Information Requirements for Vessel Traffic Service Operations

Authors: Fan Li, Chun-Hsien Chen, Li Pheng Khoo

Abstract:

Operators of vessel traffic service (VTS) center provides three different types of services; namely information service, navigational assistance and traffic organization to vessels. To provide these services, operators monitor vessel traffic through computer interface and provide navigational advice based on the information integrated from multiple sources, including automatic identification system (AIS), radar system, and closed circuit television (CCTV) system. Therefore, this information is crucial in VTS operation. However, what information the VTS operator actually need to efficiently and properly offer services is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate into information requirements for VTS operation. To achieve this aim, field observation was carried out to elicit the information requirements for VTS operation. The study revealed that the most frequent and important tasks were handling arrival vessel report, potential conflict control and abeam vessel report. Current location and vessel name were used in all tasks. Hazard cargo information was particularly required when operators handle arrival vessel report. The speed, the course, and the distance of two or several vessels were only used in potential conflict control. The information requirements identified in this study can be utilized in designing a human-computer interface that takes into consideration what and when information should be displayed, and might be further used to build the foundation of a decision support system for VTS.

Keywords: Vessel traffic service, information requirements, hierarchy task analysis, field observation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1124479

References:

[1] Praetorius, G., & Lützhöft, M. (2011). Decision support for vessel traffic service (VTS): user needs for dynamic risk management in the VTS. Work (Reading, Mass.), 41, 4866-4872.
[2] Cairns, W. R., & Sollosi, J. M. (1996). Global Navigation Satellite System Requirements for Vessel Traffic Services. In Proceedings of the 1996 National Technical Meeting of the Institute of Navigation (pp. 387-398).
[3] Rothblum, A. M. (2000, October). Human error and marine safety. In National Safety Council Congress and Expo, Orlando, FL.
[4] Lapierre, F. D., Borghgraef, A., & Vandewal, M. (2010). Statistical real-time model for performance prediction of ship detection from microsatellite electro-optical imagers. EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing, 2010, 2.
[5] Weitzman, D. O. (1993, October). Identifying information requirements for air traffic control problem solving. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 103-107). SAGE Publications.
[6] Baker, C. C., & Seah, A. K. (2004). Maritime accidents and human performance: the statistical trail. In MarTech Conference, Singapore.
[7] Oser, R. L., Stout, R. E. J., & Tyler, R. (1997). Assessing crew information requirements for advanced diagnostic and prognostic systems- Implications for interface and training design. In AHS, Annual Forum, 53 rd, Virginia Beach, VA (pp. 97-108).
[8] Endsley, M. R., & Rodgers, M. D. (1994, October). Situation awareness information requirements analysis for en route air traffic control. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 71-75). SAGE Publications.
[9] Duley, J. A., Galster, S. M., & Parasuraman, R. (1998, October). Information manager for determining data presentation preferences in future en route air traffic management. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 47-51). SAGE Publications.
[10] Bahn, S., Corbett, B., & Nam, C. S. (2014). Scenario-Based Observation Approach for Eliciting User Requirements for Haptic User Interfaces. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 30(11), 842-854.
[11] Tappan, J., Pitman, D. J., Cummings, M. L., & Miglianico, D. (2011). Display requirements for an interactive rail scheduling display. In HCI International Conference. Orlando, FL, USA.
[12] Hoffman, R. B., Riley, B. R., & Dion, F. A. (1998, October). Work activities and operational errors at selected vessel traffic services. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 42, No. 17, pp. 1190-1194). SAGE Publications.
[13] Drury, C. G., & Prabhu, P. (1996). Information requirements of aircraft inspection: framework and analysis. International journal of human-computer studies, 45(6), 679-695.
[14] Yuan, X., Histon, J. M., & Waslander, S. (2014, September). Survey of Operators’ Information Requirements on Individually Operated Unmanned Aircraft Systems. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting (Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 36-40). SAGE. Publication.