Bridge Resource Management (BRM)

Bridge Resource Management (BRM) is the effective use of all resources on the bridge, human and technical, to keep the ship safe, and is a competence under the STCW Code. It applies crew resource management principles from aviation to the bridge team: clear allocation of duties, closed-loop communication, cross-checking, challenge and response across rank, and shared situational awareness. STCW Table A-II/1 and the watchkeeping principles in A-VIII/2 require the officer of the watch to coordinate the team, brief the master and pilot, and avoid single-point reliance on any one person or instrument. Many groundings trace to a BRM breakdown: an unchallenged error, an unbriefed pilot, or a master and OOW each assuming the other had the con.