The support for using the cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) for marine accident investigation

On a ship´s bridge, the deck officer who has the duty of navigating and keeping watch is known as the officer of the watch (OOW). Many of the causes of accidents relate not only to the OOW´s knowledge and capability, but to his or her cognitive process. The cognitive reliability and error analysis method (CREAM) is a technique for analyzing human reliability. The CREAM organizes interactions between humans and the environment by using the human-technology-organization triad. The CREAM defines common performance conditions (CPCs), the dependencies between them, and the links between antecedents and consequences, thus clarifying the background factors that affect human performance. This method has mainly been used in the nuclear industry, but since conditions change across domains, CPCs apply differently to other domains. Based on the considerations above, we have adapted CPCs to maritime collision accidents, and administered a questionnaire to OOWs for the purpose of quantifying the dependency and priority of CPCs. This paper introduces the support for the retrospective analysis of marine accidents.