Engine control rooms - Human factors

During recent years a great deal of effort has been expended upon improving the bridge in conjunction with maritime safety. This has been reflected in such areas as bridge resource management training, guidelines produced governing equipment and workstation design etc. Unfortunately less effort has been expended regarding the engine room spaces and control systems. As a result of earlier work one comes to the conclusion that it remains the veritable black hole. In order to achieve an actual contemporary analysis, field studies onboard seven target vessels are planned, representing different shipping conditions: Ice breaker, Car and truck carrier, Tanker, Coastal tonnage, RoRo and RoPax. The total estimated timeline for the project is fourteen months and its constituent activities are direct interviews with engineering crews, field studies and questionnaires. The project is Swedish nationally funded and the participants are SSPA Sweden AB, MSI Design, Chalmers University of Technology, World Maritime University and Kalmar Maritime Academy. © 2007: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects.