COSWOP Flashcards
COSWOP: Chapters
Permit to Work:
Permits to Work are issued for specific tasks falling outside ‘normal working’ such as:
• Working Aloft.
• Working Over side.
• Hot Work.
• Working on deck in adverse weather.
• Electrical work.
• Using Gas testing equipment.
• Entering an Enclosed or Dangerous space.
Permit to Work
1. The permit should be relevant and as accurate as possible. It should state the location
and details of the work to be done, the nature and results of any preliminary tests
undertaken, the measures undertaken to make the job safe and the safeguards that
need to be taken during the operation.
2. The permit should specify the period of its validity (which should not exceed 24
hours) and any time limits applicable to the work that it authorises.
3. Only the work specified on the permit should be undertaken.
4. Before signing the permit, the authorised officer should ensure that all measures
specified as necessary have, in fact, been taken, or procedures are in place.
5. The authorised officer retains responsibility for the work until they have either closed
the permit or formally transferred it to another authorised officer who should be made
fully conversant with the situation. Anyone who takes over from the authorised
officer, either as a matter of routine or in an emergency, should sign the permit to
indicate transfer of full responsibility.
6. The competent person responsible for carrying out the specified work should
countersign the permit to indicate their understanding of the safety precautions to be
observed.
7. On completion of the work, the competent person should notify the authorised officer
and get the permit closed.
8. The competent person carrying out the specified work should not be the same person
as the authorised officer.
Precautions to be Observed Using Lifting Equipment
All lifting equipment must be of adequate strength and stability
for each load
• Securely anchored; or
• Adequately ballasted or counterbalanced; or
• Supported by outriggers, as necessary to ensure its stability when lifting.
A valid certificate
• After manufacture or installation; or
• After any repair or modification that is likely to alter the safe working load (SWL) or
affect the strength or stability of the equipment.
Lifting equipment must be regularly maintained and examined and a register of all lifting
equipment kept.
• The types of winches and windlass and their operation.
• The location of emergency stop, buttons.
• The types of ropes and/or wires used.
• The location and use of rollers, dollies, and leads.
Precautions when Engaged in Mooring Operations
Equipment used in mooring operations should be regularly inspected for defects.
• Properly designed for the task.
• Able to meet all foreseeable operational loads and conditions.
• Correctly sited.
• Fixed to a part of the ship’s structure that is suitably strengthened.
Ship’s equipment can be employed to best effect if the following general principles are
remembered:
• Breast lines provide the bulk of transverse restraint.
• Springs provide the largest proportion of the longitudinal restraint.
• Short lengths of line should be avoided when possible because such lines will take a
greater proportion of the load, when movement of the ship occurs.
• Very short lengths may be compensated for by running the line on the bight.
Wires and ropes should be kept in separate fairleads or
bollards. When stoppering off moorings, the following applies:
• Natural fibre rope should be stoppered with natural fibre.
• Man-made fibre rope should be stoppered with man-made fibre stopper (not Nylon).
• The ‘West Country’ method (double and reverse stoppering) is preferable for ropes.
• Wire should be stoppered with chain, using two half-hitches in the form of a cow
hitch, suitably spaced with the tail backed up against the lay of wire. This will prevent
both the chain from jamming and the wire from unlaying.
Precautions when Engaged in Mooring Operations
Equipment used in mooring operations should be regularly inspected for defects.
• Properly designed for the task.
• Able to meet all foreseeable operational loads and conditions.
• Correctly sited.
• Fixed to a part of the ship’s structure that is suitably strengthened.
Ship’s equipment can be employed to best effect if the following general principles are
remembered:
• Breast lines provide the bulk of transverse restraint.
• Springs provide the largest proportion of the longitudinal restraint.
• Short lengths of line should be avoided when possible because such lines will take a
greater proportion of the load, when movement of the ship occurs.
• Very short lengths may be compensated for by running the line on the bight.
Wires and ropes should be kept in separate fairleads or
bollards. When stoppering off moorings, the following applies:
• Natural fibre rope should be stoppered with natural fibre.
• Man-made fibre rope should be stoppered with man-made fibre stopper (not Nylon).
• The ‘West Country’ method (double and reverse stoppering) is preferable for ropes.
• Wire should be stoppered with chain, using two half-hitches in the form of a cow
hitch, suitably spaced with the tail backed up against the lay of wire. This will prevent
both the chain from jamming and the wire from unlaying.
Dangers of Excessive Loads on Mooring Lines
Precautions When Towing or Passing a Tow
Once the tow is connected, seafarers should keep clear of the operational area. If anyone
is required to remain in this area or to attend to towing gear during the towing operation,
they should always take extreme care to keep clear of bights of wire or rope. During
operations, communications should be maintained between:
• Towing vessel and both the bridge team and the foredeck of the vessel under tow.
• The tow party and the bridge team.
Entering Enclosed (Dangerous) Spaces
The IMO have defined an Enclosed or Dangerous Space as one that:
• Has limited openings for entry and exit.
• Has inadequate ventilation.
• Is not designed for continuous worker occupation.
All crew should be given familiarisation and on board training, which should include:
• Identification of hazards likely to be encountered during entry into enclosed spaces.
• Knowledge of the assessment procedures.
• Knowledge of procedures for safe entry.
• Recognise the signs of adverse health effects caused by exposure to hazards.
Authorised Officer
Based on their risk assessment, the authorised officer should decide the procedures to be
followed for entry into a potentially dangerous space. These will depend on whether the
assessment shows that:
• Minimal risk to the health of a person entering the space then or at any future time.
• No immediate risk, but a risk could arise during work in the space.
• The risk to life or health is immediate.
• Identifying potential hazards.
Risk Assessment
CoSWP lays down a risk assessment process consisting of four basic steps and a review.
This is referred to in the Code as the five stages of a Risk Assessment:
1) Identify the hazards.
2) Decide who might be harmed and how.
3) Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.
4) Record your findings and implement them.
5) Review your risk assessment and update if necessary.
5 stages of risk assessment
Five stages of a Risk Assessment:
1) Identify the hazards.
2) Decide who might be harmed and how.
3) Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.
4) Record your findings and implement them.
5) Review your risk assessment and update if necessary.
