Publish at October 25 2022 Updated October 25 2022
When reading theses, one often notices that the writing that informs them matches the content they convey.
The form used for his research by Vincent Tardan is precise, with just the right measure and a steady rhythm. Precise to the point that it is difficult to catch by rephrasing.
This is all the more remarkable since his thesis concerns a field where clear, crisp communication is fundamental: that of military personnel operating in submarines.
"The sounder regularly announces the immersion and the evolution of the bottom in order to inform the members of the Safety-Diving team. "
In an environment given as hostile, dynamic, i.e., evolving with or without operator intervention, and at risk, understanding the situation and articulating the actions between the different crew members are crucial.
The nuclear attack submarines (NAS) are submersible ships with a nuclear propulsion mode. They carry various means of attack such as mines, missiles or torpedoes. They do not carry nuclear warheads, unlike nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs).
The SNAs sail 220 days out of a year. Two 70-person crews (since 2018 for women) take turns for 13-month operational missions. These at-sea missions are included in fixed 8-month activity cycles. With each new cycle, 30% of the crew is rotated.
In the confined uncertainty of undersea navigation, structure, cooperation, and interdependence are required. Teams and their members have well-defined, articulated, and hierarchical roles.
In fact, in such an environment, it is not possible for each member of the collective to have an overall view of the situation and the process. Hence the importance of the clear and precise circulation of information.
Even if the environment is very different, these are modalities of knowledge and understanding of the situation that we can transpose into our complex collaborative environments.
"Information about the external environment is mediated by tools that allow only a piecemeal representation of that environment. "
The research is in a context of fleet change (from the "Ruby" ships to the "Suffren"), renewal of information display systems, and therefore recommendations for training and simulation systems.
The purpose of it is "the study of the mechanisms of elaboration of the collective situational awareness (SA) of the diving safety team (SP) of nuclear attack submarines in simulated operational situation".
The simulator proposes 5 scenarios which are 5 training themes of increasing complexity to validate collectively. The thesis work was performed at the 5th and most complex scenario:
"The operational objective of this scenario is the recovery of commandos in a so-called "very shallow area, hostile (with presence of enemies) and within an imposed timeframe of one hour and fifteen minutes (with a 15 minute margin). "
In a nuclear attack submarine, cooperation is distributed within and between modules. For the central navigation operations station, this includes:
The diving safety team, which is the subject of the research, is composed of:
The central master (MDC) supervises the coxswain and the dive safety panel operator, who must provide him with relevant information.
The MDC is the "central link in the chain of interaction between technical systems": he has the overall view of the situation and acts as a link with command and the central propulsion station.
Based on an analysis of the activity of the diving safety team and the fine-grained identification of cognitive and situational characteristics,
To get a clearer picture, the encoded transactions are:
"Our results confirm that the development of CcS is an adaptive process, which depends on the tasks performed and the experience of the operators, and is related to collective performance. "
The team leader has a crucial role in managing driving and problem-solving tasks. He is involved in both types of tasks and has the most complete representation of the situation.
The importance of the diving safety board operator and the coxswain in the problem-solving tasks. The coxswain has an important role in spontaneously transmitting information to the central controller, in relation to the evolution of the immersion.
The trade-off between optimal conduct management and problem solving is important to consider: some teams prioritize conduct over problem management, others prioritize problem solving.
This is coupled with strong variability in time management across teams. They may:
"When faced with unexpected situations, the performing teams are those that do not simply pass along uninterpreted information about the situation. "
"In high-performing teams, communication is less focused on the team leader, with more consistent input from each member. "
"Sharing of information related to the common goal by all team members is also associated with higher performance."
As an accompaniment to simulated sequences focused on technical skills, the researcher recommends training that incorporates verbal communications. So-called non-technical skills contribute to the successful completion of technical procedures.
This is especially important as the new Suffren submarines feature information systems with screens that are more individualized and require fetching certain information.
It will also be a matter of focusing on linking situational information to the task at hand:
"Teams that articulate information aloud in relation to the common goal are among the most successful crews in achieving the operational objective. "
"In light of our findings on the usefulness, to ensure the performance of the entire crew, of each [center master]MDC verbalizing throughout the mission his situational awareness at all levels of the process. "
Illustration: BookBabe from Pixabay.
Vincent Tardan. The role of a team leader's communication in the collective development of situational awareness. The case of the central master in the Safety-Diving team of nuclear attack submarines. Psychology. Université Paris-Saclay, 2020.
Thesis available at: https://www.theses.fr/2020UPASS064
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