The reasons for accidents are many and varied. Accidents can be prompted by any combination of bad issues. Ill designed equipment, foolish systems, tiredness, laziness, arrogance, stupidity, poor training, bad management or leadership etc. An accident is an indicator of a failing elsewhere. It is the symptoms of a wider disease and one that needs treating if it’s going to ever stop.
Statistics vary but around 80% of accidents are due to human. Many seafarers prefer to find things to blame rather than finding the root causes. As regards human factors, safety experts believe there are some basic types of failure. These include simple physical mistakes, lack of attention or memory, mistakes in understanding and there can be deliberate breaches of rules and procedures.
7 things that increase the chance of accidents:
- Short cuts– Yes, the humans are notoriously lazy, so short cuts come naturally.
- Overconfidence– Confidence can be a good trait. But spice that up even ever so slightly and you get overconfidence, which is bad and potentially fatal.
- Poor Seamanship– Seamen is about common sense and that extends to deal with hazards and threats at the earliest point. Be clean, neat, considered, careful and sensible and that is good seamanship.
- Rushing– To do it right the first time, make sure that you have any and all pertinent information.
- Neglecting Safety– Deliberately neglecting a set safety management procedures does not only endanger the individual but the whole crew, the ship, cargo and the company as a whole. Every people are paid to follow safety procedures.
- Mental Distractions– Tiredness, stress, fatigue or day to day distractions and allowing the focus to slip from the job can be lethal. To curb this if the seafarers can’t focus or concentrate, they need to be flagged and action has to be taken.
- Failing to prepare– Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. None can sail without a passage plan, nor should you start the jobs without knowing what to do, when and how.
The above facts are potential forms of root cause, but sometimes just knowing that these issues will undermine safety is not enough, it is about taking these aspects of management and applying them.
Source: Crewtoo
