The MRM training programme was launched in 1993 – at that time under the name bridge resource management – and aims at preventing accidents at sea caused by human error.
To motivate the team – if necessary – to change its behaviour to good resource management practices during everyday operations.
An overall objective is to increase safety, efficiency, and job satisfaction in shipping companies and, eventually, in the maritime industry as a whole.
During everyday operation on board a ship, technical and non-technical skills are integrated into each other, to perform tasks as safely and efficiently as possible.
These are the skills traditionally focused on in the maritime industry, and what has since long been covered in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).
The aim is to tear down barriers between people, departments, ship, and shore, open up for efficient communication, and establish a genuine safety culture within the whole organisation.
The accident resulted in the highest number of fatalities in aviation history – 583 people lost their lives.
Contributing causes of this accident were; fog, stress, communication misunderstandings, and a lack of monitoring and challenging errors.
Research presented at the workshop identified the human error aspects of the majority of air crashes as failures of interpersonal communications, decision making, and leadership.
At this meeting, the label cockpit resource management (CRM) was applied to the training of aircraft crews aiming at reducing pilot error.
The main purpose was to increase attraction amongst other important target groups besides masters, bridge officers, and maritime pilots.
Since the launch of resource management training in the maritime industry, courses have emerged with similar names.
Due to the lack of a uniform standard in the maritime industry, contents, concept, and quality of training of these courses differ.
Active errors could be; making a course change at the wrong position, pushing an incorrect button, forgetting to close a valve.
[6] Analyses of major accidents involving many different areas of society indicate that latent errors pose the greatest risk to safety in a complex system.
MRM training focuses on both active and latent errors and has as an objective to establish a just culture across the maritime industry.
An important part of the course is case studies of real accidents and incidents with analysis using MRM terminology.
Instruction is primarily a telling activity, where knowledge and skills are developed in trainees through either direct communication or demonstration.