Bridge Ergonomic Design: A Review.

Human error remains the most common cause of marine incidents and it is worth emphasizing that navigator's performance is directly affected by ergonomic factors on the bridge. Studies regarding influence of bridge design and work environment on the operator are rare, thus the main purpose of this paper is to fill in this gap. Documents issued by recognized organizations, research publications and additional sources were reviewed to check if navigators obtain enough support in this area and what should be improved. It was found that present ergonomic guidelines for the bridge design require revision and there is a need for making the regulations more meaningful and direct. The main documents that require reworking include Guidelines on Ergonomics Criteria for Bridge Equipment and Layout, International Convention of Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) as well as selected parts of SOLAS V/15 regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]