IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN AND ORGANIZATION ERRORS (HOE) IN TANKER OPERATIONS

Human and organization errors (HOE) account for the vast majority of unanticipated significant problems associated with the design, construction, and operation of ships. Approximately 80% of the problems are due to HOE, and approximately 80% of these can be traced to operations. The authors have developed a qualitative and quantitative approach to the evaluation of HOE in the operations of crude carriers. This paper summarized the results of this work in the context of an analysis of the Exxon Valdez incident. The HOE improved management approach if illustrated with evaluation of several alternatives to minimize the frequency of such incidents.