eNEWS:

John Haynes AFNI FRINA - Workshop Lead / Managing Director, Shock Mitigation

John is an Associate Fellow of The Nautical Institute, Fellow of RINA, Commercial Yachtmaster Ocean and Advanced Powerboat Instructor. Subject matter expertise includes 30 years professional sector training, consultancy and strategic product development. He has worked with over 100 organisations including military, SAR, police, commercial operators, designers, legislators, OEM equipment manufacturers and boat builders.

He has chaired a broad range of maritime conferences, workshops and working groups. Technical papers and specialist articles on future requirements and new technology for international publications include Ship & Boat International (RINA), Defence IQ, Maritime Reporter, Marine Link, Marine News, Maritime Journal, Seaways, Maritime Pilot Journal, Powerboat & RIB, Yachting Matters (Superyacht), Ship & Offshore.

He created NEXT GEN Marine and RIB & HSC to bring together specialist knowledge, craft and equipment for professional maritime operators in the sub IMO / sub 24m sector worldwide. At Seawork 2016 he was voted Maritime Professional of the Year.

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In a Complex World - Simple is Still Best on a Dark and Stormy Night

In an increasingly complex world mariners need to consider whether 'automated & digital solutions' are a viable replacement for 'human & traditional methods' on a dark and stormy night. As onboard systems become more complex and automated it is important to identify what basic navigation and communication methods have value at sea. Then enable end-users to learn use of key features intuitively and fast. Also motivate them to retain and improve core skills.

The automotive and marine leisure world has adopted GPS as a standard feature on cars and boats. iPhone and iPad type devices can be loaded with so called ‘navigation’ apps. The global positioning system has been a generational game changer and in coastal operations most crew members have a GPS linked phone in their pocket which can identify where they are on the planet. However, there are distinct differences between knowing where you are ‘now’ to actually navigating and passage planning ahead in seconds, minutes and hours.

When the marine sector moved from paper to digital charts, fundamental errors included a lack of uniform menus, commands and controls across different navigation systems. Commercial objectives drive innovation in the 'buy more electronics' market. But the danger of endless ‘feature creep’ can be adding a race towards MAXIMUM menu options for no reason. The outcome is too much complexity. High speed and dynamic situations require systems that deliver the MINIMUM amount of relevant and clearly presented information to survive and complete the task. The design and usability objective should be - Simple Is Good At Sea.

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