For the Safe Passage

Navigation & Bridge Team Management Assessment and Corrective Advice:

Automation Compliance is directly proportional to Human Complacence. We at Big Dipper have seen the changes taking place over the last 40 years. From a Cathode Tube Radar Screen, a Magnetic Compass to steer with by Hand, taking Sextant sights to ascertain position, we have come to Integrated Navigation System with ECDIS giving command to Auto Pilot in Restricted waters. Yet ships are colliding, Navigational accidents are happening nearly at the same rate as before.

To deal with the situation, OCMIF have came up with Static and Dynamic Navigation Assessment, very distinct from an ISM Audit. Here we will be assessing the Hard Skills (Navigational Knowledge Base and its application) as well as the Soft Skills of working in tandem (Bridge Team Management). It has nothing to do with record keeping, legal compliance, equipment maintenance etc, but the business of Safe Navigation as executed by the Bridge Team.
As well as measuring the Standards of Navigation and Bridge Resource Management on Vessels, the output of Data collected, shall be put to immediate use as Advice to the team, and later reported to Organizations for inclusion into Simulator Scenarios for training purposes.

Our assessments are not carrying the whip around the bridge and ticking boxes. It is more about reminding the Bridge Team what they already know but swamped by inconvenient data bombarding them all the time. Emphasis is to know what to use when, and a quick look at Manual Comparison to detect anomaly and then access further data as and when necessary. Some of the Notable Ship-owners and Operators have woken up to this reality, and are willing to invest to close the gap between Pre and Post Automation age. Our knowledge and experience posts us exactly on that gap as a bridge.The Static Assessment is done on a Port Call, and Dynamic Assessment is done on short coastal voyages with our personnel sailing as a Supernumery.