Cognitive correlates of maritime pilots’ human errors

• Published in: Safety science Vol. 165; p. 106196
• Main Authors: Seyfzadehdarabad, Fatemeh, Sadeghi-Firoozabadi, Vahid, Shokri, Omid, Bagheri, Morteza, Sadeghi Firoozabadi, Akram
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Cognitive functions; Human error; Maritime pilot; Maritime safety; Psychological assessment; Sciences sociales & comportementales, psychologie; Social & behavioral sciences, psychology; Vienna test system (VTS); Human error; Vienna test system (VTS); Maritime safety; Maritime pilot; Psychological assessment; Cognitive functions
• ISSN: 0925-7535; 1879-1042; 1879-1042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106196

•Human cognitive deficiency interferes in marine accidents.•Working memory deficits are correlated with maritime pilots’ human errors.•Human error in pilotage is associated with divided attention deficits.•Maritime pilots’ human errors are associated with situational awareness impairment. Human factors are one of the most important factors affecting safety performance in the changing maritime environment, yet maritime pilots’ human errors have not been sufficiently investigated from a psycho-cognitive perspective although they are central to the safe passage of vessels in challenging waterways. Since human error is associated with cognitive functioning, this study aimed to explore cognitive correlates of maritime pilots’ human error history through a causal-comparative design using ex post facto human error data. Thus, based on a sample size calculation, 72 Iranian male maritime pilots were recruited and their performance was assessed by six Vienna Test System tests (working memory [CORSI], focused attention [WAFF], divided attention [WAFG], situational awareness [MR], planning [TOL-F], and time and movement anticipation [ZBA]). Finally, pilots with and without a history of human error were compared based on their performance in cognitive tests using independent samples t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Findings showed that pilots without a history of human error scored significantly higher on working memory, situational awareness, and divided attention (sig = 0.003, 0.002, and 0.028 respectively; P ≤ 0.05). Therefore, as maritime pilots are required to retain and process different arrays of information from different sources, working memory and divided attention deficiency would negatively impact their performance. Situational awareness deficiency was also observed to be associated with pilots’ unsafe behaviors. Overall, these findings demonstrate the cognitive relevance of human error in pilotage and can be consulted for enhancing maritime safety and strategic decision-making on personnel recruitment and development.