General Flashcards
Where do our health and safety obligations come from?
Merchant shipping and Fishing (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997
Health and Safety at Work Act 1997
Company Health and Safety Policy
Safety Management System
How can you follow health and safety best practices
Code of safe working practices for Merchant Seaman (COSWP)
How would you review your health and safety
Safety officer, investigations, safety commitee, safety representatives
How would you implement health and safety
Risk assessment, toolbox talks, permit to work, procedures
Encourage
How to create awareness in health and safety
Induction, training and record keeping
What are the responsibilities of the shipowner, master, officers and seafarers towards health and safety on board UK ships
- The shipowner and employer must ensure the health and safety of all seafarers and others working on board (both employed and self-employed).
- A health and safety policy should be in place.
- Risk assessment should underpin all safety measures put in place.
- Employers should provide health surveillance to workers where a risk to their health is identified as a result of their work activities.
- All seafarers must be trained so that they can work safely on board, including familiarization with on-board equipment and procedures, including emergency procedures.
- The shipowner should consult with those working on the vessel on the health and safety measures on board.
- Each seafarer has a duty to look after their own health and safety and that of others working with them and comply with the measures put in place for their safety.
- Health and safety measures should be provided free of charge to workers.
What are the principles of ensuring health and safety onboard ship?
The avoidance of risks – replacing dangerous practices with less dangerous ones
Evaluation of unavoidable risks – take action to reduce them
Adopt work patterns and procedures to reduce any adverse effect on workers health and safety
Adapt procedures to take account of new technology
Adopt a coherent approach to management of the vessel
Give collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures
Provide appropriate and relevant information and instruction for workers
What four stages does a risk assessment process involve?
Identification of hazards
An assessment of the liklihood of harm occuring
An assessment of the consequences
Identifying safety measures to reduce the risk as far as is reasonably practical
Does a risk assessment have to be written down?
There is no explicit requirement for a risk assessment to be written down.
However, seafarers and workers should be consulted when preparing risk assessments and must be informed of the results.
The risk assessment must be reviewed regularly and after any significant change in practices or circumstances.
A written record will assist in this process.
If you had a Young Person onboard your vessel or a new or expectant mother.
What would you have to have in place to comply with Health and Safety Regulations?
Under MLC
A risk assessment must be in place to consider young persons and new or expectant mothers onboard
What is the purpose of the permit to work system?
It is a organised and predefined safety structure for high risk activities which maybe non routine
Where would you need a permit to work?
Entry into dangerous (enclosed) space
Any work requiring the use of a gas testing/ monitoring equipment
Hot work
Working at height/ over the side
General electrical (under 1000volts)
Electrical high voltage (over 1000 volts)
Working on deck during adverse weather
Lifts, lift trunks and machinary
Permits to work can be developed for other categories of work as well
What should be contained on the permit to work?
The permit should be relevant and as accurate as possible.
The permit should specify the period of its validity (which should not exceed 24 hours)
Only the work specified on the permit should be undertaken.
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.
The authorised officer retains responsibility for the work until they have either closed the permit or formally transferred it to another authorised officer.
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.
On completion of the work, the competent person should notify the authorised officer and get the permit closed.
The competent person carrying out the specified work should not be the same person as the authorised officer.
How many Merchant Shipping health and safety regulations that relate to seafarers can you name?
Artificial Optical Radiation Asbestos Work at height Chemical agents Biological agents Carcinogens and mutagens Control of vibration at work Control of noise at work Lifting operations and lifting equipment
Shipowners responsibility to health and safety?
Shipowners should ensure that masters have adequate support to carry out their responsibility
for health and safety management effectively while on board.
Avoidance of risk, combating risk at source and replace dangerous practices, substances or equipment
Evaluate unavoidable risk and taking action to reduce them
Adoption of work patterns and procedures taking into account the individual, especially in respect of the design of workplace and choice of work equipment
Adapt procedures
You notice the bosun up the mast without a safety harness, what action do you take?
Stop the job
Investigate why not wearing harness
Systems failure to put in control measure in the risk assessment and permit to work system.
Even if it isn’t stated on the permit to work, there has been a failure for the employee to take responsibility for they’re own health and safety.
From a management and legal point of view, the bosun has broken the law as it is a breach of the working at height regulations and that person is liable for prosecution
Why have two persons sign the permit to work?
