How to Train for Everyday Work - A Comparative Study of Non-technical Skill Training

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study of training of non-technical skills in the maritime and lignite power domains. Non-technical skills (NTS) are the cognitive, social and personal resource skills that complement technical skills in operations within high-risk domains. Training NTS is essential to maintain safety in operational contexts, such as onboard a merchant vessel or in the operation of a lignite power plant. Contextual interviews and observations have been conducted across 8 operator training courses, three maritime and five lignite power. The results indicate that the training approaches and their execution differs greatly despite having a common theoretical basis. While training in the observed maritime courses often combined longer theoretical lectures with group exercises and high-fidelity simulations, the focus of the training remained on the use of specific NTS techniques or tools to prevent accidents and incidents. In contrast to this approach, the training in the lignite power domain primarily focused on how to integrate selected NTS into daily operations. While the lignite training also utilized incident examples and shorter lectures, the focus remained on simulating everyday work tasks and to apply newly learned practices as part of routine operations and standard operational procedures. Further, trainees in the lignite training courses were empowered to take charge of their learning processes, as parts of the training let them recreate situations from their work within the simulator. This article highlights lessons learned from each domain with the goal of improving training practices for NTS in high-risk operations.