As an industry we are aware of the requirements to undertake Crew Resource Management (CRM) training, but how much do we really understand and think about non-technical skills (NTS) in day-to-day routines?
Non-technical skills can be divided into three categories:
- Social Skills (teamwork, communications, leadership)
- Cognitive Skills (situation awareness, decision making, cognitive readiness, task management)
- Personal Management Skills (managing stress and fatigue)
Alongside technical knowledge, these skills enable safe and effective work performance. The value of NTS was first recognised in the aviation industry where, despite the development of more reliable technology, the accident rate did not reduce as expected. After research identified that more than 70% of incidents were linked to human factors it was clear that training in non-technical skills was needed. This developed into Crew Resource Management which has since caught on in the maritime industry. CRM encompasses NTS but also works with other elements such as threat and error management, resilience, and culture.
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) annual overview of casualties states the percentage of contributing factors related to the human element was 81.1% for the year 2022. For some types of ships this increases to 87.5%. Such a high statistic shows the importance of people being not only technically competent but being equipped with the right NTS for supporting safe operations.
Past studies show that there are some specific non-technical skills that need extra attention. In a review of 100 shipping incidents, it was found that 71% of human errors were connected to situation awareness lapses, and 42% of errors to communication issues (Hetherington et. al., 2006). This is reinforced when we dig deeper into recent incident reports. For example, we have seen that distractions such as mobile phone usage on the bridge can lead to situation awareness lapses causing substantial damages. Incomplete information or instances where crew are reluctant to speak up or ask for clarification (often due to issues of hierarchy) are also commonly identified.
We could question whether we see the results that we want from CRM training. Are we following up on the training to see how effective it has been in terms of influencing operations onboard the vessel? We are still seeing accidents and the same issues reoccurring. Maybe we need to consider the way that we arrange the training? We tend to send people on a course during their leave and it might be weeks or months before they are back onboard a vessel where they are then expected to apply the learning. Courses are also often seen as an exercise to gain a certificate, conducted over a few days, rather than taking a continuous development approach. Additionally, the normal work environment is not the same as a classroom-based/simulator course. It takes time to change behaviour and therefore we need to implement more constant learning techniques in our normal work environment. Perhaps it is time to rethink and revise!
