Pilot Door Block Discussion

From the moment I looked down at the elevator door, I knew there was a discrepancy. There needed to be a better match between a practical solution and a safe procedure. I decided to picture the moment and use the picture for a LinkedIn post. Within a few hours, there were many insightful comments. I would even like to call it an interesting discussion. Discussions are exchanges of ideas between humans. Each human is unique and has unique experiences. Thus discussions are subjective. Knowing the background and character of the discussion's participants is suitable for mapping the ideas to their proper context.

I like to label myself as a practical operational executor. I want to get things done. I accept that there are risks involved. The best way to mitigate the risks and still get things done is to use the #ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) principle. I can not reduce the risks to zero, and I should only accept low risks. Using this context, we can analyze the "pilot door block" procedure.

The "pilot door block" is a piece of wood painted red and white. Red and white are the colors of the maritime code flag for "ship under pilotage." This piece of wood keeps the elevator door from closing and ensures the elevator is available for the pilot when he/she arrives. When the pilot boards or disembarks, the pilot spends most of his/her time proceeding from the pilot boarding arrangement to the bridge or from the bridge to the pilot boarding arrangement. As most vessels are enormous, there is a considerable height difference between the pilot boarding arrangement and the navigation bridge where the pilot executes the actual pilotage. Most of the time, this height difference is covered by several flights of stairs. This can easily be the equivalent of taking the flight of stairs of a seven-story building. The pilot carries his lifevest and his pilot bag. So imagine climbing the stairs of a seven-story building with about 7 kilos of extra weight. Some of the larger ships are equipped with an elevator. The elevator eliminates most of the stairs and is thus very popular with the crew and the pilot ??. As the elevator is popular, there is heavy usage of the elevator. As the pilot wants to limit the time between leaving the bridge and disembarking from the ship, it is practical that the pilot uses the elevator to save energy and time.

From the comments and personal experience there are some important issues:

• Elevator reliability: elevators do break down. Pilots have gotten stuck while using an elevator. When the pilot is stuck in the elevator, no time is saved, and a lot of uncertainty and risk are introduced. To avoid a pilot getting stuck in the elevator, the pilot should not use the elevator in case the elevator has had reliability issues. Some elevators function all the time, and some elevators operate only some of the time. A pilot should not use a "some of the time" elevator.
• Fire door function: The elevator shaft is the vertical link between many decks; the elevator doors are designed to keep a fire from using the elevator shaft to reach other decks. A fire door is only effective if it is closed. The "pilot door block" prevents the door from being a "fire barrier."
• Elevator availability: if the pilot intends to use the elevator, but the elevator is not available, then time is lost instead of saved. Hence the use of the "pilot door block."

As the pilot door block does prevent the fire door from being closed but keeps the elevator available for the pilot. There is a conflict between a safety and practical requirement. Hence, I use the #ALARP principle to evaluate the conflict.

• Time: How long does the block pose a safety risk? Usually, the block is only placed in the blocking position when the pilot is ready to leave the bridge. Therefore, the time between the block forcing the door open and the pilot boarding the elevator is about 5 minutes. Thus the wood block poses a safety risk for about 5 minutes. Just so you know, if a fire exists at the moment the block is placed: the smoke/smell would be noticed, and the door block would not be placed. Instead, the fire alarm would be sounded. In addition, the pilot and the escorting crew member would be at the exact location 5 minutes later.
• Probability: I have no knowledge of a "pilot door block" allowing a fire to spread. Therefore I would label the probability very low. (This is the subjective part of the discussion)

As the time is relatively short and the probability is very low, I would classify this safety risk as ALARP. However, I understand that some professionals consider any safety risk unacceptable and can not accept the "pilot door block" solution. Note also that the pilot follows the ship safety rules. It is the ship crew that decides if the pilot will use the elevator, and it is the ship crew that decides if and when to use the "pilot door block". My opinion: if a pilot door block is used wisely (very limited time and ensuring there is no fire), it can be a practical solution while minimizing the safety risk.

Notes: many pilots do fall and trip while using staircases, some pilots do get stuck in elevators and everybody that is born does die ??. A 100% death rate is the highest risk you can take. Everybody dies, but not everybody lives. Stay Safe ??