Silent safety: assessing cavitation-prevention procedures on board naval surface ships

Key Points

• The study aims to evaluate procedures that prevent cavitation on naval surface ships to enhance safety and performance.
• Conducted a randomized trial assessing different cavitation-prevention procedures on naval ships.
• Utilized cognitive and affective decision-making frameworks to analyze outcomes.
• Included a sample of naval vessels representative of contemporary surface ship designs.
• Identified significant improvements in safety metrics following the implementation of cavitation-prevention procedures.
• Showed a decrease in cavitation-related incidents by 30% (RR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9, p=0.02).
• Demonstrated enhanced decision-making quality among crew members in maneuvers with reduced cavitation.