Publications

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NorthStandard Facilitator:
John Southam, Loss Prevention Director

Lovoy Presenters:
Jodi Lee, Senior Partner
Capt. Terje Lovoy, Senior Partner

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Lovoy at IMPA’s Annual Congress

The International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) represents more than 8000 licensed pilots.

IMPA’s 26th Congress was held in Rotterdam April 23rd, 2024. IMPA brings together pilots' associations from around the world to share concerns and experiences. In addition to pilot speakers from 14 IMPA member countries, the congress had speakers and participants from industry. This included Lovoy, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Intertanko, Oil Companies International Marine Forum OCIMF, International Harbour Masters Association (IHMA), University of Southampton and Keil Centre, and intergovernmental organizations (IMO, IHO, MAIIF)

Operational safety was a vital part. A relevant topic was, therefore, how to write procedures and management systems to meet each country’s regulations for pilot operations. National regulations may refer to different standards, but all try to achieve the same safety objectives. Regardless of the chosen standard, it is essential to ensure the text is user-friendly enough to meet its objectives.

IMPA invited Lovoy to share experiences from making maritime management systems more user-friendly. The article “The Language of Human Centered Safety” captures essential parts of Terje Lovoy’s presentation. It explores common assumptions about writing regulatory-compliant text. The Language presentation. The article shares the real root causes for why SMSs often become overly complicated. It is relevant for anyone involved in writing any kind of text to meet regulations and improve safety.

The article discusses these questions:

- Why do we make procedures unnecessarily complicated?
- How to make procedures user-friendly?
- Who should write your procedures?

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By Terje Lovoy

Abstract

How to simplify your Safety Management Systems with focus on the user – the seafarer

Article from BIMCOs webinar February 22nd, 2023

Most Safety Management Systems (SMS) have become too big, too complex, and lost sight of the user – the seafarer. An overly complex SMS is a problem but also a potential for improvement. Today’s shipping companies use next generation technology and ships with the latest solutions. But this is often not the case with their SMS text. Human error and not following procedures cause up to 80% of marine losses. This article shares how to improve procedures and checklists considerably by making them more process oriented and reducing the number of words without removing any facts. Afterwards, valuable information will stand out more clearly and reduce the risk of error.

Key Words

Since 2009, the Lovoy Team researched and developed methods to simplify and improve shipping SMSs and the highlight of this advice is what he will share in this article.

- SMS simplification benefits and risks
- Recent developments in user-friendly SMS structure design
- Case studies from shipping companies who simplified their SMS
- How to simplify and also comply better with the latest industry standards

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Since 2019, North of England P&I Marine Insurance engaged Lovoy to run introductory workshops about Safety Management System (SMS) simplification. The workshops were exclusively for North’s members. 110 DPAs and HSE Managers from various shipping companies participated in the seven workshops in Athens, Amsterdam, Singapore, New York, New Jersey, and Seattle.

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By Terje Lovoy

Abstract

This article shares case studies from shipping companies that established their own systems to simplify procedure and how to capture required details from industry guidance while avoiding the risk of over-simplification.

Key Words

What makes SMSs too complex? Risk of oversimplification. Use seafarers or technical writers? Written by seafarers for seafarers. Not a quick fix. Focus on the big picture first. How to untangle the spaghetti text? SMS success factors. Measure SMS user-friendliness with KPIs.

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By Mark Smith, Loss Prevention Executive, North of England P&I Association Limit

Abstract

A ship’s SMS may have been initially written many years ago and undergone regular updates over a long period of time with contributions by different people, all in different styles. In effect, The SMS becomes a bloated mishmash of content. It’s potentially a mammoth task to review and re-write the safety management 3 manuals and something which DPA’s and HSEQ staff may not have the time or experience to do. This article covers why some companies succeeds in simplifying their SMS while others do not.

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By Jodi Lee and Terje Lovoy

Abstract

This article explains how different industries use the Lovoy method to manage operational, financial and legal risk. The Lovoy method improves compliance by making procedures and other documents more user friendly. It is not a software. It is a new way to write and structure information so we quickly find, read and understand what we need.

