When a fire brigade arrives at a house on fire, they never rush in to extinguish the flames. Before they go into action, they identify hazards and assess the risks. If the risk to own personnel cannot be controlled, they will not enter the building.
Ambulance personnel have the same approach. Even if a person seems to be in dire need of urgent emergency care, they still take time to evaluate the patient’s condition before performing any medical procedure.
Firefighters and emergency responders are people who are always in a hurry. But if they can find time to identify hazards before doing their jobs, so can we.
The management of operational risks during daily work is sometimes a difficult task, but it is very important for our safety. We all have the responsibility to make sure that all tasks are completed safely.
During work planning meetings, the responsible officers shall facilitate the identification of hazards, and ensure that measures to control risks are implemented. All present must contribute and bring forward their thoughts and concerns.
This applies to complicated job orders like welding of heating coil inside the tank, as well as to simple tasks like hauling of provision.
Of course, there are those tasks that do not get discussed in a work planning meeting, like the routine tasks on board. No matter how familiar we are with a task, and no matter how easy it seems, we must still take the time to assess the situation and ensure that the risks present are acceptable.
We owe it to ourselves and to the company, and most especially to our family, to not put ourselves in danger, and to not compromise on safety.
Stay safe!
Harald Bauck
VP Risk Management
The statement I always identify hazards when planning work is derived from the Odfjell 2020 calendar currently being distributed to the vessels via joining crew. These statements are excerpts from our description of HSSE Excellence, and are recommended as themes for the General Safety Meeting.
