Using a design approach to re-analyse the Costa Concordia incident

The paper presents a systematic re-analysis of the Costa Concordia incident using the domains of Human Factors Integration (HFI) completed by undergraduate naval architects. The importance of the human element in the passenger ship industry, from the design stage of a ship to the end of its operational life, has developed through time. Human element considerations are becoming increasingly significant as a tool for creating efficient and safe working environments in the shipping industry. The human element is particularly important for passenger ships due to the number of people, complexity of operations and the resulting complexity of human interaction with the ship and its systems. The work was carried out in collaboration between Lloyd's Register and Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute of the University of Southampton. An applicable understanding of the human element topic was developed using textbooks, public bodies of information and EU project HCD training. Methodologies used by investigative bodies were explored to apply the human element to incidents particularly involving passenger ships. The Costa Concordia public report was reviewed to elicit an extensive event listing. These events were generalised into themes specific to the Costa Concordia incidents. The limitations of current statutory rules and regulations were highlighted against these themes and the domains of (HFI). The results were analysed to identify regulatory shortfalls (gaps, inconsistencies, and limitations), and present the distribution of events and regulations under incident themes and HFI domains. The paper will report these findings.