118
Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
INTRODUCTION: THE CHALLENGES OF
HIGH-SPEED NAVIGATION
a long time ago
When I was a boy, I used to spend my summers at my grandparents in a small coastal
village in the west of Sweden. My grandfather was a fisherman and much of my
time there was spent with him at sea. Just outside the harbour pier there was a reef,
normally hidden by only a few inches of water. Some 20 m further out was the lateral
buoy warning for the danger. However, all native fishermen took a shortcut inside the
buoy, aware of the exact location of the shoal. Only strangers followed the rules of the
road and took the buoy on the right side. One day, when my grandfather was in his
70s, he hit that reef. It was no big deal; the boat heaved over in the water and was then
washed across the rock by the wake. But it was a big embarrassment. For 50 years
he had gone in and out through the pierheads almost every day without problem, and
then a few moments of inattentiveness in an area he knew so well. Does this tell us
something about human behaviour?
three yearS ago
A warm summer night with heavy rain in the archipelago of southern Norway. After
midnight, a water scooter at full speed is heading home after a late-night concert in
a small coastal town. But the driver never returns home to the summer cabin where
the family wait. The next morning the scooter is found crashed on a small island
some distance from the home. The driver is dead, instantly killed on impact with the
rocky island.
The police states that alcohol, darkness and bad visibility have played a role in the
crash: “ It is very hard to manoeuvre at sea in darkness. It can be different from time
to time even if you go the same route”, said the search and rescue leader at the local
police district ( Verdens Gang, 2018). One of the challenges of h igh-speed navigation
is short decision time. We will never know the full reason why this accident happened.
tWo yearS ago
Just before 2 o’clock in a dark and moonless night in August 2019, a fast leisure
boat crashed into a small island in a fjord in middle Norway. The boat was homebound through a fjord and hit a small island just outside the fairway in high speed,
36 knots. Both the driver and the passenger were badly injured by the impact and
later died. The driver was well known in the area and had done the trip many times.
Points of Interest
128
...........................................................................................
Survey
129
...........................................................................................................
Ongoing and Future Development
129
....................................................................
Discussion
130
..............................................................................................................
Conclusion
131
.............................................................................................................
References
132
..............................................................................................................
Sensemaking in Safety Critical and Complex Situations
INTRODUCTION: THE CHALLENGES OF
HIGH-SPEED NAVIGATION
a long time ago
When I was a boy, I used to spend my summers at my grandparents in a small coastal
village in the west of Sweden. My grandfather was a fisherman and much of my
time there was spent with him at sea. Just outside the harbour pier there was a reef,
normally hidden by only a few inches of water. Some 20 m further out was the lateral
buoy warning for the danger. However, all native fishermen took a shortcut inside the
buoy, aware of the exact location of the shoal. Only strangers followed the rules of the
road and took the buoy on the right side. One day, when my grandfather was in his
70s, he hit that reef. It was no big deal; the boat heaved over in the water and was then
washed across the rock by the wake. But it was a big embarrassment. For 50 years
he had gone in and out through the pierheads almost every day without problem, and
then a few moments of inattentiveness in an area he knew so well. Does this tell us
something about human behaviour?
three yearS ago
A warm summer night with heavy rain in the archipelago of southern Norway. After
midnight, a water scooter at full speed is heading home after a late-night concert in
a small coastal town. But the driver never returns home to the summer cabin where
the family wait. The next morning the scooter is found crashed on a small island
some distance from the home. The driver is dead, instantly killed on impact with the
rocky island.
The police states that alcohol, darkness and bad visibility have played a role in the
crash: “ It is very hard to manoeuvre at sea in darkness. It can be different from time
to time even if you go the same route”, said the search and rescue leader at the local
police district ( Verdens Gang, 2018). One of the challenges of h igh-speed navigation
is short decision time. We will never know the full reason why this accident happened.
tWo yearS ago
Just before 2 o’clock in a dark and moonless night in August 2019, a fast leisure
boat crashed into a small island in a fjord in middle Norway. The boat was homebound through a fjord and hit a small island just outside the fairway in high speed,
36 knots. Both the driver and the passenger were badly injured by the impact and
later died. The driver was well known in the area and had done the trip many times.
Points of Interest
128
...........................................................................................
Survey
129
...........................................................................................................
Ongoing and Future Development
129
....................................................................
Discussion
130
..............................................................................................................
Conclusion
131
.............................................................................................................
References
132
..............................................................................................................