Page 18: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Mar/Apr 2022)

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OPERATIONS DYNAMIC POSITIONING © moxumbic/AdobeStock “DP culture and guidelines need to be constantly renewed and refocused, especially as dif erent missions and clients create dif erent requirements. T e mission is the purpose of the vessel, but operators need to be aware of and guard against degradation of safe DP operation in themselves and others.”

Human systems tend to degrade over time as their suc- in lighting consultants, who carefully discussed what they cess allows other priorities to take precedence until failure were doing with the workers and what they hoped to becomes a problem. We can see this process take place over achieve with each change. Every time they adjusted the time as a cycle in many industries. We have probably seen lighting up or down, operations improved. Eventually, the presentations where a company purposefully short-circuit- lighting engineers ? gured out that it was the reinforcement ed safety systems for “ef? ciency” and got away unharmed, of the importance of the work and the workers before each but we also know of the disasters where others were less change that made the difference. Human-machine systems lucky. Feeling safe increases tolerance of danger. are affected by very human factors. Technical solutions to

Degradation of safe operation is a dangerous and very DP problems are worthwhile, but investing time and at- human path that is enabled by short-term thinking. It is tention in human operations is also critical.

most dangerous when failure is rare but costly. This is the If you are a vessel operator, it is worth reviewing how problem faced by DPOs. DP culture and guidelines need your corporate culture and policies help encourage and to be constantly renewed and refocused, especially as dif- maintain this protection. DPOs need to encourage and ferent missions and clients create different requirements. keep each other sharp, and operators need to support a

The mission is the purpose of the vessel, but operators sense of responsibility, loyalty and agency.

need to be aware of and guard against degradation of safe Designers need to focus on making vital information

DP operation in themselves and others. available and easily interpretable by DPOs. FMEA engi-

A factory wanted to improve its operations and brought neers and surveyors need to focus more on this and help 18 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM