Bridge Resource Management Paperback – February 25, 2012

I am a Captain for a major US airline and have in the past taught Crew Resource Management extensively. I have also been involved with safety in the chemical processing industry, and try to look at best practices from numerous technical industries to bolster safety in my own. Many of the issues confronting aviation are found in very similar forms elsewhere, and much learning can occur across industries.With that in mind I bought "Bridge Resource Management" by Rexford Penn. It is evidently designed to be used as a training aid or course supplement in a seminar format given the vast swaths of blank paper, largely with the heading "Notes" that proliferate throughout the book, boosting the page count significantly. I did like Penn's discussion on the importance of behavioral markers and non-technical skills (p. 21) but found the case studies to be the best components of the book. The case studies are great fodder for discussion and analysis (just like in aviation accidents) and while good, could have been more thorough. Given that the copy on the back of the book claims the book is "a comprehensive introduction and guide to Bridge Resource Management techniques for ships officers, watchkeepers and crewmembers," I expected much more in-depth analysis. A very useful case study discussed the loss of the "Braer," while the best of the case studies is the case of the "Cosco Busan" which struck one of the towers holding up the San Francisco Bay Bridge. The discussion of the elements of this accident was quite well done, and emphasizing the roles of the pilot and handover reports (which have direct analogues in aviation) was especially good. Sadly there was no diagram of the accident, which would have been particularly helpful in this case. This brings up a greater point. In many industrial accidents diagrams and illustrations are key to understanding the situation; while this book has some photos of vessels involved, it would be much stronger with pertinent illustrations relevant to the incidents under discussion.I can see this book being a useful supplement to a course or seminar on BRM, but didn't find it to be a particularly compelling introduction to BRM as a standalone text. I will continue looking for more comprehensive texts on the subject, as I am still convinced that it's a worthy avenue of study, and if anything this book did reinforce that belief.