Situation Awareness and the Decision-Making Process in a Dynamic Situation: Avoiding Collisions at Sea

Abstract

In this study, the authors aim to determine the impact of situation awareness (SA) in the decision-making process of “young” watch officers of a Merchant Marine training facility. The trainees were shown an ambiguous interaction situation in which they could choose among several actions. The results show that Level 1 SA (perception of the elements in the environment) tends to be of secondary importance in decision making. The major variables of the decision-making process are the interpretation of the rules and anticipation of the other vessel's intentions. Moreover, four different trainee “profiles” emerged. The main difference between them lies in the distance at which they decided to change course, the direction of this maneuver (port or starboard), the way in which they interpreted the other vessel's intentions (is it going to change course?), and whether the trainees referred to the rules. Of the trainees, 55% performed a maneuver that was against regulations, and 34% did so in an unsafe manner. This result provides an incentive to rethink the training course to put more stress on recognizing prototypical situations and choosing which actions to take in situations such as the one presented here.