HUMAN ELEMENT
VISION, PRINCIPLES AND GOALS FOR THE ORGANIZATION
(Adopted
on 27 November 1997)
THE
ASSEMBLY,
RECALLING
Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization
concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations and
guidelines concerning maritime safety and the prevention and control of marine
pollution from ships,
RECALLING ALSO resolution
A.680(17), by which it invited Governments to encourage those responsible for
the management and operation of ships to take appropriate steps to develop,
implement and assess safety and pollution-prevention management in accordance
with the Guidelines on management for the safe operation of ships and for
pollution prevention,
RECALLING FURTHER that resolution A.742(18), concerning
guidelines on procedures for the control of operational requirements related to
the safety of ships and pollution prevention, acknowledges the close
relationship between the human element and safety,
BEARING IN MIND resolution A.772(18), concerning fatigue
factors in manning and safety, which aims at increasing awareness of the
complexity of fatigue and encourages all parties involved in ship operations to
take these factors into account when making operational decisions,
ACKNOWLEDGING
the need for increased focus on human-related activities in the safe operation
of ships, and the need to achieve and maintain high standards of safety and
environmental protection for the purpose of significantly reducing maritime
casualties,
ACKNOWLEDGING ALSO that human element issues have been
assigned high priority on the work programme of the Organization because of the
prominent role of the human element in maritime casualties,
HAVING
CONSIDERED the recommendations made by the Maritime Safety Committee at its
sixty-eighth session and by the Marine
Environment Protection Committee at its thirty-ninth session,
1. ADOPTS the Human Element Vision, Principles and
Goals for the Organization, set out in the annex to the present resolution;
2.
INVITES Governments to bring this
resolution to the attention of their representatives who attend meetings of the
Organization for appropriate action, and to encourage those responsible for the
operation and design of ships to take the relevant principles into account when
making design and operational decisions;
3.
REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection
Committee to consider proposals for new or revised instruments or procedures
relating to safety of life at sea or protection of the marine environment
taking into account the annexed human element vision, principles, and goals;
4.
REQUESTS ALSO the Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine Environment
Protection Committee to keep the annexed vision, principles and goals under
review and take action as appropriate.
Annex.
HUMAN ELEMENT VISION, PRINCIPLES AND GOALS
To
significantly enhance maritime safety and the quality of the marine environment
by addressing human element issues to improve performance.
(a)
The human element is a complex multi-dimensional issue that affects maritime
safety and marine environmental protection.
It involves the entire spectrum of human activities performed by ships' crews,
shore-based management, regulatory bodies, recognized organizations, shipyards,
legislators, and other relevant parties, all of whom need to co-operate to
address human element issues effectively;
(b)
the Organization, when developing regulations, should honour the seafarer by
seeking and respecting the opinions of those that do the work at sea;
(c)
effective remedial action following maritime casualties requires a sound
understanding of human element involvement in accident causation. This is
gained by a thorough investigation and systematic analysis of casualties for
contributory factors and the causal chain of events;