Accounting for human factors in the analysis of maritime accidents

摘要

This paper is a contribution towards the incorporation of the treatment of human and organisational factors in the investigation and reporting of marine accidents. It begins with a brief description of the reporting system proposed by the International Marine Organization (IMO). Based on the definition of a time line for the events that happened in the accident, it is proposed that human and organisational factors should be considered together with the technical failures associated with each accidental event. Additionally it is suggested an outline of a database that classifies the types of human and organisational factors that affect the different accidental events. Finally the applicability of the proposed methodology is illustrated with the analysis of a real marine accident.