NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
The program described in this report is supported by interagency cooperative agreement no. DTMA91-94-G-00003 between the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Academy of Sciences and grant no. RD-1 between the American Bureau of Shipping and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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Copyright 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON COORDINATED R&D STRATEGIES FOR HUMAN PERFORMANCE TO IMPROVE MARINE OPERATIONS AND SAFETY
HAL W. HENDRICK (chair),
University of Southern California (emeritus), Englewood, Colorado
ROBERT G. BEA,
NAE,University of California, Berkeley
STEPHEN A. FRASHER,
Midland Enterprises, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio
LESLIE J. HUGHES,
North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners' Association, Seattle, Washington
EDWARD V. KELLY,
American Maritime Officers, Washington, D.C.
NAJMEDIN MESHKATI,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
CHARLES R. PILLSBURY,
Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, Maryland
JAMES H. SANBORN,
Polaris Associates, Berwyn, Pennsylvania
STEVEN T. SCALZO,
Foss Maritime Company, Seattle, Washington
STEPHEN F. SCHMIDT,
American President Lines, Ltd. (retired), Coulterville, California
Government Liaisons
JOHN FEDUCIA,
Minerals Management Service, Herndon, Virginia
ALEXANDER C. LANDSBURG,
Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C.
MARC MANDLER,
Research and Development Center, U.S. Coast Guard, Groton, Connecticut
WILLIAM H. MOORE,
American Bureau of Shipping, New York, New York
GEORGE WRIGHT,
Design and Engineering Standards Division, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C.
Staff
BEVERLY M. HUEY, Senior Project Officer
EILEEN C. TOLSON, Administrative Assistant
NAE |
, National Academy of Engineering. |
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN PERFORMANCE, ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS, AND MARITIME SAFETY
JAMES S. GRACEY (chair),
U.S. Coast Guard (retired), Arlington, Virginia
JERRY A. ASPLAND,
California Maritime Academy, Vallejo
ROBERT G. BEA,
NAE,University of California, Berkeley
HAL W. HENDRICK,
University of Southern California (emeritus), Englewood, Colorado
PHYLLIS J. KAYTEN,
Federal Aviation Administration, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
EDWARD V. KELLY,
American Maritime Officers, Washington, D.C.
NAJMEDIN MESHKATI,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
CHARLES R. PILLSBURY,
Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Linthicum Heights, Maryland
HAROLD E. PRICE,
Essex Corporation (retired), Tijeras, New Mexico
KARLENE ROBERTS,
University of California, Berkeley
KARL E. WEICK,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Corresponding Member
JAMES REASON,
University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Staff
BEVERLY M. HUEY, Senior Project Officer
EILEEN C. TOLSON, Administrative Assistant
NAE |
, National Academy of Engineering. |
MARINE BOARD
JAMES M. COLEMAN (chair),
NAE,Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
JERRY A. ASPLAND (vice chair),
California Maritime Academy, Vallejo
BERNHARD J. ABRAHAMSSON,
University of Wisconsin, Superior
BROCK B. BERNSTEIN,
EcoAnalysis, Ojai, California
LILLIAN C. BORRONE,
NAE, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York, New York
SARAH CHASIS,
Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, New York
CHRYSSOSTOMOS CHRYSSOSTOMIDIS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
BILIANA CICIN-SAIN,
University of Delaware, Newark
BILLY L. EDGE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
JOHN W. FARRINGTON,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
MARTHA GRABOWSKI,
Le Moyne College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cazenovia, New York
JAMES D. MURFF,
Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, Texas
M. ELISABETH PATÉ-CORNELL,
NAE,Stanford University, Stanford, California
DONALD W. PRITCHARD,
NAE, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Severna Park, Maryland
STEVEN T. SCALZO,
Foss Maritime Company, Seattle, Washington
MALCOLM L. SPAULDING,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
ROD VULOVIC,
Sea-Land Service, Charlotte, North Carolina
E.G. “SKIP” WARD,
Shell Offshore, Houston, Texas
Staff
PETER JOHNSON, Acting Director
AURORE BLECK, Administrative Assistant
NAE |
, National Academy of Engineering. |
Preface
PREVENTION THROUGH PEOPLE PROGRAM
Historically, the U.S. Coast Guard has used the enforcement of regulations and the development of international standards for promoting safety and minimizing the frequency and consequences of marine accidents. Recently, the Coast Guard has renewed and enhanced its experimentation with alternatives to regulations (such as partnerships) as a means of promoting safe operations and preventing accidents. Moreover, documentation is now available on the role of people in a majority of accidents and incidents. These reports have determined that major strides in system safety must include dedicated and sustained efforts to address the role of people (including organizational management and regulations) within the context of the entire marine system, regardless of fleet (e.g., cargo, passenger, fishing, towing). In response to these conclusions, the Coast Guard developed the concept of “prevention through people.” However, a basis for undertaking research on human performance and organizational management to make system improvements had yet to be developed in the maritime industry. In an attempt to fill this gap, the Coast Guard established a quality action team (QAT) to examine this issue and develop the concept of prevention through people into a long-term program to refocus prevention efforts on human behavior.
