COMPATIBILITY OFCOMPATIBILITY OF

SAFETY AND RESCUESAFETY AND RESCUE

EQUIPMENTSEQUIPMENTSor : or : pleading pleading for for distress ergonomics distress ergonomics !!

Communication byadministrateur général(cr)des affaires maritimes

(Rear-Admiral (merchant marine administration ) rtd)

Georges TOURRETpresident of the « Institut maritime de prévention »

(Maritime Prevention Institute)past director of « Bureau enquêtes-accidents / mer »

(Maritime Accidents Investigation Board, France)

* * Technologies for Search, Assistance and Rescue Workshop

Brest - october 18-19-20 , 2004

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BEABEAmermer ((maritime accidents investigation maritime accidents investigation boardboard))

missionsmissions((http://www.beamer-france.http://www.beamer-france.orgorg ) )

available available in in EnglishEnglish

It is the French bodycompetent for technicalinquiries. It actsindependently, accordingto French laws and toaccepted European andinternational norms (01/03/03 law and IMORes. A849/20).

Its mission is to researchthe circumstances andcauses of sea events, inorder to infer from themproposals for theimprovement of maritimesafety, without trying inany way to determinecivil, and even less penal,liability.

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MARITIMEPREVENTIONINSTITUTE

presentationand missions (1) ((http://imp-lorient.http://imp-lorient.comcom ) )

The members of IMPassociation are the stateservices in charge of seamensocial security, theprofessional unions of thelatter, the associations offishing and shippingcompanies, as well aspersonalities renowned fortheir expertise in navigationsafety matters.

IMP records and analyzesworking accidents andprofessional diseases onboard of French vessels, inorder to detect those which,by their importance andrecurrence, deserve thatproposals regarding theconfiguration (of ships),equipment and proceduresare made in order to reducetheir occurrence and/or limittheir consequences.

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MARITIMEPREVENTIONINSTITUTEmissions (2)

IMP also develops analysesmade a priori by examiningon board of fishing andmerchant vessels, outside ofany accidental context,configurations, equipmentsand behaviours in order todetect those which arepotentially dangerous andcould be rectified and, therealso, devises out of theseanalyses proposalspermitting to avoid theoccurrence of such events(prevention) or to limit theirconsequences (protection).

It diffuses the results of itsanalyses throughprofessional communicationsand training actions, duringinitial schooling or duringfurther courses.

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GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE PROBLEMGENERAL OUTLINE OF THE PROBLEM

Most (but not all) safety, distress and rescueequipments are now built to standards, andare very reliable.

Their ergonomics may be considerablyimproved for use in hazardous conditions!

Their simultaneous use, even in normalconditions, remains difficult, because it is nottaken in account during the equipment designprocess.

Distress situations are, also, workingsituations, but they are complex ones, andequipments used in such conditions shouldbe easy to use and compatible.

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Part one

ERGONOMICS

&

« USERFRIENDLINESS »

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MAN IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCEMAN IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCEIN DISTRESS SITUATIONSIN DISTRESS SITUATIONS

In a distress situation, seamen areconfronted, while their capacities arereduced by the deteriorated environment,with a number of unusual and simultaneoustasks :

Save the ship, if possible, Send the required signals, using

radiocommunications and optical devices, Abandon ship, by boarding a lifeboat or

individually, Manage the lifeboat or liferaft, Communicate with the rescue means

despatched in the distress area, Board the rescue units, And so on.

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Efficient ergonomics understanding

the workings mustbe easy tounderstand andmemorize.

The necessarytraining must belimited.

The operatinginstructions andpictograms must beexplicit.

UTILIZATION

Controls must beeasy to access.

They must be sturdy.

They must not, bythemselves,generate accidents.

It is It is not not always thealways thecase !case !

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A A typical example typical example ……

All handheld and water-resistantVHF/GMDSS equipmentsavailable on the market areperfectly up to regulations andtechnically faultless.

Most of them are difficult to test,because a new battery is neededfor every test.

Their use necessitates severalconsecutive operations, difficultto execute in a deterioratedenvironment.

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Part two

INTERCOMPATIBILITY

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equipment compatibility With day to day gear

Safety boots and« VFI »(vêtements de travailà flottabilité intégrée-integratedbuoyancy working clothes).

Integration of alertmeans (EPIRB,flares…) in VFIs.

Etc.

With otheremergencyequipment

Class V liferafts andhydrostatic releaseunits.

Immersion suits andGMDSS approvedhandheld VHF.

Etc.

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typicaltypicalexample example ……

Functionalcontrols are notcompatible withsome immersionsuits, even veryrecentlydesigned ones.

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AnotherAnothertypicaltypical

exampleexample

Few sea professionals know thatEPIRBs transmission is impairedby insulating or reflecting metallicmaterials included in the canopyof many inflatable life rafts andthat these beacons should be letin tow, not taken inside the raft.

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AND WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ?AND WHAT SHALL WE DO NOW ? Pay careful attention to technical

inquiry reports issued by investigationboards (MAIB, BST, BEAmer).

Cross test equipements in a realisticenvironment.

Consult qualified ergonomists duringthe equipment design process.

Periodically meet other manufacturersoperating in related fields and sharelessons learned.

Etc.

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« when imperilled at sea, blame there is not » Yi King