Security of life starts with improving the safety and well-being of personnel through an understanding of their capabilities and limitations. This understanding is then incorporated into design practices and principles.
The ABS Safety and Human Factors group has been active in developing maritime industry safety, human factors and ergonomics guidance documents. The ergonomics model below demonstrates the ABS approach to support the achievement of operational safety and performance excellence. This model captures important elements that affect safety and efficiency in job performance, vessel or offshore installation design and layout considerations, workplace environmental elements, management and organizational issues related to operations, and the personnel who operate the offshore asset.
The focus of the ABS Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Group is on the design of the human-system interface and the corporate guidance which supports daily work practices. This includes interfaces between personnel (shore-side support and those onboard the ship or installation), the hardware, the physical environment, and the overall work system (e.g., its structure, management, policies, and procedures). All HFE activities support these interfaces because design efforts without human factors / ergonomics considerations can result in designs or processes that encourage human error. By applying the sound ergonomic practices and principles developed and published by the HFE Group, within the context of design processes and corporate practices allows for improved safety, productivity, and efficiency.
To find out more about the ABS HFE Group and additional ABS activities please visit ABS HFE Group.