The Coast Guard's QAT report was issued on July 15, 1995, and the subsequent Prevention Through People (PTP) implementation plan, was first released on April 1, 1996. These have provided a foundation for intensifying work on human and organizational factors. The implementation plan for the PTP program lays out a vision statement, presents a set of principles and goals, and identifies current and future objectives and activities for each identified goal. The Coast Guard believes that if these objectives are met, there will be a concomitant reduction in maritime accidents—specifically, in the number of fatalities and injuries and in pollution from accidents.
The Waterways and Marine Safety Division of the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development (R&D) Center is responsible for the Coast Guard's Human Factors R&D Program. The division has a variety of research activities under way at any given time, but the extent to which these activities align with PTP program objectives has not been documented. Therefore, the Coast Guard requested that the National Research Council address this question. The Subcommittee on Coordinated R&D Strategies for Human Performance to Improve Marine Operations and Safety, was appointed. Half of the subcommittee comprised members of the parent committee (the Marine Board's Committee on Human Performance, Organizational Systems, and Marine Safety) and half comprised individuals with expertise in maritime sectors, such as towing and fishing.
SCOPE AND METHODS OF THE STUDY
The subcommittee operated under the auspices of the parent committee, which had been asked to convene a series of workshops or symposia with several goals in mind: (a) to assist the marine and offshore industries in identifying the elements of human performance and organizational systems that could improve safety and reliability within these industries; (b) to suggest approaches for implementing relevant results; and (c) to open lines of communication to facilitate the effective implementation of the results.
The task of the subcommittee was to assess the Coast Guard's Human Factors R&D Program to determine whether it is aligned with the objectives of the PTP program. To accomplish this, the subcommittee met twice to review the Coast Guard's QAT report, the PTP implementation plan, and the Human Factors R&D Program plan. The meetings included briefings by representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection and the Waterways and Marine Safety Division of the U.S. Coast Guard R&D Center. After these briefings, the subcommittee briefly reviewed each goal of the PTP implementation plan; assessed the objectives, both current and future, of each goal; and discussed ways to strengthen the technical foundation of the PTP program.
The subcommittee began its discussions by examining the current and planned activities of the Coast Guard's Human Factors R&D Program. This examination revealed that more human factors R&D was needed to support the objectives of the PTP program. It also revealed, however, that steps outside the realm of traditional basic and applied research could be taken to improve the technical foundation of the PTP program. In this report, these steps are called “development activities,” although some of them are bound to raise issues that will have to be addressed through research. The subcommittee believes that the development activities will provide insights into expanding and implementing the PTP program and may garner industry support, which is essential for the long-term improvement of marine safety.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT
This report presents the results of the subcommittee's work. Following an introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 provides a brief assessment of the relevant Coast Guard documents. Chapter 3 makes observations on development activities that could strengthen the technical foundation of the PTP program. Chapter 4 identifies and assesses R&D activities that could help align the Human Factors R&D Program with, and provide additional support for, the PTP program. The report also has two appendices: Appendix A presents biographical information on subcommittee members; Appendix B describes ongoing Coast Guard human factors projects.