Behavioural Competency Assessment and Verification for Vessel Operators

Conducting operations safely and without incidents relies on human competency, which comprises both technical skills (hard skills) and non-technical skills (soft skills). The industry's main focus until now has been on developing and assessing technical skills, with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) being the main international convention addressing the competencies of seafarers. Any officer who holds a certificate of competency issued by a proper authority that meets STCW Convention requirements is qualified to serve in that rank. Since 2010, the STCW Convention also refers to soft skill competencies such as leadership and managerial skills, decision making, teamwork and communication. The tanker industry recognises that more focus should be placed on soft skills. Personnel behaviour and attitude are key elements of a positive safety culture that promote a safe work environment and helps reduce incidents. This document serves as a best practice guide for assessing officers' soft skills by monitoring their behaviours. The aim of this document is to: - Highlight the importance of the soft skills dimensions of competency in performing operations safely and incident-free. - Describe the variety of soft skills and their associated behaviours - Identify behaviours to be adopted and those to be avoided. - Explain the value of having a variety of soft skills and behaviours in a team, which when harmonised can improve performance. In addition, it provides a simple and flexible tool for the assessment of soft skill competency along with the assessment of technical skills during routine vessel operations. This best practice guide provides guidance on why, how, when, where and by whom this assessment can be done. The system can be adopted by all companies and incorporated into their existing assessment or appraisal systems. If properly adopted, it can also be used to assist in promotion and recruitment processes. The overall aim is to develop and improve officers' technical and soft skills for the benefit of each individual and the onboard team. The soft skills assessment should be seen as an opportunity to improve everyone's behaviour. The associated assessment is part of a continuous improvement process rather than another exam that officers need to pass. In this way, it differs from technical competency systems such as those in the STCW Convention. Companies would benefit from involving their assessors in implementing this system, which may include marine and technical superintendents, as well as training assessors on behavioural competencies and assessment follow-up. This in return will bring onshore personnel and seafarers closer and will help to improve a safety culture. Through the full implementation of this system, companies will increase operational efficiency and reduce the number of incidents. This system represents something new and aims to achieve a step change in safety management at sea. Therefore, the role of the assessor is important and specialised training is recommended. This best practice guide has been developed by a joint OCIMF and INTERTANKO initiative.