137
Unified Bridge
Human–machine interface ( HMI) work has a long history in maritime settings
but is often given low priority due to economic pressures and perceived increased
development time. The economic aspects play an important role in a vessel’s lifecycle
and issues concerning HMI and usability are, in many cases, not a part of the discussion until late in the cycle when it is too late and too expensive to make vital changes
to implement an optimal solution. An overall increased mental load when operating
a system is tiring and leaves less mental capacity to handle safety-critical events.
Poorly fitted equipment combined with low usability causes a long-term problem for
the operators. The overall aim of this particular project was to lower the operator’s
cognitive load and make the workflow on the ship bridge more efficient.
The project’s objective and main requirement were:
To increase operational safety of demanding offshore operations through:
– A complete re-design of the ship bridge environment ( levers, chairs, consoles and
software interfaces), incorporating human factors, ergonomics and usability as
the base foundation for development.
– Introducing a more comfortable and safe working environment for the operators.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Traditional ship bridges are often cluttered with equipment, buttons and levers. The
placement often depends on who arrived first to install their equipment at the shipyard. With no holistic focus on where to place equipment, it is either just randomly
placed somewhere in the consoles, placed according to a setup from the ship design
supplier without any thought of operational environment or placed according to. the
wish of the captain on duty that day. When asked, the crew often reply that they have
concerns, but that the concerns are just “ silly details” or “ luxury problems”. It is
worth reflecting on the fact that the operators in this study tended to downgrade their
own perceptions, which can affect the safety on board and the ability to understand
when “ the point of no return” occurs when entering a critical situation.
However, it soon becomes clear that while the individual problems might be small,
there are usually many of them, and as they start to pile up they add unnecessarily to
the operator’s mental workload. The sum of small insignificant issues makes holes in
the barriers defending against accidents, thus the saying “ For want of a nail a kingdom
was lost” should be used here as well, all insignificant issues may become significant
during an accident when time is limited and sensemaking must be performed based
on many different cues. When taking all the silly details and luxury problems into
account, it was possible to create a ship bridge concept that will improve sensemaking, operational safety and comfort on board during demanding offshore operations.
THE USER-CENTRED DESIGN PROCESS AND DESIGN THINKING
The methodology of design thinking and the process of user-centred design are two
similar ways of emphasizing and understanding the user from the user’s perspective.
The user-centred design process is based on the ISO 9241-210:2019 standard that
outlines the core principles of user-centred design but with a focus towards digital
interfaces, human computer interaction and digital processes ( ISO 9241-210, 2019).
Unified Bridge
Human–machine interface ( HMI) work has a long history in maritime settings
but is often given low priority due to economic pressures and perceived increased
development time. The economic aspects play an important role in a vessel’s lifecycle
and issues concerning HMI and usability are, in many cases, not a part of the discussion until late in the cycle when it is too late and too expensive to make vital changes
to implement an optimal solution. An overall increased mental load when operating
a system is tiring and leaves less mental capacity to handle safety-critical events.
Poorly fitted equipment combined with low usability causes a long-term problem for
the operators. The overall aim of this particular project was to lower the operator’s
cognitive load and make the workflow on the ship bridge more efficient.
The project’s objective and main requirement were:
To increase operational safety of demanding offshore operations through:
– A complete re-design of the ship bridge environment ( levers, chairs, consoles and
software interfaces), incorporating human factors, ergonomics and usability as
the base foundation for development.
– Introducing a more comfortable and safe working environment for the operators.
IN PERSPECTIVE
Traditional ship bridges are often cluttered with equipment, buttons and levers. The
placement often depends on who arrived first to install their equipment at the shipyard. With no holistic focus on where to place equipment, it is either just randomly
placed somewhere in the consoles, placed according to a setup from the ship design
supplier without any thought of operational environment or placed according to. the
wish of the captain on duty that day. When asked, the crew often reply that they have
concerns, but that the concerns are just “ silly details” or “ luxury problems”. It is
worth reflecting on the fact that the operators in this study tended to downgrade their
own perceptions, which can affect the safety on board and the ability to understand
when “ the point of no return” occurs when entering a critical situation.
However, it soon becomes clear that while the individual problems might be small,
there are usually many of them, and as they start to pile up they add unnecessarily to
the operator’s mental workload. The sum of small insignificant issues makes holes in
the barriers defending against accidents, thus the saying “ For want of a nail a kingdom
was lost” should be used here as well, all insignificant issues may become significant
during an accident when time is limited and sensemaking must be performed based
on many different cues. When taking all the silly details and luxury problems into
account, it was possible to create a ship bridge concept that will improve sensemaking, operational safety and comfort on board during demanding offshore operations.
THE USER-CENTRED DESIGN PROCESS AND DESIGN THINKING
The methodology of design thinking and the process of user-centred design are two
similar ways of emphasizing and understanding the user from the user’s perspective.
The user-centred design process is based on the ISO 9241-210:2019 standard that
outlines the core principles of user-centred design but with a focus towards digital
interfaces, human computer interaction and digital processes ( ISO 9241-210, 2019).