Too much of a good thing? (Safety First).

Last month the SASMEX 2002 conference took place in Amsterdam. One of the papers presented at the conference looked at the subject of information overload and this has to be a subject of increasing concern as vessels are equipped with ever more electronic technology. Very soon AIS transponders

These technological developments are certainly to be welcomed but we must consider the potential dangers of bombarding the officer of the watch (OOW) with too much detailed information, resulting in his "focus" becoming narrowed.

As Capt Richard Dunham, Senior Lecturer, Simulation Section, at Warsash Maritime Centre, points out in his paper, in the past the main source of anti-collision information was the compass, while a large percentage of the OOW's time was spent looking out of the bridge window. Nowadays, the OOW spends his time monitoring the outputs from a bank of computer screens. He knows his position with great accuracy all the time, thanks to GPS. He has information available about the course, speed, and closest point of approach of other ships in the area thanks to ARPA, and with ECDIS his chart management can be automated. Finally AIS will tell him everything about the vessels in close proximity to his. When all the information provided is used effectively, surely shipping will be safer.

However, it has been shown that the more information people receive, the less they feel able to make a decision, and the more information requested before a decision is reached. These effects are given the title "Information Fatigue Syndrome". The symptoms include "a hyper-aroused psychological condition, a paralysis of analytical capacity, and anxiety and self-doubt" leading to "foolish decisions and flawed conclusions".

The solution has to lie in effective Bridge Team Management, and Bridge Resource Management. Good direction from shipping companies, to establish routines and procedures are a significant step in creating a culture of safe navigation. The OOW's job has traditionally been a solitary occupation, and the idea of the Bridge Team is a fairly new one. But, with the increasing complexity of the bridge, and the huge amount of information with which the OOW is now bombarded, there is a need for a team of people to deal with it. However, this will not be carried out effectively unless each person in the team knows what he is responsible for, and what information he will be required to generate. Too much information and the system clogs up, too little and the team might just as well not be there.