Eliminiate the single point of failure
When must a safety officer be appointed aboard ship
When there are more than 5 persons onboard.
Person must have been through an approved course and advised not to be the Master
When must a safety comitee be established onboard
More than 5 crew.
Consisting of safety officer, master and any other representatives elected or appointed.
Representatives should be spread accross all departments and have 2 years sea service and 6 months onboard the specific vessel.
Who is responsible for health and safety onboard?
Employer reponsible for ensuring overal safety onboard and safety is properly organised and co ordinated.
The Master is responsible for the day to day health and safety of the vessel, company policy procedure, sms is implemented.
Heads of department are responsible for the health and safety in they’re department following the SMS and health and safety legislation and safe systems of work.
Each officer is responsible for the health and safety of the people they organise.
Individuals are responsible for their own personal health and safety
Duties of the safety officer?
Maintain a good relationship with the safety representatives, invite representatives to join on regular inspections.
Share records with the safety commitee and carry out inspection/ investigation they consider necessary
Ensure compliance with the code of safe working practices and health and safety guidance and instruction for the ship
The safety officer’s role should be a positive one, seeking to initiate or develop safety measures before an incident occurs rather than afterwards
Be on the lookout for potential hazards
Develop and sustain a high level of safety consciousness among seafarers so crew have an instinctive reaction towards working in a safe manner. Having regard to personel safety and of others
Where unsafe practice is observed, approach the person or responsible officer concerned to suggest improvements
Ensure each person joining the vessel is instructed in the health and safety arrangements
Remind experienced crew to set a good example for less experienced crew
Arrange and distribute safety material, leaflets and advisaries
Supervise the display of posters and notices, replace and renew
Arrange the showing of safety films and discussions
Encourage seafarers to submit suggestions and ideas for improving safety
Communicate new requirements and legislation
Investigate accidents and dangerous occurances
Carry out safety inspections
Deciding whether “substance change in the conditions of work” have occured and whether procedure needs reevaluating
Record dangerous occurances and accidents
Stop dangerous work
How often should safety inspections be made by the safety officer?
Every 3 months
/what is the difference between marine casualty and marine incident
Marine casualty – an unexpected event which results in serious injury or illness of an employee and may also result in property damage.
E.g. death, amputation
Loss of person from ship
Loss or abandonment of a ship
Damage to ship making it unfit to proceed with out flag state approval.
Breakdown requiring towage
Pollution caused by damage to ship
Incidents – an instance of something happening, an unexpected event or occurrence that doesn’t result in serious injury or illness but may result in property damage
E.g. close quarters situation
fire
unintentional grounding on soft mud, no stranding or material damage.
person overboard, recovered without serious injury
What is a near miss
An event that doesn’t result in harm but had potential to cause harm or damage
How would you report an accident or incident?
MAIB website, click report an incident/ accident. Fill in the form with information.
Company reporting method for internal reporting
An accident has occured onboard, what are your actions?
Give priority to the safety of any injured person, assisting them in making the area safe
Record everyone involved
Note the position of the casualty, PPE, equipment make a sketch or if possible photos
Once area is safe and casualty removed, commence a more detailed examination of the incident/ accident
Points to note
Compliance with control measures identified by the risk assessment
Type condition and origin of access equipment in use
Any effect of external factors on the condition of equipment
Deployment/ rigging of the equipment
Weather conditions at the time
What is an improvement notice?
Issued by the MCA or enforcement officer of the MCA issued to an individual not the ship or company.
Identifies there has been a breach in Merchant shipping act.
There is a time bound period where improvements must be made.
E.g. guards not around some tools… breach of PWER regs… you have 21 days to provide evidence that there are now guards
What is a prohibition notice?
Similar to improvement notice, but more serious.
The ship can not sail until it has been rectified
E.g. gangway is broken… not complying with safe means of access.
What is the difference between MCA surveyor and MCA inspecter
MCA surveyor is an enforcement officer and have legal powers over the vessel.
MAIB have powers to inspect and investigate however don’t have any legal powers
what is a safety culture
defined in chapter 1 of coswp
Clear defined expectations
Good communication
Clear leadership
Good planning
Risk awareness
Accountability
Good safety culture
Effective knowledge management
What is knowledge management?
Getting the right information
Making it easy to understand
Getting it to the people who need it, when they need it
Encourage them to use it
How often should you conduct a safety meeting
Safety meetings should be conducted atleast once per month or after a safety related incident