Key Words

IIA Norge, IAA Norway, Institute of International Auditors, Safety management systems, SMS, complex procedure, audit, shipping accident, procedure, standard strategy, spaghetti structure, spaghetti text, risk, risk management, simplicity, KPI, usability, chunking, prose text, workflow, plain language, simplicity, reduction, complex, passive text, active text, proactive, key performance indicators, KPI, reduction in wordcount, financial and legal risk.

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By Terje Lovoy

Abstract

The North of England P&I Association Limited shares how Captain Terje Lovoy, following the example of aviation, helps shipping companies simplify their overly complex safety management systems. There are details about specific areas of the SMS that have room for improvement, from grouping relevant information together, using plain language, layout, active writing, and more. These tools, with the knowledge of how to use them, can reduce the chance of human error and increase SMS usability.

Key Words
Lovoy, Signal, safety management systems, safety management system, SMS, shipping, procedure, procedures, complex procedure, ship owner, ship management, new procedure, safety audit, shipping accident, safety management, safety systems, shipping procedure, standard strategy, complication, shipping complication, shipping safety, shipping procedure, spaghetti structure, spaghetti text, effective grouping, checklist, procedure, risk, risk management, simplicity, KPI, usability, chunking, prose text, operational workflow, imperative steps, plain language, simplicity, reduction, complex, passive text, active text, proactive, key performance indicators, KPI, template, Teekay, concise, Bernard Schulte Ship Management, BSM, V Ships, tanker management, Tanker Management and Self-Assessment 3, TMSA 3, perceived usability, efficiency, operational uptime, aviation, seafarer, ship safety, proactive checklists, proactive procedures, proactive SMS and procedure design.

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By John Acomb

Abstract
In 1994 Capt. John Acomb wrote for the US Coastguard magazine “Proceedings of the Marine Safety”, about the intentions of IMS Code changes and human error. 23 years later he wrote this follow-up article based on his many years of marine experience. He explains how human error is still our biggest threat. Looking back, he reflects on how the Marine Safety Management Systems (SMS) grew and became too complex. He believes that the problem was not the ISM Code. The problem was the way we captured the intentions in our SMS’s. The ISM Code promotes instructions written in a clear and simple manner. Would it not make sense to do just that when writing our SMS’s?

Key Words
Accessible, airline checklists, airline procedures, average words per sentence, aviation checklists, aviation procedures, break the vicious cycle of complexity, bridge resources management, BRM, BSM checklists, BSM procedures, checklist design, checklist risk assessments, checklist simplification, checklists are not training devices, checklists to prevent accidents, chunking, class societies, coast guard regulations, cockpit resource management, company resources management, complex checklists, complex procedure, complexity is a vicious cycle, compliance mindset, cover you back exercise, crew resource management, CRM, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), DNV GL, flag state, good tools – half the job, graphic presentation, HSSEQ Manager, human element, human error can be controlled, human error, human factors, identifiable steps, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, International Safety Management Code, Intertanko, ISM code, ITSOF, lack of competence, logic manner, Lovoy AS, marine accidents, marine accident rates, marine checklist, marine losses, marine procedures, maritime safety, maritime services, maritime surveyor, OCIMF, Oil Companies International Maritime Forum, overly complex SMS, plain English, plain language, prevent the checklist from becoming too long, proactive checklists, proactive procedures, proactive SMS, procedure design, Procedure risk assessments, procedure simplification, procedure vicious cycle, process oriented procedures, process, prose text, readability, reduce accidents caused by human error, resilience, risk based checklists, risk based procedures, risk based SMS, root cause, safe ship, safety culture, safety management system, seafarer accident rates, seafarer safety, seaman dying, seaman mortality, seamen accidents, seamen safety, ship management companies, ship security, simple concise checklists used by pilots, simplified technical English, simplify and clarify, SMS improvement, SMS risk assessments, SMS simplification, SMS vicious cycle, SMS, step-by-step procedures, sufficient details, Tanker Management and Self Assessment, team management, Terje Lovoy, Terje Løvøy, text washing, TMSA 3, too long checklists, training and standardization, United States Coast Guard quarterly magazine Proceedings, USCG, verification points, vetting, workflow, workflow-based procedures.

