Chapter 1
MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
What does a safe working culture look like?
Following elements contribute greatly to maintaining a safe working culture.
· clearly defined expectations;
· good communications;
· clear leadership;
· good planning;
· risk awareness;
· accountability;
· good safety culture; and
· Effective knowledge management.
Every shipping company has a safety management system to take care of Safe working culture.
Risk awareness and Risk assessment
Risk awareness: If seafarers are fully informed and aware of the risks, they are much more likely to ensure they avoid the risks and remain safe. This knowledge is attained through risk assessment and in other ways throughout our lives including training in theory and practical application, information, observation, instructions, supervision and personal experience. We can improve the quality and usefulness of the information available by effective knowledge management (Experience).
A hazard is a source of potential injury, harm or damage. It may come from many sources, e.g. situations, the environment or a human element.
Risk has two elements:
· The likelihood that harm or damage may occur.
· The potential severity of the harm or damage.
TOOLBOX TALK before starting work is a key tool in ensuring that all involved in the work have a clear understanding and awareness of any hazards and their associated risks.
Application of the knowledge in the workplace is influenced by our values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and by the views of others. Safe working culture achieves this.
Risk assessment: The risk assessment process identifies hazards present in a work undertaking, analyses the level of risk, considers those in danger and evaluates whether hazards are adequately controlled, considering any measures already in place.
Effective Risk assessment:
· Correctly and accurately identify all hazards
· Identify who may be harmed and how
· Determine the likelihood of harm arising
· Quantify the severity of the harm
· Identify and disregard inconsequential risks
· Record the significant findings
· Provide the basis for implementing or improving control measures
· Provide a basis for regular review and updating.
Potential language difficulties should be taken into account. Temporary staff or those new to the ship or the Company who are not fully familiar with the safety management system or other operational details should be considered where relevant. Other seafarers who should be given special consideration include young persons and pregnant seafarers.
Risk assessment level 1
It is done by the company as per ISM code.
Risk assessment level 2: (task-based)
A suitable assessment shall be made of the risks to the occupational health and safety of seafarers arising in the normal course of their activities or duties.
There are specific Vessel and Task-specific risk assessments that must be carried out on board each vessel. The company assesses GENERIC RISKS. For this reason, generic risk assessments are used in context, and not seen as being suitable for specific tasks. For this, task-based risk assessments (TBRAs) should be carried out on board each vessel by those involved in the work.
Two distinct types of TBRA are used. First, a range of vessel-specific generic TBRAs for all routine and low-risk tasks are developed. These are periodically reviewed.
The second type of TBRA is used for specific high-risk jobs that are not routine, such as working aloft or enclosed space entry. These relate to the specific persons who will be involved in the work and valid only for the duration of that job.
In both cases, the assessments are done by a competent person or persons who understand the work being assessed. Seafarers who will be involved in the work are involved in the assessment process.
Risk assessment level 3: (TOOLBOX TALK)
A toolbox talk is another form of the risk assessment carried out in support of a TBRA. Its prime purpose is to talk through the procedures of the job in hand and the findings of the TBRA with the seafarers involved.
When carrying out a toolbox talk, it is important to actively involve those carrying out the work and others who may be at risk, i.e. seafarers, sub-contractors and others on board ship who may be affected by the work. Full and active participation should be encouraged and any questions or concerns discussed and taken into consideration. Once finished, confirm that all fully understand their role in the task and the precautions in place (‘closed-loop communication’). This should then be recorded along with details of any relevant risk assessment referred to.
A toolbox talk should be conducted prior to any work being carried out that involves more than one person and where there is a significant risk to persons or assets.
Risk assessment stage 4: (PERSONAL ASSESSMENT OF RISK)
This is an informal assessment of day-to-day risks carried out as you are going about your work and life in general. It is a technique used to ensure that we perform even the most mundane of tasks without getting hurt. It is used to maintain awareness of our environment at all times and aid in the identification and control of immediate hazards as we go about our work. Use of personal assessment of risk is developed and encouraged.
This is about taking a few minutes to step back, look at the job to be done, consider what could go wrong and how it may occur, and what steps you can personally take to avoid any incident occurring. As the work is proceeding, you should also monitor the workplace for any change in conditions that might alter the hazards and controls in place. If there is any concern, stop the work, re-assess the controls and, if necessary, re-plan and re-assess the task.
This approach may also be called a ‘dynamic risk assessment’. If the person believes that the dynamic risk assessment is NOT sufficient, go back to stage 2.
Every task carried out on board the vessel should be subject to risk assessment. This does not mean that a risk assessment needs to be written every time a simple task is carried out. The existing risk assessment must be referred to as part of a toolbox talk (stage 3) before the task can commence.
Once the task commences, monitor the workplace for any changes in conditions that might alter the hazards and controls in place. If there is any concern, work must be stopped.
On completion of the task, it is important to record or feedback any lessons learned and make improvements for next time. Everyone should be encouraged to contribute.
A proactive hazard-reporting system for immediate corrective action is always available on ships and information is shared as widely as possible.
Accountability: Maintaining a safe living and working environment on a vessel is a shared responsibility of all on board and ashore. All persons have a role to play.
For these reasons, it is important that:
· There are well-defined rules and guidelines, that are clearly understood;
· Responsibilities are clearly defined for all on board and ashore;
· Consequences of unacceptable (safety) behavior are made clear; and
· There is a fair, transparent and consistent response to unacceptable safety behavior, commonly referred to as a ‘just culture’. This is a strict disciplinary action.
