Results of Electronic Chart Pilot Project

Andrew Lawrence, Julian Goodyear, Irene Gonin

Abstract:	This user survey study provides useful insight on mariners use of and opinions about ECDIS. This paper describes the results of a survey used to test and evaluate the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Draft Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). This survey was developed and administered under the Canadian Electronic Chart Pilot Project in joint cooperation with United States Coast Guard (USCG). It was distributed to 150 hands-on users on board 20 ships. Sixty-one surveys were returned from 17 different ships. Each ship was equipped with almost identical navigation sensors, ECDIS and system integration. In general, those responding to the survey are experienced mariners with little computer background. Seventy-three percent of them hold Captain or Chief Officer licenses. The median age of those responding to the survey is 45. Only 26% of those surveyed had any operational experience with electronic chart devices prior to their use of ECDIS. Seventy-three percent of the mariners surveyed had the ECDIS aboard their ship for more than 10 weeks. Survey results indicated that users had little diiculty in learning how to operate ECDIS. None of the mariners reported ECDIS to be a hindrance for performing the task of navigation. The mariners felt that grounding avoidance, course made good (CMG), and speed made good (SMG) were the most important items of navigational information that ECDIS provides. Route planning, zooming, and radar image overlay were reported as the most important functions. Users with a radar overlay reported a higher confidence level using ECDIS as a navigation tool as compared to those without a radar overlay. This indicates the benefit of having two different sources of positioning displayed simultaneously (i.e. Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and radar). As a collision avoidance tool, however, the users with a radar overlay reported a lower confidence in ECDIS than the users without a radar overlay.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 18 - 20, 1995 Disneyland Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	465 - 471
Cite this article:	Lawrence, Andrew, Goodyear, Julian, Gonin, Irene, "Results of Electronic Chart Pilot Project," Proceedings of the 1995 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 1995, pp. 465-471.
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