Lloyd’s Register Sponsors Human Element Awareness Initiative

Lloyd’s Register is sponsoring a ‘human element awareness’ initiative, to be run by The Nautical Institute. The initiative is expected to run for three years and will aim to raise awareness in the maritime industry about how the human element fits into the design and operation of ships and shipboard equipment. The initiative will bring together knowledge from interdisciplinary sources in the maritime human element field and disseminate it through the publication of a quarterly newsletter, entitled Alert!, and a corresponding web site. The publication, edited by David Squire of The Nautical Institute, will cover a wide variety of professional interests, including ship operation, design, engineering, regulation and training, and will seek to foster an understanding of how the human element applies throughout the industry. Total distribution of the newsletter is expected to be 70,000. Vaughan Pomeroy, Manager of Lloyd’s Register’s Research and Development Department, says: “It is evident that the human element is a significant factor in ship operation, design and maintenance. However, it is also clear that the impact of people on maritime safety is not understood sufficiently by all members of the maritime community. This initiative will seek to bridge that gap in understanding, with the aim of integrating more fully the human element and technology. We are delighted that The Nautical Institute has taken up this challenge.” Captain Robbie Middleton, President of The Nautical Institute, says: “The key to improvement is in the close involvement of all stakeholders to ensure that a ship is ‘fit for purpose’, and that the master and his crew are provided with the proper tools and are adequately trained to be able to conduct their business in a safe and efficient manner. I welcome this initiative of The Nautical Institute, supported by Lloyd’s Register, which, through Alert! and its associated web site, aims to create a common understanding among operational decision makers, both ashore and afloat, of what the human element is and how it can be applied in practice.”