Profilteam Human resource and crew management on board ships

Officially recognised in 2007, the PROFILTEAM project was designed to improve safety at sea by optimising human behaviour management on board ships. Studies carried out, including market research and creation of a prototype, have demonstrated that such a project offer was timely, as there was a genuine unmet need in the maritime sector, but that several aspects of the product would need adapting:

• Operate independently from software stubs (for individual behaviour appraisal) already used by potential customers
• Customise process implementation
• Extend range of associated services offered
• Exploit training as starting point for engaging with customer regarding functions for optimising crew performance.

Research is underway at DCNS in 2011 to adapt the product to these specific needs. The new product offer, named OPTICREW and focusing on inter-personal skills, is now an integral part of DCNS' new Business Unit devoted to training and simulation. The product was introduced at the Euronaval trade fair in October 2010 with a view to marketing it in 2011.

The PROFILTEAM approach has involved combining specific details of the roles played by personnel and the tasks they perform on board with the behavioural skills of each within the crew. Universal job sets have been created as bases for the defence and merchant navies. By intergrating this approach into a single software tool, comparable to that exisiting in private-sector companies, it can be used as a support tool throughout a ship's lifecycle from the design stage onwards. In particular, it can assist all decision-making functions relating to crew management.

An IT prototype has been produced using full-size tests at the Centre d'Instruction Naval (Junior Seamen's College), part of the Ecole navale (Naval Academy), and with crews onboard scientific and naval vessels.
The project has enabled DCNS to set up a PROFILTEAM project unit in Brest with a view to creating a subsidiary company offering 'Human Resources Services'. The equivalent of five full-time posts has been created within different partner businesses and institutions to carry out the project.
Market research has also shown the system's relevance for customers in other armed forces, or for any crew confined in a stressful environment, for whom a specific marketing policy will be implemented as part of a second phase.