The 2nd version of HELMET methodology was released to the committee members for final review. The updated methodology incorporates feedback and suggestions from the committee, and it is anticipated to be finalised within the mid of February.

Prevention at Sea to host INTERCARGO-supported webinar on ‘H.EL.M.E.T. – Human ELement Maritime Enhancement Tool: a human-centered risk assessment targeting compliance and a safe business culture in the dry sector’

In the upcoming ‘H.EL.M.E.T. – Human ELement Maritime Enhancement Tool Webinar’ representatives from INTERCARGO, Prevention at Sea, Maran Dry Management and the European University of Cyprus will voice their views on shipping industry safety approaches and discuss the importance of the human element. Plans and progressions for the H.EL.M.E.T. tool and its methodology in 2021 will also be presented.

As the industry evolves, stakeholders are recognising the need to recentre around the human element and increase proactivity in nurturing a safe business culture. To enhance the human element, safety in the shipping industry needs to move away from the current ‘tick box’ culture, with greater emphasis placed on a proactive approach which puts people at the centre.

With the aim of detecting inefficient operational practices at an early stage before they can escalate into major incidents, the Human ELement Maritime Enhancement Tool (H.EL.M.E.T.) developed by Prevention at Sea represents a simple, practical, and effective methodology for risk assessment that can prevent safety incidents before they occur.

H.EL.M.E.T. is a continuous compliance program and represents a simple, practical, and effective methodology for risk assessment. It incorporates the development and conduction of assessments aiming towards the combined evaluation of the condition and the identification of potential human-born failures targeting optimisation of the human element in the maritime industry.

The use of this tool is supported by the H.EL.M.E.T. Committee, a group of well-respected industry stakeholders, who hold the joint ambition to ultimately re-establish a genuine, industry-wide commitment to a ‘safe business culture’.

Webinar agenda:
Introduction from Mr. Paul Markides, Marine-Quality Manager at INTERCARGO
Presentation by Mr. Petros Achtypis, CEO at PREVENTION AT SEA
Presentation by Capt. Panagiotis Nikiteas, HSQE / DPA / CSO at MARAN DRY MANAGEMENT INC
Presentation by Prof. George Boustras, Professor Risk Assessment at the EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS

To register for the 1-hour webinar ‘H.EL.M.E.T. – Human ELement Maritime Enhancement Tool Webinar’ on Thursday January 28, 2021 at 11.00 GMT, CLICK HERE

Capt. Nikiteas was unanimously re-elected as the H.EL.M.E.T. committee’s chairperson for another 2 years.

The 2nd annual meeting took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic limitations. The committee was briefed on the H.EL.M.E.T. progress within 2020 and has set the roadmap for 2021.

On 27/11/2020, a small group of H.EL.M.E.T. committee members came together to exchange opinions and expertise in shaping the training scheme of H.EL.M.E.T. Assessors. The scope of work included the following:
• definition of the assessors’ qualifications (prerequisites), focusing on more practical aspects such as skills, knowledge, attributes and attitudes
• means of assessing the H.EL.M.E.T Assessors
• certification and career development of H.EL.M.E.T. Assessors

On 26/11/2020, a small group of H.EL.M.E.T. committee members came together to exchange opinions and expertise in mapping a ship-shore interface and various interrelated areas, and its inclusion in the H.EL.M.E.T. framework.

The committee of experts were invited to rate their company’s SMS harmonization level with an extract of questions provided by Prevention at Sea from the H.EL.M.E.T. framework. This exercise, was based on the Delphi method and aimed to measure the industry’s current SMS manuals’ alignment with the H.EL.M.E.T. framework which entails the following:

1. availability of appropriate mechanisms / processes
2. SMS is fleet specific
3. responsibilities / accountabilities are clearly communicated
4. dissemination of information amongst the organisation (office/fleet) is successful
5. critical thinking / “open” dialogue is promoted
6. building awareness and skills evaluation
7. continuous improvement
8. recognition of the importance of the human element in promoting a safe business culture within the organisation
   The results were converted to weights and have been implemented in the H.EL.M.E.T. questionnaire.

Not only impacting human life and the environment, major maritime incidents also lead to off hires, fines, non-conformances and detentions. It is widely recognised that the majority of these incidents are directly or indirectly caused by human error. This directly compromises safe fleet operations, impacts reputation and leads to financial losses. This is why we developed H.EL.M.E.T. with input from the Centre of Excellence in Risk and Decision Sciences of the European University in Cyprus (CERIDES).

HELMET-com Chairman, Captain Nikiteas, DPA / CSO / HSQE Manager, Maran Dry of Angelicoussis Group, stated “Conducting shipping business safely remains at the very core of our industry and as we head into an unprecedented phase of change, never has it been so important. We must alter the current ‘tick box’ culture with greater emphasis on a proactive approach to risk assessment, which puts people at the centre, an awareness of the need for – and value of – guidance from experts. We applaud Prevention at Sea’s vision of re-establishing a genuine, industry-wide commitment to “safety first” and are excited to work together, as a committee of safety experts from both the industry and academia to continue to develop the H.EL.M.E.T methodology.”

The inaugural two-day meeting of HELMET-com took place last month in Larnaca, Cyprus. Comprising 15 maritime safety heavyweights and chaired by Captain Nikiteas, DPA / CSO / HSQE Manager, Maran Dry of Angelicoussis Group, the committee explored how a human-centered risk assessment methodology can improve a safe business culture in shipping.