Abstract
AbstractPiloting in the Panama Canal is exceptional as, due to its importance, the functions of the captains of vessels are taken over by pilots. Hence, prior to inauguration of the expanded canal, a limited number of pilots experienced on the existing canal were certified for the transit of Neopanamax vessels by means of planned and innovative individual learning. After this organisational training through operative training, with the implementation of the expanded canal in June 2016, the routine training started. Hence the learning curve in the performance of these manoeuvres will represent the growing skill acquired by both the pilots and the organisation. Given that the learning effect is measurable, this paper has the dual objective of determining two curve models: the organisation operative learning curve model and the routine learning curve model for pilots performing transit manoeuvres in the expanded Panama Canal waterways and the Cocolí and Agua Clara locks. Manoeuvre times in locks and transit in the whole of the canal were followed up continuously in the first 42 months of operation.
Highlights
In all cultures and languages there is a proverb which can be applied to any task in order to express that as the number of repetitions increases, experience leads to a reduction in the time and the effort required (Yelle, 1980; Dorroh et al, 1986; Lam et al, 2001; Mosheiov and Sidney, 2003; Jaber and Guiffrida, 2004; Carral et al, 2017, 2018a). This reduction in time comes from the performance of the activity in a more efficient way and is caused by the phenomenon known as learning effect, whose graphic representation is the learning curve
When considering the process of vessel transit through the extended Panama Canal, individual learning refers to the skill, efficiency or practice acquired, from their own experience, by pilots as the individuals responsible for the performance of the operation, while organisation learning results from the experience of a group of people working in the Maritime Traffic Control Center (MTCC), the Hydrology Department, tug boats, and locks (Carral et al, 2019a) (Figure 1)
The exploratory analysis and the results of the application of generalised additive models (GAM) modelling support this procedure. This means that at the beginning there was wide room for improvement and all the actions performed by the APC led to large decreases in transit time, but the rate of change continuously decreased until reaching an asymptote
Summary
In all cultures and languages there is a proverb which can be applied to any task in order to express that as the number of repetitions increases, experience leads to a reduction in the time and the effort required (Yelle, 1980; Dorroh et al, 1986; Lam et al, 2001; Mosheiov and Sidney, 2003; Jaber and Guiffrida, 2004; Carral et al, 2017, 2018a). For decades the personnel of the Panama Canal Authority (Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, ACP) – the organisation in charge of the transit of vessels (port pilots, tug boat captains, and lock operators) (Carral et al, 2017) – through their activities have developed efficient techniques in the performance of their functions in the existing canal (Carral et al, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2019a, 2019b). When considering the process of vessel transit through the extended Panama Canal, individual learning refers to the skill, efficiency or practice acquired, from their own experience, by pilots as the individuals responsible for the performance of the operation, while organisation learning results from the experience of a group of people working in the Maritime Traffic Control Center (MTCC), the Hydrology Department, tug boats, and locks (Carral et al, 2019a) (Figure 1). In order to become pilots certified to perform in the EPC, a double four-year process is required (levels 9, 10 and 11) (Table 2)
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