Engine Room Resource Management
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Off the coast of Port Said, a 397 meter vessel laden with roughly
14,000 containers was
approaching the Suez Canal.
Everything was going according
to plan until suddenly
sea water started flooding
in through the shaft tunnel.
The chief engineer stated the ballast ejectors and main bilge pump.
Within 10 minutes, the water
had filled the entire shaft tunnel.
The engineers retreated
to the engine room
sealing the water
tight door behind them.
The situation became
desperate soon after
as several cable penetrations
gave way in the shaft bulkhead
opening the engine room
to massive flooding.
The Chief Engineer kept close communication with the bridge
warning the Master of the high likelihood of total power loss.
Prioritizing the safety of his
team, he evacuated personnel
from the engine room as
the water continued to rise.
With tug assistance, the vessel
made it to berth five hours later.
The engine room flooded with
14,000 cubic meters of sea water
and all engine room equipment
was completely disabled.
The crew was able to contain a critical situation saving the vessel
from what could have
been a complete disaster
had they not been
following the principles
of Engine Room
Resource Management.
Engine Resource Management,
we can look at it this way.
Machinery and equipment
comes with operating
guidelines and procedures.
Humans, of course, don't.
Machinery will have set
parameters and alarms
to tell you when something is going wrong or may be going wrong.
But again, humans don't.
Although we also have limits.
Putting man and machine
together as the resources
means each has to
be managed properly.
Engine Room Resource Management, or ERM,
is an approach to achieve
safe engineering operations
by managing the
resources of personnel,
equipment, and information
in the machinery space.
In some cases, good ERM
could help save the ship.
In this video you'll learn
Resource Management,
Effective Communication,
Cultural Awareness,
Assertiveness and Leadership,
Motivation,
and Situational Awareness.
We're talking about resources whether on the bridge
or in the engine room.
This could be bridge equipment
or it could be machinery.
The key resources, of course, humans, and how we work together
interacting with each other
without machinery or equipment.
Resource allocation, or resource management, is the scheduling
of activities and resources
while taking into consideration
both the resource availability
and the time required
to complete tasks.
In the engine room, some of the resources available include
engineers, ratings, machinery, automation, and alarms.
Resources to be managed typically fall into one of three categories:
Crew Management,
Plant and Equipment Management,
and Information Management.
Crew Management is how the crew is utilized to safely operate the vessel
during normal operations as well
as during maintenance activities,
abnormal operating
conditions and emergencies.
Engine rooms may be classified as an unmanned machinery space,
UMS,
Periodically Unattended Machinery Space or traditional manning.
It is the Chief Engineer's responsibility
to appropriately manage the workforce to safely support
the needs of the vessel.
This includes appropriately
staffed and trained watches.
No one should be
assigned duties or watch
until they have been
appropriately trained.
Managed work and rest periods.
Fatigue in the workplace needs to be managed beyond just compliant
with rules and regulations.
Consideration should be
given to work conditions
and effectiveness of rest.
Duty engineers need to be
provided with ample rest periods
to compensate for alarms
and after hour call outs.
Commercial pressure
should not influence
the workforce to complete tasks under adverse conditions.
Drills and training should
be conducted regularly
in addition to the required
fire and boat drills,
including training on
equipment operation,
casualty,and emergency
response procedures.
We can say that traditionally engineers have a sense
of what's happening
inside machinery,
much like when your car
makes unusual noises.
It triggers an internal
alarm if you like
because you feel
something is wrong.
Even if an alarm doesn't sound,
you still check you or you feel
that there's a need to check.
Management of Plant and Equipment refers to operating and maintaining
the equipment using sound engineering practices.
Resources should be prioritized
so that higher priority tasks
can be completed in a
safe and timely fashion.
Monitoring and operating
of the equipment,
including periodically
conducting rounds
while observing temperatures, pressures, sounds,
and any abnormal
operating conditions.
Sim ops, or simultaneous
operations, refers to operations
that may occur simultaneously.
For example, one task alone
may be adequately managed
but multiple tasks occurring at
the same time may prove to be
too high of a risk to attempt.
Prior to performing a task, a risk analysis should be conducted
to determine whether or not
the task should be completed
at that particular time.
For example, taking a piece of equipment out of service
during maneuvering
may not be prudent,
or conducting certain maintenance activities at sea where conditions
may be too risky for
personnel or equipment.
Information Management refers
to information gathering
from external sources.
External sources can be equipment, the bridge, shore side management,
and other members of
the engineering team.
Machinery and equipment
provides information
related to its operation including sounds, temperatures, pressures,
flows, and sights.
The bridge and engine
teams share operational
and other pertinent information that could influence the management
of the vessel's equipment
or utilization of resources.
Confined space entry, hot work, oil transfers as well as other operations,
should be communicated.
Foster a culture of reporting
near misses and accidents.
Lessons can be learned and potential future accidents averted
by communicating and
addressing the causes,
of near misses and accidents.
Well, Effective Communication means passing a message
actually receiving a message,
but more importantly,
understanding the information.
Communication is the exchange of information, thoughts, and feelings
and is a core skill essential to effective and safe performance
in the engine room.
It affects team situational awareness, teamwork, and decision making.
Effective communication is not
only how you convey a message
so that it is received and understood, it's also how you listen
to gain the full meaning
of what's being said.
One technique for
avoiding misunderstanding
is Closed Loop Communication.
