Pre-Embarkation Human Readiness: Quantification of Soft Skills and ULCSI-S

[Dr Ioannis Patiniotis]

“Potential 10-Minute Contribution to IMHFS 2025”
If granted a short 10-minute intervention at IMHFS 2025, I would present a conceptually original, globally unique, and mathematically structured approach to maritime Human Factors: the establishment of a Pre-Embarkation Human Readiness Baseline and its integration with a universal skills architecture designed specifically for seafarers.

Central to this contribution is the deterministic assessment framework Soft Screen X-Ray®, grounded in the SHIPScraft® Method, which evaluates the human element prior to interaction with any operational or HRA environment.
Unlike models such as SPAR-H, HEART, or CREAM, which quantify task-related reliability within operational contexts, this system quantifies the pre-task human condition through a mathematics-driven, non-AI algorithmic process.

The framework integrates:
• 26 non-technical soft skills,
• 26 behavioral competencies aligned with the INTERTANKO A–F taxonomy,
• a multidimensional personality profiling architecture (MBTI, 4Ps, Diamond 4Cs), and
• 19 internationally recognized psychometric indicators related to stress-response, emotional stability, communication efficiency, cognitive tendencies, and decision-making patterns.

All outputs are generated within 10–15 minutes through a deterministic self-assessment acceptance mechanism — not a questionnaire and not a psychometric test — in which individuals validate the propositions that correspond to their actual cognitive, emotional, and behavioral structures.

A second, equally original component is the Universal Labor Core Skills Index for Seafarers (ULCSI-Seafarers).
This index mathematically integrates the 26 SHIPScraft soft skills with the 26 Core Skills identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF), aligning them with the competency and labor requirements of the ILO, the transversal skills frameworks of the OECD, and the behavioral and performance expectations embedded in the IMO/STCW conventions.
The outcome is a unified, quantifiable construct of human capability — a first attempt to establish a global, standardized Human Capability Metric for the maritime profession.

In a brief presentation, I would outline:
(1) the theoretical rationale of the pre-operational readiness layer,
(2) its accuracy (>95%) in early detection of human-factor risk indicators, and
(3) how the combination of Soft Screen X-Ray® and ULCSI-Seafarers can enhance downstream HRA models, strengthen crew-allocation decisions, support mental-readiness monitoring, and improve systemic safety performance in both shipboard and shore-based settings.

I would welcome the opportunity to contribute this novel academic perspective to the Symposium’s discourse.

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