Several changes have been made to update Leading for Safety, the MCA’s maritime industry safety guide for senior leaders.
The guide, which has proved popular since its first edition in 2006, sets out several principles and strategies intended to ensure safety, with a focus on the role of leaders and their role in developing safety culture.
Human factors and behaviour play a key role in safety, alongside efficient and effective safety systems and equipment, including decision making, risk assessment and situational awareness.
Changes made to the guide include a section on mental health support, the hierarchy of risk control, and the TDODAR decision-making model, which is a structured framework that helps individuals navigate decision-making processes effectively.
Leaders have a responsibility to influence responsible and proactive behaviour on board vessels, with communications and teamwork being a crucial part of building a positive and safety-conscious environment for crews, passengers and people working at sea.
The MCA’s guide, Leading for Safety, provides useful insights in these areas of safety and management, ensuring that those who lead others are aware of the impact that their actions can have on the culture of safety that is embedded in maritime operations.
As part of the changes, a new Situational Awareness model was developed to help explain how people observe, interpret and respond to what is happening around them. The model guides readers through perception, understanding, projection, action and feedback, illustrating how safe decisions rely on more than simply recognising a hazard.
In a modern maritime environment, where crews must manage increasing amounts of information, technology and operational complexity, maintaining situational awareness remains one of the most important defences against incidents.
Recognising the growing importance of wellbeing at sea, the guide now also includes a practical model for supporting colleagues who may be struggling with their mental health.
Adrian Kawaguchi, Human Element Specialist at the MCA, has been part of the team developing the guidance. He said: “As part of the refresh, several new visual models have been introduced. Developed through collaboration between the Human Element team and MCA Communications, these help illustrate key human element concepts and provide practical advice for seafarers.
“The models reflect the complex psychological and organisational realities and challenges that leaders are faced within modern seafaring; empowering seafarers to cope with these challenges and consistently perform at a high level.”
He added: “While the guidance continues to be rooted in established human element principles, visual models help transform theory into practical tools that seafarers can easily remember and apply.
"The diagrams support the guide in making safety leadership, wellbeing and human factors knowledge more accessible to the modern maritime workforce.”
You can read the guide at: www.gov.uk/guidance/leading-for-safety.