Looking After the Human Factor During Challenging Events

Abstract

When approached to write a chapter for this book, the authors initially considered writing on the learning transfer between different safety critical industries, specifically from airport collaborative decision making to port collaborative decision making and how logistics were impacted by recent events. Upon reflection of the authors' research over the past year, it became apparent that a very different chapter was unfolding. Having researched the wellbeing of healthcare workers in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of wellbeing of the human factor in safety critical systems came to the fore. Now is the time to reflect upon where we were during COVID (Wellbeing I) and where we must be (Wellbeing II) to protect our human factor as the critical element in keeping our seas safe, operational, and thriving for the future.