ECDIS 101: - by a devil's advocate

Whether the use of ECDIS is a simple or daunting affair is entirely up to the users. To me, the creators of ECDIS and shipping community as a whole has got it wrong because their focus is primarily directed at the devices and users, and not on navigating ships per se. Rather than projecting the (true) perception that ECDIS is a simple and useful device, the people involved in its implementation and training have offered a completely opposite impression. Some of the users, on the other hand, have been misled into ‘submission’ (of the wrong idea that they will never be good enough to handle the ECDIS). If one considers what navigation entails - namely, ascertaining your whereabouts and knowing how to get from point A to point B safely and economically - the skill needed to accomplish these tasks with the help of ECDIS is actually a very basic one. You probably do not require anything more than 10% of the features of your ECDIS to do that – conservatively speaking that is. It is akin to someone needing to make telephone calls or texting, he or she could just pick-up any smart phone to do that without the need for any intensive training on how to handle these smart phones. In a nutshell: the ECDIS is too sophisticated and complex as far as its primary role as a navigational aid is concerned, and the people involved had somehow been distracted by the same complexity. This booklet is intended to jolt the opinions of all. The use of ECDIS has warranted a closer attention and it is also a necessity we start to question the obvious too. Perhaps the views of a devil’s advocate can be helpful...