The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
CHIRP has received many reports which may be categorised individually as minor near misses. Whilst the reporting of these shows that a behavioural-based safety programme is in place, it also shows that the Deadly Dozen has yet to be embraced.
The Deadly Dozen – see MGN520
Several of these near miss “one liners” are detailed below. They all had remedial action applied, in the form of direct intervention.
The above reports are encouraging and indicate that people are thinking about safety, but it is worth remembering that the Human Element can involve multiple factors. Take the first example of our deck hand getting involved with mooring – this points to a poor on-board safety culture, a lack of standard operational procedures, and a poor company culture within the Safety Management System. A proper risk assessment and toolbox talk would have prevented the deck hand from getting involved.
Some of the examples may sound very familiar from your own ship – if so, what are you doing to prevent it from happening in the first place? All of the above examples could have been prevented if the people on board, backed up by shore management, had a heathy TEAMWORK ethic which encourages people to challenge unsafe procedures where appropriate, and which involves proper planning and co-ordination of onboard activities. Good planning also reduces the danger of people being placed under too much PRESSURE since tasks are more evenly distributed.
For any “near misses” that you become aware of, try to decide which of the twelve aspects of the Deadly Dozen are most appropriate. There may be more than one, in fact there are often several categories. From a personal perspective, thinking about your surroundings or the tasks that you have been allocated helps you become more self-aware and able to see the dangers before they cause an accident. Why not discuss the near misses that you experience at your Safety Committee meetings and bring in the aspects of the Human Element? You might be surprised at the results.
Report Ends