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HORIZON FROM THE BRIDGE

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Safety Management Code (ISM Code) and you do not want anything to distract the inter-
the International Ship and Port Facility viewee; you want them to concentrate solely on
Security (ISPS) Code. the interview.
– Provide a sufficiently flexible technique Whether you use a desk or two chairs next to
to allow the customisation of a client’s each other depends on the situation. But a more
management system, Health, Safety and formal setting also concentrates the interview-
Environment (HSE) programs, or related ee’s mind, which is especially useful if you sus- Share
initiatives. pect somebody is potentially an offender.
A standardised, systematic approach to incident Have ready access to any documents you might
investigation allows companies to identify the need: training records, service schedules, emails,
underlying causes of incidents and to make the etc. You do not want to get to a crucial part of the
necessary changes. interview and say you need to find a form – you
Marine incidents, ranging from major accidents want the interview flow to continue. Initially, put the vision?
to near misses, are investigated to establish the the interviewee at ease, ask if they want a drink,
cause of an incident using various analysis tools. and ensure they are comfortable. Next, outline
In this case, a Triangle Analysis of the factors the interview, so they are as relaxed as they can
contributing to marine incidents has ranked be in that setting. You should make mental notes:
human error when handling a vessel’s machin- what is their tone of voice like? Do they look We support the “can do” mind set and the aim
ery, equipment, or outfitting items as the leading you in the eye? Are they nervous and fidgety, or
cause of maritime incidents. are they relaxed and confident? That gives you a for excellence that has built the Greek shipping success story
As shown in the Triangle Analysis diagram below, baseline regarding their normal behaviour. Take
human error and external factors are at the top it steady, don’t rush in and don’t be overawed.
of the triangle, followed by task control issues. Have only one interviewer – any more can be
Further down come problems of process con- overpowering, and you may end up working at
trol and management and organisational con- cross purposes. Note-taking is important, but it
trol issues. An in-depth analysis of the triangle can also be a giveaway if the interviewee is trying
increases awareness of how the organisation to find out what you know. Scribbling furiously
functions, allowing it to develop corrective and indicates they are saying something of interest Maritime Educationional Program for Kids
preventative actions that are more fundamen- to you. So, take notes out of sequence. If the
tal in nature and broader in scope, enabling the interviewee says something interesting, do noth- Sustaining the excellence
company to solve problems once instead of sev- ing; carry on as if you know all about it. Only when Work Study Programs
eral times. they say something innocuous later, pretend that
Conducting interviews with the personnel it is interesting while writing down notes from the
involved: a critical step in incident investigation answer to three questions before. Raising awareness Connecting Maritime
Unlike a management interview, where the man- Ask open questions to which they will need to
ager drives things forward, the dynamics in an answer with more than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Double of the shipping youth with the actual
accident investigation interview are usually quite questions and leading questions are not help- industry, the life and business side
different. As the interviewee might have some- ful. If the person wants to mislead you, they will
thing to hide – they might have done something say whatever is convenient. And if they want to work of seafarers of things
wrong or might be protecting a friend – there is get the interview over with, they will say what-
the potential for a hidden agenda. ever they think you want to hear. So rather than
That means the manager could be under scrutiny, asking, ‘Did you see Fred driving the forklift
even if they do not realise it. The interviewee truck?’ you should ask, “Did you see who was
wants to know what is going on. So, they will driving the forklift truck? If you did, can you iden-
listen very carefully to what is being asked and tify them and say who it was?” That way, you’re Join us
to what is not being asked. They will focus on how giving away no clues.
the interviewer responds to things. And they will A successful interview will lead to information
even see if the interview can be manipulated. verification through which the root causes of an
But, with a careful approach, the interviewer can incident are determined. These will be analysed
still keep the upper hand. later with the triangle method, ultimately reveal-
You cannot blindly go into an interview like this ing the company’s management and organisa-
and hope for the best – you will come unstuck tional issues. Then, by taking measures and
and miss half of the important information being correcting the underlying issues that emerged T +30-211-1195693 +30-6938509893 bridge@project-connect.gr
revealed. So, you have to plan where you are from the root cause analysis, the company will Project Connect – 85 Vouliagmenis Ave, City Plaza, Office 310, Glyfada 16674, Athens, Greece
going and how you will get there. And be pre- ensure there will never be a recurrence of such
pared for surprises on the way. incidents.
The room itself must be somewhere quiet. Police Source: ABS
interview rooms are quite spartan for a reason: Follow us
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