A socio-technical perspective on the future Vessel Traffic Services

Autonomy is expected to cause significant changes to the Maritime Traffic System (MTS). The Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) is a control system in the MTS and will be affected by new interactions caused by autonomy. The paper proposes a proactive approach in discussing the future VTS. The paper renders the historical development of socio-technical systems theory and argues for systemic evaluation of internal and external consequences of changes in the design of the future VTS. A democratic process to involve people from the various levels of the VTS organisation with different competencies is suggested. To evaluate the consequences of change, a systemic internal and external approach is suggested. For discussing internal consequences, a levelled socio-technical systems model is adapted and applied. External consequences are suggested to be discussed by applying design principles of system-of-systems to understand the interplay between VTS and the MTS

A Primer on the Human Readiness Level Scale (ANSI/HFES 400-2021)

The Human Readiness Level (HRL) Scale is a simple 9-level scale for evaluating, tracking, and communicating the readiness of a technology for safe and effective human use. It is modeled after the well-established Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework that is used throughout the government and industry to communicate the maturity of a technology and to support decision making about technology acquisition. Here we (1) introduce the ANSI/HFES 400-2021 Standard that defines the HRL scale and (2) provide concrete examples of evaluation activities to support the application of HRLs in the development of automated driving systems

Making the case for Crew-Centered Design (CCD) in merchant shipping

Since 2003, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has emphasised the need to address and integrate ergonomics knowledge in a concerted manner. However, there is little guidance on the application of this knowledge in the design of merchant vessels. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the paper identifies the need for crew-centered design (CCD), highlighting the importance of using concepts derived from Human-Centred Design (HCD) to be able to design work spaces and operational procedures that facilitate the work of the crew on board. Drawing upon results obtained from accident analysis (utilising the Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive Errors - TRACEr) and 24 semi-structured interviews, this paper identifies areas in which it could be potentially beneficial to integrate end-users in the design of ships and shipborne operations. This paper further discusses why and how concepts rooted in HCD could be used to improve maritime workspace and interface design, as well as the design of procedures and shipborne operations. However, due to the specifics of the maritime domain, the authors propose that there is the need to expand the HCD perspective, making the design not only fit a single user, but to fit the crew as part of a maritime socio-technical system. The paper discusses that the case for CCD is imperative in the interest of safety, efficiency and even makes economic sense

TRACEr-MAR: Technique for the retrospective & predictive analysis of cognitive errors adapted to the maritime domain

This guidebook is the first of a series of WMU Papers in Maritime and Ocean Affairs. It introduces the Human Error Identification technique TRACEr-Mar (Technique for the Retrospective and predictive Analysis of Cognitive Errors adapted to the Maritime Domain). Modern socio-technical systems had witnessed a complex co-evolution and interaction of both social and technical aspects in the day-to-day reality. However, when an accident occurs in such complex systems, accident causation models always have to simplify the reality and may therefore be limited for fully understanding all the aspects involved in the failing of the maritime socio-technical system involved in that accident. In order to carry out an accident investigation that covers the needs of a particular investigator, different tools exist. A systematic accident analysis requires a full methodological framework consisting of a model to support the focus of the investigation, a related data taxonomy, a methodology for the application of the taxonomy and an outline of the analysis of the findings. This guidebook provides the necessary information for such a framework, TRACEr-Mar, as adapted to the Maritime domain. This framework focusses on human machine interfaces and the related decision making during maritime operations. The guidebook is addressed to practitioners and researchers determined to apply the TRACEr-Mar technique to maritime accident investigations

Strategies and Measures to Improve the Work Environment of Service Crew on Board Swedish Passenger Vessels

This paper presents findings from three workshops focused on the physical, organizational and social work environment of service crew working on board Swedish passenger vessels. The first workshop aimed to identify underlying causes of long-term sick leave among employees in the service department, and potential measures that can be taken to reduce ill-health. The second and third workshop explored knowledge of available methods to identify occupational safety and health risks, and suggest health-promotion strategies at individual, team and company levels. A total of 58 persons from the Swedish maritime cluster participated in the workshops. During the workshops, open and structured brainstorming was used to create affinity diagrams to systematically summarize the identified causes, risks and strategies. Although the results presented in this article stem from a research project focused on Swedish passenger vessels, many of the findings may be transferable to an international maritime setting towards a deeper understanding of seafarers’ work environment and working conditions

Safety within the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Domain. Understanding the role of the VTS for safety within maritime traffic management

