MV CRYSTAL PIONEER
MV CRYSTAL PIONEER
By: Capt. Orlando N. Pascual, Jr.
Accidents or incidents do not just happen – they are caused, usually by more than one factor coming together at particular place and time. Change any one of these factors, even slightly, and the accident would probably not occur.
Risk assessment prior hazardous work for example is one good tool in order to mitigate if not, to lessen the consequences of a particular occurrence onboard. Compliance with risk assessment is not just on paper, a full commitment particularly by senior officers is a must in order to fulfill the implementation of its purpose. Not at all times including the company, the Master, officer, & engineer is watching or supervising physically their men during at work. Now the question is – How do they drive their men to work towards safe & efficient operation? To begin with, let us know the meaning of Safety Culture.
What is Safety Culture? It is important for everyone to have an understanding and appreciation of the concept of safety culture. For a safety culture to be truly effective, the company & officers on
board must encourage and motivate its personnel to make safety and environmental awareness their highest priorities.
Safety culture may be describe as the values and practices that management and personnel share to ensure that risks are always minimized and mitigated to the greatest degree possible. With an effective safety culture, safety and pollution prevention are always the highest priority. The company and shipboard personnel will always think about the implications for safety of every action.
In an effective safety culture, everyone is involved whether a manager, Master, ratings, etc. Truly believes in and understands the purpose of established procedures, and will think about safety and the means of improving it.
Components in order to achieve effective safety culture:
- Commitment from the Top. Commitment from the highest level of the company and Senior officers onboard is vital to ensure that personnel will act safely at all times. Without commitment from Senior Officers, the efforts of everyone else in support of the Safety Management System will be wasted.
- Measuring current performance and behavior. In order to achieve an effective safety culture it is essential to have the means to monitor the company & shipboard current performance in order to identify ways in which safety can be improved.
- Modifying Behavior. A key aim of a safety culture should be to modify the behavior. Senior officers to instill the minds of its personnel that they “believe in safety, think safety, and are committed to safety”. Developing an effective safety culture based on the concept of continuous improvement, personal commitment, and responsibility by all is a long term process and involves much hard work and effort. Let us be aware that people (crew) onboard ships – they come and go.
Apart from words mentioned earlier, as a seafarer, one big factor that motivates me to always think safety is my precious family waiting at home. Through safety & efficient operation – means good business and continuous employment. Let’s admit the fact that majority of us took this profession in order to sustain the financial needs & to give our loved ones the best this world can offer.
