141
Unified Bridge
The standard equipment supply chain and decision-making lies with the ship
owner, the shipyard and the equipment supplier( s). This topic is a different discussion
outside the scope of this chapter, however not without significance for today’s lack of
HF focus in the maritime industry. Typically, the ship owner identifies a need for a
new vessel and asks for an offer from multiple shipyards. The shipyards assemblies
offer from multiple suppliers where the supplier who can meet the requirement at the
lowest cost can sell their product to the builder. The yard with the lowest cost wins
the contract and can commence to build the vessel. There is no focus on a holistic
perspective of what types of equipment should be fitted next to each other or where
the equipment should be placed. The class requirements, which will be discussed
later, are a guideline that leaves plenty of room for individual interpretations both
from shipyard suppliers and surveyors when approving the vessel’s certificates.
Looking into the task analysis ( Kirwan and Ainsworth, 1992) when analysing the
give and take command ( command transfer), the five steps outlined by Marine ( 2014)
were utilized during observations:
1. The trigger points. What triggers the operator to start their task?
To use as an example, transferring command from forward ship bridge
workstation to aft bridge ship bridge workstation. This action is triggered
when the vessel reaches the 5 00 m safety zone around the oil rig and has
been given permission by the rig to approach. However, the decision is not
exclusively made exactly on this border. There is individual decision-making
done by the officer on watch when this transfer is to be activated. What is
known is that it does happen when the vessel is moving towards the oilrig
within the safety zone. Weather conditions such as wind, waves and currents may affect the decisions made, where the decision requires skills and
cognitive processing.
2. Task goal and desired outcome. When do the operators know when this
task is complete? The command transfer starts when the operator ( often the
commanding officer) on the forward ship bridge workstation asks the operator on the aft ship bridge workstation if he/ she is ready to take command of
the vessel. When this is confirmed, the operator on the forward ship bridge
workstation presses the command transfer button and the operator on the
aft bridge workstation must accept the transfer. The system activates and
signalizes both in its graphical user interface by illuminating the buttons on
the levers indication that the aft workstation is in command. This is the cue
for a completed task; however, testing that the vessel is in the new command
position is common, by initiating action to the system to feel the anticipated
vibrations and movements that belong together with operating a vessel.
3. Base knowledge. What do the operator need to know and are expected to
know when initiating this task? The operator must hold knowledge concerning when it is appropriate to transfer the command according to surrounding circumstances such as weather conditions, navigational position and by
communication with the oil rig. In an integrated operation, such as in this
example, where the operator’s origin is from different environments and
cultures, the vessel can be considered as one culture and the oilrig another.
Unified Bridge
The standard equipment supply chain and decision-making lies with the ship
owner, the shipyard and the equipment supplier( s). This topic is a different discussion
outside the scope of this chapter, however not without significance for today’s lack of
HF focus in the maritime industry. Typically, the ship owner identifies a need for a
new vessel and asks for an offer from multiple shipyards. The shipyards assemblies
offer from multiple suppliers where the supplier who can meet the requirement at the
lowest cost can sell their product to the builder. The yard with the lowest cost wins
the contract and can commence to build the vessel. There is no focus on a holistic
perspective of what types of equipment should be fitted next to each other or where
the equipment should be placed. The class requirements, which will be discussed
later, are a guideline that leaves plenty of room for individual interpretations both
from shipyard suppliers and surveyors when approving the vessel’s certificates.
Looking into the task analysis ( Kirwan and Ainsworth, 1992) when analysing the
give and take command ( command transfer), the five steps outlined by Marine ( 2014)
were utilized during observations:
1. The trigger points. What triggers the operator to start their task?
To use as an example, transferring command from forward ship bridge
workstation to aft bridge ship bridge workstation. This action is triggered
when the vessel reaches the 5 00 m safety zone around the oil rig and has
been given permission by the rig to approach. However, the decision is not
exclusively made exactly on this border. There is individual decision-making
done by the officer on watch when this transfer is to be activated. What is
known is that it does happen when the vessel is moving towards the oilrig
within the safety zone. Weather conditions such as wind, waves and currents may affect the decisions made, where the decision requires skills and
cognitive processing.
2. Task goal and desired outcome. When do the operators know when this
task is complete? The command transfer starts when the operator ( often the
commanding officer) on the forward ship bridge workstation asks the operator on the aft ship bridge workstation if he/ she is ready to take command of
the vessel. When this is confirmed, the operator on the forward ship bridge
workstation presses the command transfer button and the operator on the
aft bridge workstation must accept the transfer. The system activates and
signalizes both in its graphical user interface by illuminating the buttons on
the levers indication that the aft workstation is in command. This is the cue
for a completed task; however, testing that the vessel is in the new command
position is common, by initiating action to the system to feel the anticipated
vibrations and movements that belong together with operating a vessel.
3. Base knowledge. What do the operator need to know and are expected to
know when initiating this task? The operator must hold knowledge concerning when it is appropriate to transfer the command according to surrounding circumstances such as weather conditions, navigational position and by
communication with the oil rig. In an integrated operation, such as in this
example, where the operator’s origin is from different environments and
cultures, the vessel can be considered as one culture and the oilrig another.