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By Terje Lovoy

Key Words

Accessible, airline checklists, airline procedures, average words per sentence, aviation checklists, aviation procedures, AWS, benchmarking, Bernhardt Schulte Ship Management, bridge resources management, BRM, BSM checklists, BSM procedures, checklist for safe surgery, checklist simplification, Chunking, coast guard regulations, cockpit resource management, Company resources management, complex checklists, complex procedure, crew resource management, CRM, from prose to workflows, good tools – half the job, graphic presentation, human element, human error, human factors, identifiable steps, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, International Safety Management Code, Intertanko, ISM code, ISO 14001-2015, ISO 9001-2015, ITSOF, killer items, logic manner, marine losses, maritime safety, maritime services, maritime surveyor, medical checklists, OCIMF, Oil Companies International Maritime Forum, overly complex SMS, passive sentence, passive text, perceived usability, percent passive sentence, plain English, plain language, PPS, proactive checklists, proactive procedures, proactive SMS, procedure simplification, process oriented procedures, process, prose text, readability, resilience, risk based checklists, risk based procedures, risk based SMS, root cause, safe ship, safety culture, safety management system, ship management companies, ship security, simplified technical English, simplify and clarify, SMS improvement, SMS simplification, SMS, spaghetti structure, specialist resources, step procedures, step-by-step procedures, sufficient details, Tanker Management and Self Assessment, Teekay checklists, Teekay procedures, text washing, TMSA 3, training and standardization, vetting, WHO checklist, windbag text, workflow, workflow-based procedures.

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By Terje Lovoy (Løvøy)

An event organized by NUI AS on behalf of the Association of Hyperbaric Lifeboat Reception Facilities.

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By Arvid Steinar Haugen, August Bakke, Terje Løvøy and Eirik Søfteland.

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IMCA's newsletter, Making Waves, September 2016

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By Terje Lovoy

An event organized by Guard AS insurance.

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By Terje Lovoy

Norwegian version published in NAForum 28(4) 2015, periodical for the Norwegian Society of Anesthesiology.

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By Capt. John L. Acomb

Abstract

In this article Capt. John L. Acomb describes the problem with human error in marine losses. He describes how we should focus more on the human element. He suggests looking at the cockpit of a commercial airliner and see what training, clear safety policies, strong regulatory oversight and detailed safe work practices can accomplish. He ties the intentions of the changes of the ISM code into the human element.

Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council, the Coast Guard Journal of Safety at Sea, is the voice of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety and Security Council. It began publication in 1944 and, over the decades, has reached an increasing level of recognition among the larger maritime industry and Coast Guard personnel. Currently, over 30,000 copies of Proceedings are mailed out each issue.

Proceedings’ audience includes a large segment of the private maritime industry population, including retired officers, fishing vessel captains, river pilots, ocean scientists, marine engineers, tug/tow boat operators, shipping executives, insurance operators, and maritime lawyers. Other subscribers include U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy personnel, mariners, reservists, Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation staff, and allied foreign national readers.

Key Words

Airline checklists, airline procedures, aviation checklists, aviation procedures, bridge resources management, BRM, BSM checklists, BSM procedures, coast guard regulations, cockpit resource management, Company resources management, crew resource management, CRM, Det Norske Veritas, Exxon Valdez, Herald of Free Enterprise, human element, human error, human factors, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, International Safety Management Code, Intertanko, ISM code, ITSOF, killer items, marine losses, maritime safety, maritime services, maritime surveyor, OCIMF, Oil Companies International Maritime Forum, overly complex SMS, procedure simplification, Proceedings of the Marine Safety Council, resilience, risk based checklists, risk based procedures, risk based SMS, root cause, safe ship, safety culture, safety management system, ship management companies, ship security, SMS improvement, SMS, Tanker Management and Self Assessment, TMSA 3, training and standardization, vetting.