Behavioural Safety vs Traditional Safety Training in Maritime Operations

Safety training is a fundamental part of maritime operations. Seafarers need the knowledge and skills to identify hazards, follow procedures, use equipment correctly, and respond effectively during emergencies. However, traditional safety training alone may not always change how people behave during everyday operations.

This is where Behaviour Based Safety Maritime approaches can add value. Instead of focusing only on rules and procedures, behavioural safety examines how people actually perform tasks and how their behaviours influence safety outcomes. Understanding the difference between behavioural and traditional safety training can help shipping companies develop more effective safety cultures.

What Is Traditional Maritime Safety Training?

Traditional safety training generally focuses on knowledge, procedures, regulations, and technical requirements. Seafarers learn what they should do to complete tasks safely and how to respond to specific hazards.

Common areas include:

• Emergency procedures
• Personal protective equipment
• Fire safety
• Enclosed-space entry
• Safe cargo operations
• Navigation procedures
• Risk assessments
• Permit-to-work systems
• Machinery safety
• Regulatory requirements

This type of training provides an essential foundation. Crew members need to understand established procedures and technical safety requirements before they can perform their responsibilities effectively.

However, knowing a procedure does not always guarantee that it will be followed correctly in every situation.

What Is Behaviour Based Safety?

Behaviour Based Safety focuses on observable actions and the factors that influence those actions. Rather than asking only whether employees know the correct procedure, it examines whether safe practices are consistently demonstrated during real work.

A Behaviour Based Safety Maritime programme may observe activities such as:

• Correct use of PPE
• Communication between crew members
• Safe equipment handling
• Compliance with procedures
• Situational awareness
• Housekeeping
• Pre-task preparation
• Team coordination

The objective is to identify positive behaviours, understand unsafe behaviours, and create opportunities for improvement.

Key Difference Between the Two Approaches

Traditional safety training primarily answers the question: “What should you do to stay safe?”

Behavioural safety goes further by asking: “What are people actually doing, and why?”

Traditional training may teach a seafarer how to use fall protection equipment. Behavioural safety may observe whether the equipment is consistently used during real maintenance work and identify barriers that cause crew members to avoid using it.

Both approaches are valuable. Behavioural safety should complement traditional training rather than replace it.

Why Knowledge Alone Is Not Enough

A seafarer may understand a safety procedure perfectly but still take a shortcut under pressure. Workload, fatigue, time constraints, poor supervision, equipment availability, or workplace culture can influence behaviour.

For example, a crew member may know that a particular task requires specific PPE but decide not to use it because the task appears to be very short.

Traditional training can explain the risk, but Behaviour Based Safety Maritime methods can help organisations understand why the unsafe behaviour occurs and what can be done to encourage safer choices.

The Role of Observation

Observation is one of the important elements of behavioural safety. Trained personnel can observe work activities and identify behaviours that contribute to safe or unsafe operations.

The purpose should not be to punish individuals. Instead, observations should provide useful feedback and identify opportunities for improvement.

For example, an observation may reveal that crew members regularly skip a particular step because the procedure is difficult to follow in the actual working environment. The company can then review the procedure, equipment, or training rather than simply blaming employees.

Positive Reinforcement

Behavioural safety places strong emphasis on recognising positive actions. When seafarers demonstrate good safety practices, leaders can acknowledge those behaviours and explain why they matter.

Positive reinforcement can encourage employees to repeat safe actions and influence others within the team.

Recognition does not always need to involve financial rewards. Simple appreciation, constructive feedback, team recognition, and acknowledgement during safety meetings can contribute to a positive safety culture.

Leadership and Behavioural Safety

Leadership has a major influence on workplace behaviour. Crew members often observe how masters, officers, and supervisors behave and use those behaviours as examples.

If leaders consistently follow safety procedures, use appropriate PPE, communicate clearly, and stop unsafe work when necessary, they demonstrate that safety is a genuine priority.

If leaders regularly ignore procedures to save time, employees may receive the opposite message.

A successful Behaviour Based Safety Maritime programme therefore requires leadership involvement at every level.

Creating a Reporting Culture

Behavioural safety works best when crew members feel comfortable discussing unsafe conditions and behaviours.

A strong reporting culture allows seafarers to report:

• Near misses
• Unsafe acts
• Unsafe conditions
• Equipment problems
• Procedure gaps
• Communication issues
• Fatigue-related concerns

Reports should be reviewed constructively. If employees believe reporting will automatically result in blame, they may stop sharing important information.

Human Factors and Behaviour

Human behaviour is influenced by many factors. Fatigue, stress, workload, experience, communication, environmental conditions, and organisational culture can all affect how people perform tasks.

For this reason, behavioural safety should not assume that every unsafe action is simply a matter of poor discipline.

Companies should ask why a behaviour occurred. Was the procedure practical? Was the equipment available? Was the employee properly trained? Was the workload excessive? Was there pressure to complete the task quickly?

These questions can reveal deeper organisational issues.

Combining Behavioural and Traditional Training

The most effective approach is not necessarily choosing between traditional and behavioural safety training. Shipping companies can combine both.

Traditional training can provide the required technical knowledge, regulations, procedures, and emergency skills. Behavioural programmes can then reinforce these lessons through observation, coaching, feedback, and continuous improvement.

For example, a company could provide formal enclosed-space safety training and then use onboard observations to determine whether crew members consistently follow the required preparation and entry procedures.

This creates a continuous learning cycle between training and actual workplace behaviour.

Using Technology for Behavioural Safety

Digital platforms can help shipping companies manage behavioural safety programmes more effectively. Mobile applications and digital reporting systems can allow crew members to record observations, near misses, and safety suggestions.

Companies can analyse this information to identify recurring patterns. If a particular unsafe behaviour repeatedly appears across vessels, management can investigate whether additional training, equipment, or procedural changes are required.

Data-driven analysis can make behavioural safety more systematic and measurable.

Measuring Behavioural Safety Performance

Shipping companies can establish suitable indicators to evaluate behavioural safety initiatives.

Possible measures include:

• Number of safety observations
• Near-miss reporting trends
• Percentage of corrective actions completed
• Repeated unsafe behaviours
• Positive safety observations
• Training participation
• Crew feedback
• Improvement in targeted behaviours

However, companies should avoid treating the number of observations as the only measure of success. The quality of observations and the improvements resulting from them are more important than simply increasing reporting numbers.

Building a Stronger Maritime Safety Culture

Behavioural safety can contribute to a stronger safety culture when it is implemented fairly and consistently. Crew members should understand that the objective is improvement rather than surveillance.

A successful programme encourages everyone to take responsibility for safety. Crew members can look out for colleagues, provide constructive feedback, and raise concerns before unsafe behaviours result in incidents.

This creates a proactive approach where safety becomes part of everyday behaviour rather than something discussed only during formal training sessions.

Conclusion

Traditional maritime safety training provides essential knowledge, procedures, and technical skills. However, effective safety performance also depends on how people apply that knowledge during real operations.

Behaviour Based Safety Maritime approaches complement traditional training by focusing on observable behaviours, workplace conditions, feedback, leadership, and continuous improvement. Instead of asking only whether crew members know the rules, behavioural safety examines whether those rules are being applied effectively and what factors influence performance.

By combining traditional safety education with behavioural observation, positive reinforcement, effective leadership, and data-driven improvement, shipping companies can build stronger safety cultures and encourage safer behaviours across their fleets.