistakes in a safe environment. The simulator sessions were debriefed primarily by the students themselves using the video and audio recordings of what actually happened, and not what people ‘think’ happened. Sometimes these can be wildly different! Incorporated into the classroom sessions were a series of case studies designed to get the delegates thinking about the causes of, and ways to prevent, the repeat of some real incidents.
By all accounts, the course held in March was received very well, and we expect colleagues of those who attended this first course to be applying for places on the next one.
If you would like to attend this course, which we are sure will help you to become a better and more rounded maritime professional, then please email either enquiries@wrightway.co.uk or petergibb@wrightway.co.uk. We look forward to welcoming you to one of our courses soon.
