Project Outline:
Project HORIZON is defining and undertaking scientific methods for measurement of fatigue, in various realistic seagoing scenarios, using bridge, engine-room and cargo simulators. The project is assessing the impact of fatigue on decision-making performance and determining optimal settings for minimising those risks to both ship and seafarer.
Two simulator-equipped institutes are collaborating to ensure that enough runs of sufficient duration are undertaken, to replicate ship-board conditions of operation, with real-life scenarios of voyage, workload and incidents. Specialist input from a stress research institute, skilled in transport operations research, is setting the requirements for fatigue measurement and determining performance degradation of watch-keepers.
Results will be analysed and recommendations made for application by interested parties, including ship owners, maritime regulators and those setting requirements for manning and operation of ships. The output will be a Management Toolkit with software and guidance notes. Involvement of a classification society, seafarer officers union and six stakeholder partners provide expert objectivity of the project and its results, as well as widening routes for dissemination and exploitation.
HORIZON addresses concerns over the increasing losses (human, financial and environmental) of maritime accidents which frequently cite fatigue as a contributory cause and thereby resonates with the objectives and impacts of the work programme. This is a major issue at a time when the high demand for shipping capacity has led to shortages of well-qualified and experienced seafarers.
The project surpasses subjective fatigue studies, highlighting the problem, and will produce validated, statistically robust results for use in decision making, using the toolkit of results and findings. HORIZON thereby impacts on the FP7 aims of increased safety and security, reduced fatalities, with a methodology for reducing human error.
HORIZON has defined a set of Project Objectives|.
One of Warsash Maritime Academy's ship simulators - the Kongsberg polaris Full Mission Bridge Simulator, for use in Horizon.