When the sender gives a message,
the receiver repeats this back.
The sender then confirms the message.
When the receiver incorrectly
repeats the message back,
the sender will say negative and
then repeat the correct message.
If the sender does not get a
reply back, he must repeat it
until the receiver starts
closing the loop.
Communication in the engine
room is slightly more difficult,
as, of course, it's noisy.
Visual communication
becomes more important
but must be agreed beforehand, regards different methods,
signals that are going to be used.
Something important needs to be taken out of the engine room
maybe to the control room where
it can be heard and understood.
Effective communication on a vessel, particularly within the engine room,
is diminished by the
sender and receiver
being removed from each other
making clear and
concise communications
that much more important.
Unnecessary radio chatter can be a distractor to effective communication.
Keep chatter to a minimum.
Watch keepers should notify the chief engineer officer or duty officer
without any hesitation
when in any doubt
of operational safety.
If you are debating, "Should
I tell the chief engineer?"
it is time to call him or her.
Always bear in mind that the chief engineer would rather be called
a number of times unnecessarily
than being called too late once.
If a watch keeper would have any doubt about safe operations,
particularly in the machinery space,
they should stop the
operation immediately.
Have an understanding amongst the team that if somebody perceives
something is going wrong,
then stop the process.
Evaluate the situation
before proceeding.
It may be totally innocent
or there could actually
be something going wrong.
Many ships sail with
multinational crews.
Effective resource management requires the understanding
and respect for the different
cultures of engine room members.
Be sensitive to cultural
differences and similarities.
While many languages may
be spoken aboard the vessel,
be sure to use only the official
vessel language when on duty.
Cultural differences also
extend beyond language
to religious preference,
nutrition choices, and
popular entertainment.
Learn about your shipmates
and their communication styles
so that you can work
more effectively as a team.
Assertiveness means being
able to state your opinion
while still being respectful of others.
It is something that you
develop and strengthen over time.
Many juniors are concerned
that if they assert themselves
their seniors will think of
their behavior as aggressive.
But there is a difference between being assertive and aggressive.
Assertive people state their opinions while still being respectful of others.
Passive people don't
state their opinions at all.
An example of assertiveness
could be a junior officer
warning against maintenance
planned by the Chief Engineer
due to unsafe sea state
or high risk potential.
From a leadership perspective,
Chief Engineers must issue
standing orders that clearly
state their expectations
from staff and advocate the use of defined procedures and checklists.
The standing orders should
also provide guidance
on when the Chief Engineer
should be notified.
Motivating your team, whatever
you do needs to be relevant.
People need to know
why they're doing something
to see the bigger picture,
to understand it's importance.
Showing respect to team members and acknowledging their importance
in successful organizations
goes a long way.
An effective leader must have thorough knowledge of motivational
factors for others.
He must understand the
basic needs of employees,
peers, and his superiors.
Individuals should understand
how their work and actions
support the business goals and how adverse actions can negatively
affect the company.
Appreciation and rewards
are key motivators.
Rewarding good or
exceptional behavior
with a small token of
appreciation, certificate, or letter
can be a great motivator.
Being a role model is also a key motivator that influences people
in reaching their goals.
A leader should set a good
example to ensure his people grow
and achieve their goals.
Encouraging individuals to get involved in planning and important
issues not only motivates them
but also teaches the intricacies
of key decision making.
A meaningful and challenging job accomplished instills a sense
of achievement among employees.
An engineering officer must
adopt a flexible leadership style
in order to motivate the
crew and get the job done.
Well, we can break Situational Awareness down into three areas.
We have perception which is actually what's happening at the time,
comprehension which is understanding exactly
what's going on, and then projection, looking at what might happen
in the future.
Putting those three things
together will maintain
your situational awareness.
Good situational awareness can reduce the potential for human error.
This information empowers crew to intervene by taking preemptive
corrective action to avoid or moderate the severity of incidents.
Use your senses to build a mental picture of your environment
using vision, hearing, and touch
to scan your surroundings.
Then direct your attention to the most important and relevant aspect
of your surroundings,
and compare this experience
with knowledge built
up in your memory.
By matching observations
with knowledge and experience,
you develop an accurate mental picture of your environment.
Keep the mental picture up to date with inputs from the wide range
of real world information
available to you.
Understanding allows
you to think ahead
and project into the
future environment.
This step is crucial in the
decision making process
and requires that your understanding, based on gathered data,
is as accurate as possible.
For example, consider
potential consequences
of casualties and emergencies,
including responses
to various scenarios.
Procedures and checklists,
when combined with
good situational awareness,
will assist the engine room team to assess the current and anticipated
future situation of the vessel.
Engine room resource management ensures that the team uses the
experience, talent, and skill of each member fully in order to maximize
resources for an effective operation.
In this video we learned
utilizing Resource Management
ensures that watches are properly staffed with able crew members.
Fostering a culture
of effective communication
can encourage crew to speak up before something goes wrong.
Cultural awareness will
make a stronger team.
Strong leadership and assertiveness means stating your opinion
while still being respectful.
Motivating crew members
could be as easy as complimenting
a job well done.
And strong situation awareness
can help you identify problems
before they become emergencies.
Training an ERM should
be a continual process.
Working as an effective team doesn't typically come without practice.
ERMs should be a topic of discussion during scheduled meetings
and training sessions
building upon the principles
outlined in this video.