Crew resource management training in the maritime industry: a literature review

Abstract

The study is based on a literature review of recent empirical research on crew resource management (CRM) training in the maritime industry, organised around what non-technical skills to learn and how.The review indicates that existing work is dominated by individualistic theories of learning with less focus on learning as a social process. Five main categories of skills that need to be trained are identified: assertiveness, decision-making, communication, situation awareness and team coordination. We argue that it is necessary to operationalise these broad concepts further, emphasising the work context and crew specific needs. The review also shows that a combination of classroom lectures and simulator-based exercises is commonly used in maritime education and training in these skills. The learning effect seems to be suffering from training programmes that are exported 'as is' from aviation and not adjusted to the maritime domain or to operation-specific needs. This paper also examines maritime crew resource management training from a social learning perspective, involving the view that learning is a context bound, social process that might take place in communities of practice (CoP).A CoP is a group (e.g. a crew) wherein members share an activity and learn from each other. It is argued that CRM training programmes will benefit from including a social learning perspective. Factors that enable the assessment of teams are discussed, and it is argued that the training should be tailored to existing crews, emphasising a learning environment as close to reality as possible.

Leaders’ Influence Tactics for Safety: An Exploratory Study in the Maritime Context

“…Safe, reliable operational performance relies on the systemic safety management strategies [17], collective commitment [12], and the frontline teams' expertise in adapting to and addressing the dynamic situations [18]. As stated by Wahl and Kongsvik [19], "safety needs to be considered as a social and collective accomplishment".…”

Maritime Resource Management: Current Training Approaches and Potential Improvements

“…The articles neither address any aspects of resource management and its impacts within the engine-room department, nor training across department borders. However, Vederhus, et al (2018) and Wahl and Kongsvik (2018) advocate the joint training of crews as a result of their analyses.…”

How do BRM-training participants understand non-technical skills?

“…Some effort has been made to develop preliminary NTS taxonomies and behavioral markers (Conceição et al 2017;O'Connor and Long 2011;Saeed et al 2017). However, reviews in the domain have indicated that there is still a need for further exploration of NTS in this setting (Fjeld et al 2018;Hetherington et al 2006;Wahl and Kongsvik 2018). This could present a challenge for BRM-training providers and assessors, as it may be unclear how skill aspects such as skill contents should be understood.…”

“…NTS are often included as a natural part of Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training (training designed to reduce the chance of errors and increase operational effectiveness in maritime bridge officers and bridge teams). However, recent literature reviews indicate that relatively few studies have been performed on the specifics of bridge officers' NTS, and that there is a need for further exploration (Fjeld et al 2018;Wahl and Kongsvik 2018). For example, Fjeld et al (2018) maintain that both domainspecific skill categories and content are relatively unexplored, while Wahl and Kongsvik (2018) highlight the importance of a further focus on work context and crew-specific needs.…”

“…However, recent literature reviews indicate that relatively few studies have been performed on the specifics of bridge officers' NTS, and that there is a need for further exploration (Fjeld et al 2018;Wahl and Kongsvik 2018). For example, Fjeld et al (2018) maintain that both domainspecific skill categories and content are relatively unexplored, while Wahl and Kongsvik (2018) highlight the importance of a further focus on work context and crew-specific needs. Further, several studies highlight that post-simulation debriefings and participant discussions are important for simulation-based training (Fanning and Gaba 2007).…”