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Marine Design, 3-4 September 2014, Coventry, UK


what they are trying to achieve. In these instances likelihood, impact and context is important rather than a simple analysis within a ‘best case’ scenario. Under high workload it is common for even the expert user to stop talking; a practical example of this is when you are driving with a passenger in your car and approach a complex


junction – it is common to drop the


conversation you were having until you finished attending to the task at hand that has demanded your attention. The same can be true on-board ship – this is not


to say that it will happen, simply that it is a


possibility that needs to be considered when looking at the design and the information available to the players in a scenario.


7. A THIRD WAY - SAFETY, EFFECTIVENESS AND COST


The cost of design deficiencies is a matter that is easily forgotten when it comes to weighing up whether to commit funding to changing the design, or instead trying to devise a training or procedural mitigation. Assigning cost to the physical effort required to make the design change is easy, and the cost can be large depending on the nature of the issue and the stage of the design process. However, that cost


is paid only once. Poor


design has a cost every day and every time the deficient system is used – although that may be low each time, it may rapidly add up through a combination of reduced efficiency and additional training


requirements.


However, what is particularly interesting from the HSI perspective is that any design compensation


which requires based on procedure and/or training


introduces uncertainty into the safety argument as it is not possible to be sure that the person will do as trained rather than what is logical when under high workload conditions [10]. For example, how many times have you pulled a door marked ‘push’ simply because it has a handle? No amount of procedure or training will stop that happening. The issues and complexity of response only get more difficult to predict when you scale up the system complexity to marine systems and life at sea, and it is easy to see how relatively small issues with design set up the potential for a Human-System Integration failure.


To date too much emphasis has been placed by the Human Factors industry on the need to do HSI to make things safer. There is now a growing realisation that although this is of course important, that this is only part of


the commercial objective of clients who are in


business. Therefore there is a need to focus on what also matters – the bottom line. HSI saves money, improves safety and performance and can lead to commercial advantage. Although it is not easy to put the benefits of HSI in financial terms the US Air Force for example believe an effective Human Factors programme saves between 40 and 60 times its cost during the life of the system. In one US fighter jet programme alone it has led to cost savings in maintenance, manpower and support


estimated at over $4 Billion [11]. The Canadian


department of National Defence found similar results when they invested $3.3 million across 31 Human Factors programmes. This resulted in an immediate saving of $3.5 million (an immediate 106% return on investment) then $131 million saved through reduced manning; and $2 million saved by the elimination of a shipboard display shown to be unnecessary by the Human Factors programme. For a Human Factors programme which cost $3.3 million it eventually saved $136 million [12].


The structured approach to Human-System Integration has been mandated by the United Kingdom Ministry Of Defence and other governments in defence programmes. Defence programmes have realised the importance in adopting a HSI process in the design phase but it does not solely exist as a defence centric subject and the approach is also found in commercial aviation and other safety critical systems. Coupled with the benefits from the design team perspective it also improves customer satisfaction, supports end-user acceptance of the design, and it reduces design risk by identifying early things that would have been expensive to change later.


8. DISCUSSION


One of the key challenges with realising the benefits of HSI within ship design is the simple but practical issue of ensuring it


Class rules and Safety


is part of the programme make-up. Basic of Life At Sea (SOLAS)


regulation compliance alone do not require that Human Factors is considered within a systematic process. The Human Factors design guidance in isolation is good but the HSI process adds the systematic management of the discipline with the nine domains reflecting the breadth of the discipline and the process management side ensuring things are not missed.


Unless Human Factors considerations are specifically part of the contract and phrased appropriately then it is difficult for


necessary HSI work requirement. In some


ship designers and builders to do the without


cases the understood in the ship design community and is


implemented internally as standard practice by the design team to guide and manage design risk; this benefits the design team. However if specific Human Factors requirements are not included it remains commercially difficult to extend this benefit to the total-life aspect of the system, which is where it will provide maximum benefit to the end user and the client.


The HSI process requirement has existed for several years within defence programmes and procurements and in many instances is mandated for defence acquisition projects. Whilst HSI does have a cost


it is minor in


comparison with the benefits it can offer. If a discipline could reduce total life cost, reduce risk and improve safety one might think it would be a part of every ship


having an associated value


of HSI is


© 2014: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects


C-175


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