Boating Decision-Making 255
Have disdain toward rules.
Have very high correlation between accidents
on their flying records and safety violations
on their driving records.
Frequently fall into the “thrill and adventure
seeking” personality category.
Are impulsive rather than methodical
and disciplined, both in their information
gathering and in the speed and selection of
actions to be taken.
A disregard for or under-utilization of
outside sources of information, including
copilots, flight attendants, flight service
personnel, flight instructors, and air traffic
controllers.
Many of these same traits are found
in boaters prone to having accidents. Historically,
the term “operator error” has
been used to describe a boating accident
in which an action or decision made by the
PIC was the cause or a contributing factor
that led to the accident. This definition also
includes the PIC’s failure to make a correct
decision or take proper action. From
a broader perspective, the phrase “human
factors related” more aptly describes these
accidents. A single decision or event does
not lead to an accident, but a series of
events and the resultant decisions together
form a chain of events leading to an outcome.
THE BOATER DECISION-
MAKING PROCESS
An understanding of the decision-making
process provides the PIC with a foundation
for developing BDM skills. While some situations,
such as engine failure, require an
immediate boater response using established
procedures, there is usually time
to analyze any changes that occur, gather
information, and assess risk before reaching
a decision. Risk management and risk
intervention is much more than the simple
definitions of the terms might suggest.
Risk management and risk intervention
are decision-making processes designed
to systematically identify hazards, assess
the degree of risk, and determine the best
course of action. These processes involve
the identification of hazards, followed by
assessments of the risks, analysis of the
controls, making control decisions, using
the controls, and monitoring the results.
The steps leading to this decision
constitute a decision- making process.
The models of a structured framework
for problem-solving and decision-making
are the 5-P, the 3P, the OODA, and the
DECIDE models. They provide assistance
in organizing the decision process. All these
models have been identified as helpful to
the single PIC in organizing critical decisions
SRM and the 5P Check
Single Boater Resource Management, SRM,
is about how to gather information, analyze
it, and make decisions. Learning how to
identify problems, analyze the information,
and make informed and timely decisions
is not as straightforward as the training
involved in learning specific skills. Learning
how to judge a situation and “how to
think” in the endless variety of situations
encountered while boating out in the “real
world” is more difficult.
There is no one right answer in BDM,
rather each PIC is expected to analyze each
situation in light of experience level, personal
minimums, and current physical and
mental readiness level, and make his or her
own decision.
SRM sounds good on paper, but it
requires a way for boaters to understand
and use it in their daily boating. One practical
application is called the “Five Ps (5
Ps).” The 5 Ps consist of “the Plan, the Platform
(sail or powerboat), Person in charge
(PIC), the Passengers, and the Programming.”
Each of these areas consists of a set
of challenges and opportunities that face a
single boater. And each can substantially
increase or decrease the risk of successfully
completing the voyage based on the
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