Overseeing safe use
- Ensure the correct radar and ARPA setup and settings are used across the bridge watch.
- Integrate radar, ARPA, ECDIS and AIS into one coherent traffic picture for the team.
- Supervise the watch's collision-avoidance decisions and set the standing orders for them.
- Understand the systems' limitations and ensure cross-checking and a backup are maintained.
The management-level skill is not just using radar and ARPA but ensuring the whole bridge team uses them correctly and shares one picture. The senior officer sets how the radars are configured, integrates the radar/ARPA picture with AIS and ECDIS into a single coherent understanding of the traffic, and supervises the watchkeepers' collision-avoidance decisions through the standing orders. A team with a common, current mental model catches the errors an individual watchkeeper would miss.
NOTE — One picture, many sensors Management-level skill is fusing radar, ARPA, AIS and ECDIS into one coherent traffic picture, and making sure the whole bridge team shares it. The sensors complement each other; none is trusted alone.
TIP — Set the standard for the watch The senior officer's standing orders and supervision set how the watchkeepers use the radar and make collision-avoidance decisions, spreading good practice across the whole watch rather than relying on individuals.