Chapter 9 Teamwork

Technical questions What is formal leader? An informal leader? Define team. What is group dynamics? List some factors the watch officer must consider when choosing a place to stand while on watch.

Teamwork When things get busy or complicated or confusing, another person with skill and experience can help sort everything out or slow down the pace until we believe that we are back in control. Case study: passenger vessel Noordam collided with bulk carrier Mount Ymitos. There was just no sense of teamwork.

Teamwork defined US: teamwork, EU: bridge team management. A team is a group of people working together toward a common goal. Formal leader: assigned or appointed or designated leader, listed as leader in the organization’s structure. Informal leader: “de facto “or undesignated leader, who win the confidence of their teammates through demonstrated ability.

The captain’s duty Ship captains are always designated leaders; their challenge is to simultaneously become the de facto leader. A ship’s captain is the last true empire on earth. The captain may not always be right, but he or she is always the captain. The crewmembers must be both willing and able to tell the captain when they think he or she is making a mistake. The captain’s decision will be good only if he or she has all the available information.

The crew’s duty The captain is dependent on the rest of the team to get good information when making decisions. Crew have the obligation to tell the captain when they think he or she is making a mistake. A simple factual statement will be sufficient to warn the captain away from danger.

The crew’s duty Case study: Royal Majesty’s mate: “Sir, I have not sighted buoy BB.” USS Greenville’s watch-stander: “Captain, I saw S-13 to be 3,000 yards from us. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s watch officer: ”Captain, I have slowed the ship to 3 knots.” Exxon Valdez’s mate: “Captain, do you know we are operating in autopilot rather than hand steering.”

World Prodigy’s mate: “Captain, would you like me to get another mate on the bridge to help you while I finish the stability calculation?” Oregon Standard’s mate: “Captain, shouldn’t we have one radio tuned to channel 18A?” Questions are asked in a tune of voice that shows respect and are accompanied with other nonverbal cue.

Captain – crew interface The captain has a duty to ensure that he or she gets all relevant information from the team. The best way to do that is to ensure that the lines of communication are always kept open. Share mental model Case study: QE2 When the plans conflicted and the pilot and the captain agreed to make a change, the resulting compromise meant neither plan was used, and the outcome was catastrophe.

Group Dynamics Our bridge team is a group. First, the study of interpersonal relationship for one specific of people. Second, any group will have a leader. Third, the very size of a group has an effect on the relationships among the group members. Fourth, any change in the group’s makeup will change the group as a unit and thus change the dynamics of the group.

Individuals We must take care of other team members. If we are going to put people out in the elements, we should prepare them for that by providing: Adequate foul-weather gear A radio or phone with which to communicate Clear instructions on how to report things. We must also ensure that the lookout gets relieved regularly.

Location The watch officer must be located in a position to be able to carry out his or her many duties: Navigating, Looking out, Supervising the steering, Observing the weather, Traffic avoidance

All watch officers learn to prioritize. All watch officers must earn the respect and encourage the participation of the other watch team members. A good lookout will: tell the OOW every time something seems “not quite right.” A good watch officer will: make sure he or she is always in a position to hear and see the reports of the other team members.

If the pilot and/or the captain are in the wheelhouse, then the watch officer must also be in a position to hear and respond to their directions. Team members should try to be in the right place, they must avoid be in the wrong one. Visitors in the bridge are far more likely to be standing in the wrong place, and most of us are too polite to make them move.

Prejudices We must face the fact that we are all stereotype and must work to overcome these prejudices if we are going to have true teamwork. Mixed crew are going to have problems of language and potential cultural conflict that can disrupt good communications and thus effect teamwork.

The Noordam Case study: Most captains inherently trust most chief mates. The Noordan ‘s chief mate who had limited experience in making this approach. Officers and crews must not keep things secret from the captain. A lookout cannot be looking out in the dark if he has not been able to adapt to the conditions. End of sea voyage(ESV) Speaking a “foreign” language is a sure method to exclude someone from a team and break down teamwork.

Summary Teamwork is the key to successful BRM. Ensuring that there is a complete, shared mental model; Communicating honestly, openly, clearly, and completely; Making everyone feel welcome to contribute to the team effort.

Discussion Questions What prejudices do you have? Where did they originate? What do you do to overcome them? Have you ever sailed in a ship with a crew of differing nationalities? How well (or poorly) did that work? Why?