b'FOGHORN FOCUS It is also vital to consider ture. With these lessons in mind, companies should consider whether what is being measured is useful and reflects reality, aspects that may affectand more importantly, consider the unintended consequenc-human performance, e.g.,es it could have on other operations and overall safety.RISK ASSESSMENTS:fatigue, energy level, andARE HUMAN FACTORS A PART OF IT?Riskassessmentsareanessentialcomponentofsafety mental/emotional status ofmanagement. Despite often being viewed as a bureaucratic process and hindrance to proper work, risk assessments are those involved in the task.an invaluable tool in safely working on board vessels when done properly by people who understand risk.This understanding is something the UK P&I Club have comply with the regulatory requirements, and the crew isinvested significant resources in developing and promoting either not aware of the risks or is too scared to report them.among our members. Through our dedicated loss preven-It is imperative that the drills are realistic, focused, varied,tion team, we stress the importance of accurate risk assess-interesting, and challenging; and they need to test skills,ments,andoffersupportandguidancetoensurethese knowledge, and responses while giving a scope to improveassessments are as comprehensive and effective as possible.and develop.Thetraditionalriskassessmentprocessadherestoaset Asafetyculturethatpromotescontinuouslearningismethodology. What is the job at hand? What can go wrong? willing to adapt and implement necessary reforms basedWhat is the likelihood of it going wrong? What will the on lessons learned. Such a culture encourages employeesconsequencesbeifsomethinggoeswrong?Whatcould to proactively report issues and concerns, and it uses suchbe done to minimize the risks? After applying mitigating feedback as opportunities to learn. measures, is it now safe to do the job?KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS) However, risk assessments are frequently limited to only You cant improve what you dont measure! consideringthephysicalelementsofthetaskathand, The success of a safety culture is dependent on its thought- andhumanfactorsareoftenoverlooked.Generally,the ful and comprehensive implementation, both onshore andcompetency level of those involved in the task is already on vessels. As a result, when a company decides on its vi- considered; however, it is also vital to consider aspects that sion for implementing a safety culture, it will invariably setmay affect human performance, e.g., fatigue, energy level, goals for what it hopes to accomplish. Consequently, KPIsand mental/emotional status of those involved in the task. will be developed to allow performance to be measured.At the same time, it is also essential not to over-complicate All of this may appear reasonable, but this is where peoplethe process or add more paperwork, but simply add a few can fall victim to unintended consequences.questions to be asked during the risk assessment process.When people are given ill-conceived KPIs, the meeting ofAt times the crew may get over-reliant on generic risk which impacts their career progression and bonuses, thoseassessmentswithoutrealizingtheyarethestarting initialgoodintentionscanbackfire.Ill-consideredKPIspoint. There is also the danger that the risk assessment on safety metrics can foster a culture of fear. On the otherprocess becomes centralized and the crew on board be- hand, incentivizing reporting or setting targets based on thecomes disengaged.minimum number of near-miss reports can result in a large number of pointless suggestions or fabricated scenarios thatINVESTIGATION REPORTS:are not taken seriously by the crew or shore management.IS HUMAN ERROR A ROOT CAUSE?Neither contributes to an accurate picture of what safety isHuman error, according to several investigation reports, is like on board, and it can be detrimental to organizational cul- a common root cause of an incident. This basically empha-FOGHORN 44'