Good safety culture: A good safety culture is one where safety is an integral part of everything that is planned, discussed, done and documented. With a good safety culture, everyone in the Company thinks about safety and new ways of improving it. They are constantly on the lookout for any unsafe acts or unsafe conditions, look out for each other, intervene to prevent accidents and incidents, actively share good ideas and always seek to improve.
To achieve a good safety culture, the following is a must
· Ensuring that all seafarers fully understand their roles and responsibilities; not just what they have to do, but also why it is important.
· They need to be informed and share their knowledge.
· All personnel, at every level of the Company, need to be fully engaged and committed to nurturing and developing the safety culture.
· Compliance with safety rules should be established as a core Company requirement and good safety behaviors should be the norm.
· The concept of continual improvement: The Company should be a learning organization. This should be a personal commitment and responsibility of everyone in the Company. There need to be systems and infrastructure in place to facilitate this process. A practical reporting system for unsafe acts and conditions, and improvement suggestions, should be in place, and all accidents and incidents should be investigated and findings widely circulated.
· An open and just culture to accept that it is normal for human beings to make mistakes.
· It is vital that all are empowered and feel comfortable in reporting unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, accidents and incidents without fear of unjust reprisals. This is critical in a robust safety culture.
Effective knowledge management
Efficient management of knowledge improves learning and understanding to prevent repeated accidents and incidents. This means sharing information and experience.
It has been said: ‘Man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.’
Knowledge management is about:
· Getting the right information;
· Making it easy to understand;
· Getting it to the people who need it, when they need it;
· Encouraging them to use it;
Incident investigation: The Effective incident investigation is required for a good knowledge management system. In the best systems, this would include all accidents, near misses, unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, and non-conformities.
Every seafarer has a responsibility to:
· report deficiencies, conditions that are causing concern and things that could be improved so that those with specific safety responsibilities can put things right; and
· contribute views on how things could be made safer.
FIVE STEPS TO RISK ASSESSMENT
Step 1: Identify the hazards– First, you need to work out how people could be harmed. When you work in a place every day, it is easy to overlook hazards, so here are some tips to help you identify those that matter:
· Walk around your workplace and look at what could cause harm.
· Ask others what they think. They may have noticed things that are not immediately obvious to you.
· Consider published information on accidents and near misses on ships, which will highlight common hazards and high-risk activities.
· Trade associations or protection and indemnity insurance (P&I) clubs publish very helpful guidance.
· Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment to identify the hazards and putting them in their true perspective.
· Have a look back at your accident and ill-health records – these often help to identify less obvious hazards.
· Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (e.g. high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances) as well as safety hazards.
· Consider people who may be particularly vulnerable (e.g. young persons or pregnant seafarers).
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
This identification will help you to identify the best way of managing the risk. This is not an individual list but groups of people (e.g. ‘people working in the storeroom’ or ‘passers-by’).
Remember:
· Some seafarers require particular consideration:
o The new and young seafarers,
o People with language difficulty
o People not familiar with Company or Ships safety procedures.
· Stevedores, contractors, and surveyors may not be in the workplace all the time.
· The general public could be hurt by your activities.
· If you share your workplace, you will need to think about how your work affects others present, as well as how their work affects your staff – talk to them.
· Ask your crew if they can think of anyone you may have missed.
In each case, identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill health might occur. For example, crew on roll-on/roll-off ferry car decks may be at risk from excess fumes.
Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions after spotting the hazards, you have to decide what to do about them.
First, think about what controls you have and how the work is organized. Then compare this with the good practice and see if there’s anything more you can consider:
Think of the following
· Can I get rid of the hazard altogether?
· If not, how can I control the risks so that harm is unlikely?
When controlling risks, use principles in the following order:
· Try a less risky option (e.g. switch to using a less hazardous chemical);
· Prevent access to the hazard (e.g. by guarding);
· Organize work to reduce exposure to the hazard (e.g. put barriers between pedestrians and traffic);
· Ensure use of personal protective equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear, goggles); and
· Provide welfare facilities (e.g. first-aid and washing facilities for removal of contamination).
Improving occupational safety and health does not cost a lot.
Involve staff, so that you can be sure that what you propose to do will work in practice and won’t introduce any new hazards.
Step 4: Record your findings and implement them putting the results of your risk assessment into practice will make a difference.
Writing down the results of your risk assessment, and sharing them with your staff, encourages you to do this. When writing down your results, keep it simple, e.g. ‘Tripping over rubbish: bins provided, staff instructed, weekly housekeeping checks’ or ‘Fume from welding: local exhaust ventilation used and regularly checked’.
A risk assessment does not have to be perfect, but it must be suitable and sufficient. You need to show that:
· A proper check was made;
· You asked who might be affected;
· You dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved;
· The precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low; and
· You involved your staff or their representatives in the process.
A good action plan includes a mixture of different things such as:
· Easy improvements that can be done quickly, perhaps as a temporary solution until more reliable controls are in place;
· Long-term solutions
· Arrangements for training employees on the main risks that remain and how they are to be controlled;
· Regular checks to make sure that the control measures stay in place;
· Clear responsibilities – who will lead on what action and by when.
Remember: prioritize and tackle the most important things first. As you complete each action, tick it off your plan.
Step 5: Review your risk assessment and update if necessary few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes sense, therefore, to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis.
Look at your risk assessment and think about whether there have been any changes. Are there any improvements you still need to make? Have your seafarers spotted a problem? Have you learned anything from accidents or near misses? Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.
It is easy to forget about reviewing your risk assessment – until something has gone wrong and it’s too late.
If there is a significant change, don’t wait: check your risk assessment and, where necessary, amend it. If possible, it is best to think about the risk assessment when you’re planning your change – that way you leave yourself more flexibility.