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a shore-sided service implemented to promote the safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, and the protection of the marine environment. Its purpose is to work for safe and fluent traffic movements within a determined area, a VTS area. VTS is provided by VTS operators, skilled experts that provide vessels with information and advice, and work for the overall traffic organisation. Although VTS is regulated on an international level there are differences in how the service is provided in between countries, and even VTS centres. This licentiate thesis focuses on understanding the role of the VTS for safety within maritime traffic management. Concepts derived from three bodies of research: High Reliability Organisation (HRO) theory, Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM), and Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE), have been applied to analyse and discuss how safety is constructed, promoted, and can possibly be improved in the light of future demands within the maritime domain.The results show that maritime safety is experienced as a context-dependent condition in which the single operator has a direct impact on the outcome. Maritime safety therefore identified as being actively constructed through the actions of a control system, the Joint Cognitive System of the VTS operator and the decision support system at hand. This system, as it is today, is an unbalanced system in which actions need to be determined based on the “situation-as-it-was”, due to delays in information presentation in the decision support at hand, in contrast to the information on the vessel’s side that represents the “situation-as-it-is”. Although there has been a heavy focus on technical developments within the VTS domain, there is a lack of results when it comes to how or if these tools were implemented and used by the actual VTS operators.Further, the scope of participation within the VTS should be re-evaluated. The international and national authorities need to decide whether VTS is meant to be an effective service regulating the safe and fluent flow of traffic within an area or an information service. More attention needs also to be paid to both the ship-side and the shore-side of the VTS domain. They each reflect one perspective on maritime safety and the function of the VTS. Therefore, they are to be seen as equally important whenever means and measures with the aim to improve maritime safety are introduced within the VTS domain. Finally, more knowledge on what a VTS is and what purpose it serves needs to be fostered in the maritime domain. It is otherwise hard to take advice and trust instructions when there is a wide range of differences in how a services is provided under the same label world-wide

A Matter of Best Practice and Common Sense: Maritime Safety from a Crew Perspective

The concept of maritime safety is widely used in regulations, recommendations and guidelines, e.g. SOLAS (IMO, 1974), in the shipping domain. Various regulators (e.g. IMO, national maritime administrations) define this concept as the overall goal which is to be achieved by measures such as Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS), Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), and fairway design etc. Common is also the introduction of new technology, e.g. decision support systems, with the aim to improve this specific type of safety. To the best of my knowledge, most of the research in the shipping domain connected to safety issues has up to now focused on technology development or on quantitative measures of performance in simulated environments (e.g. Sablowski, 1989; Perdok & Wewerinke, 1995; Hockey et al., 2003; Stitt, 2003; Koester & S\uf8rensen 2004; Hetherington et al., 2006). It has also been a common approach to study maritime safety by assessing the safety culture on board (Ek, Olsson, & Akselsson, 2000) as well as to identify the human element or human error as the root of accidents in this domain (e.g. Schager, 2008; Zachau, 2008). Although there is a large body of quantitative research, the results of these studies fail to explain maritime safety as a concept from a crew perspective. Therefore this qualitative study has been conducted to derive insights in how crew members on board of merchant vessels define, promote and act in relation to the concept maritime safety.The preliminary results of this study indicate that maritime safety from the crew perspective is more than what is stated in legal national and international guidelines, rules and regulations. The work the individual crew member conducts in relation to safety consists of actions taken based on knowledge and experience. The resources and precondition for the work on board are highly dependent on the investments a company is willing to make to promote safety. Further, instead of identifying the human as the failing part in the system, it should be considered that the crew members actively shape and promote maritime safety by the work that they are conducting within the boundaries set by external parties. Finally, rather than introducing more technology, there should be considerations on what type of systems and services are needed to conduct the safety-related activities carried out daily by the crew members to maintain a constant level of safety

The subject, not just an object : Maritime Safety in the Vessel Traffic Service Domain

Although the term maritime safety is widely used in the maritime domain, there is no exact definition of what is included in it. This thesis is an explorative study with focus on the Vessel Traffic Service domain. VTS operators were interviewed and observed to gain insights in how maritime safety is constructed from the perspective of an operator. Further, definitions of maritime safety by central organizations in the maritime domain have been studied through a literature study and several interviews. The results of the study indicate that there is no common definition of the term maritime safety. The organizations generally identify maritime safety as an overall goal or an umbrella term for measures such as traffic separation schemes or fairway design etc. In contrast to this, the analysis of the data obtained indicates that VTS operators define maritime safety as a context-dependent condition which is shaped by their own action. It is concluded that there is a gap between the central actors’ and the VTS operators’ understanding and definition of maritime safety. To increase the overall safety in the maritime domain, there is the need to overcome this gap through constructing common values, norms and identities. Instead of having several definitions of maritime safety, there should be one definition which can capture the fact of safety being a dynamic condition which is shaped by the enactment of reliability through, in this case, the VTS operators. Finally, the VTS as service to the maritime community should be seen as the subject in the construction and promotion of maritime safety, not as just an object

