Competency in ECDIS navigation

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Competency in ECDIS navigation

• Christian Hempstead

e-Navigation Conference 2010
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• Navigation (generally)

• Transit from Point A to Point B safely
• Includes at-sea passage route planning
• Depart point, present moment, destination
• In-port with pilot aboard
• Familiar vessel power plant
• Familiar navigation system

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Consider these necessities of skillful use of
ECDIS/ECS

• Increasingly carried on vessels under pilotage
• Certification of all watch officers
• Ships usage may impact pilots decision making
• Expanding legal regulatory expectations
  (trained crew, no-sail fault, etc.)

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Most of all, the skillful use of ECDIS/ECS

• Depends on hours of no-consequence practice under
  pilotage conditions
• Can include the 2-second glance while
  preserving micro visual perception
• Requires the non-distracting awareness of
  ambiguities in displayed information

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The overarching goal in competency-based ECDIS
training is the successful demonstration of safe
navigation with ECDIS.
What STCW now requires
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• Results of incorrectly performed actions and
  skills

• Personal injury or loss of life
• Harm to the environment
• Significant damage to equipment

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Critical ECDIS competencies

• In marine piloting and navigation, this means
• Grounding
• Allision
• Collision
• Near misses

• So, we continue to avoid these by practicing
  critical competencies with ECDIS/ECS.

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3 critical ECDIS competencies

• Maintaining situational awareness while using
  ECDIS
• including confirmation of primary position
  sensor accuracy by alternate means

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3 critical ECDIS competencies

• Safe monitoring of displayed information
• including the efficient adjustment to changing
  conditions

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3 critical ECDIS competencies

• Use of ECDIS functions involving the integration
  with other sensors
• including AIS, ARPA and radar overlay , (when
  fitted and connected)

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Some distinctions with ECDIS

• Proficiencies (actions)
• lead to
• Task Groups (middle skills)
• which lead to
• Critical competencies
• which are assessed

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So, how do navigators get good at doing this?
Middle skills
Task Groups
Critical Competencies
ACTIONS
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Proficiencies are

• 90 tasks organized by their priority to
  piloting navigation
• Broadly sequenced as
• Basic
• Presentation of Display
• Intermediate
• Navigator

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Navigation with ECDIS includes

• Underway transits
• Track monitoring
• Traffic management
• Passage planning
• Use of Track Control in autopilot

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• Defining middle skills creates access to the big,
  complex skills of the critical competencies

• route monitoring
• correlation with the visual scene
• an informative and unambiguous display

and
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• more middle skills

• sensors working and connected and used
• anti-grounding alarms set
• settings adapted to changing conditions
• route planning safety checks
• user layers applied
• appropriate updated chart portfolios

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• For example, Active monitoring is a middle skill

• Navigation is still visual and analytical
• Active monitoring produces valid reliance
• Verify displayed information
• Adapt settings to conditions
• Detect ambiguities practice backups

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10 Task Groups
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Assessing ECDIS competencies

• The instructors role is to
• Demonstrate tasks, and structure the practice
• Observe and analyze each trainees ECDIS
  navigation in a non-disruptive yet detailed
  manner
• Score the effectiveness of ECDIS use as the
  trainee applies the tasks
• Tally the scored tasks by groups

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Assessing ECDIS competencies

• Sample ECDIS score sheet
• Task groups 1-5

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Assessing ECDIS competencies

• Sample ECDIS score sheet
• Task groups 5-10

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Assessing ECDIS competencies

• Sample ECDIS evaluation tally
• Taskgroups1-10tallied

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Achieving the objective

• The training objective is simple Show me safe
  navigation using ECDIS
• The skills are numerous, the tasks focused
• The integration of ECDIS skills with piloting
  tasks takes time and practice

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Achieving the objective

• The assessment of effective ECDIS use requires
  the context of coastal and confined navigation in
  visual ship piloting
• Anything unsafe likely is the result of less than
  competent ECDIS navigation

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In conclusion
In piloting with ECDIS,there really is no middle
ground You are either safe, or unsafe, or
lucky for a while.

• Demonstrate the safe and effective inclusion of
  ECDIS while piloting.
• Everyone happy.

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Thank you for your attention!

• Christian Hempsteadhempsteadc_at_usmma.edu

E-Navigation conference - 2010