Safety within the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Domain. Understanding the role of the VTS for safety within maritime traffic management

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a shore-sided service implemented to promote the safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, and the protection of the marine environment. Its purpose is to work for safe and fluent traffic movements within a determined area, a VTS area. VTS is provided by VTS operators, skilled experts that provide vessels with information and advice, and work for the overall traffic organisation. Although VTS is regulated on an international level there are differences in how the service is provided in between countries, and even VTS centres. This licentiate thesis focuses on understanding the role of the VTS for safety within maritime traffic management. Concepts derived from three bodies of research: High Reliability Organisation (HRO) theory, Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM), and Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE), have been applied to analyse and discuss how safety is constructed, promoted, and can possibly be improved in the light of future demands within the maritime domain.The results show that maritime safety is experienced as a context-dependent condition in which the single operator has a direct impact on the outcome. Maritime safety therefore identified as being actively constructed through the actions of a control system, the Joint Cognitive System of the VTS operator and the decision support system at hand. This system, as it is today, is an unbalanced system in which actions need to be determined based on the “situation-as-it-was”, due to delays in information presentation in the decision support at hand, in contrast to the information on the vessel’s side that represents the “situation-as-it-is”. Although there has been a heavy focus on technical developments within the VTS domain, there is a lack of results when it comes to how or if these tools were implemented and used by the actual VTS operators.Further, the scope of participation within the VTS should be re-evaluated. The international and national authorities need to decide whether VTS is meant to be an effective service regulating the safe and fluent flow of traffic within an area or an information service. More attention needs also to be paid to both the ship-side and the shore-side of the VTS domain. They each reflect one perspective on maritime safety and the function of the VTS. Therefore, they are to be seen as equally important whenever means and measures with the aim to improve maritime safety are introduced within the VTS domain. Finally, more knowledge on what a VTS is and what purpose it serves needs to be fostered in the maritime domain. It is otherwise hard to take advice and trust instructions when there is a wide range of differences in how a services is provided under the same label world-wide

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS): a maritime information service or traffic control system?

Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) is a shore-side maritime assistance service that supports bridge teams in their safe navigation of port approaches and other areas that present navigational difficulties. The VTS is implemented in national waters and provides vessels with information through transmissions and broadcasts on Very High Frequency (VHF) radio. With a continued growth in the number, size and cargo volumes of merchant vessels, the role of the VTS has recently become a matter of discussion, and it has been argued that changes, such as implementing an aviation-like control system, would be of an enormous benefit for stakeholders and guarantee safe and efficient traffic movements in the future.The complexity of processes in safety-critical domains, such as maritime traffic management, is increasing due to continuing technical, organisational and environmental developments. The VTS is currently undergoing drastic changes, primarily driven by strategies and projects focusing on increasing the overall efficiency of the maritime transportation system through advanced technology. To reduce the risk of unforeseen consequences, it is important to study and understand the service and its contribution to traffic management before changes are implemented. The purpose of this thesis has been to increase the overall understanding of everyday performance of the VTS system and identify ways of modelling the performance of the service, as a contribution to the ongoing debate on the future needs of maritime traffic management.The VTS is described as socio-technical system that controls and manages maritime traffic in port approaches and other areas that pose navigational difficulties for bridge teams. Field data collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and focus groups have been analysed with the aid of concepts derived from Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) and Resilience Engineering (RE) to understand how the VTS actively contributes to safety through monitoring, responding to and anticipating changes in traffic patterns in the VTS area. The data have also been used to model performance variability in everyday operation with the aid of the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). Performance variability is necessary for a system to be adaptive, and is therefore essential for the system’s functioning. By using the FRAM, a new angle of the VTS system has been explored to understand how variability in its functional units affects the overall system performance. The thesis demonstrates the importance of understanding how performance in a socio-technical system can vary and the consequences this may have. The FRAM can be used to analyse the functional design of a socio-technical system, and therefore help to identify and assess ways in which performance variability can be monitored and managed. By understanding the functional design of the VTS system and the complexity of everyday operation, stakeholders will be able to identify advantages and disadvantages of current system design and use this to consider how future demands can best be met