Step 3 of 3•8 minutes read
Identification of the Risks
Preventive Measures
Before starting any work onboard, all risks involved must be identified. Depending on the type of work, this can be done by external experts or by the person who will perform the work. If you do the risk identification on board, use all available resources. Discuss the risks involved with your colleagues. Use your experience.
Missing safeguards.
Obvious Missing Safeguards
The most obvious mistakes in the picture above are that no one uses a life vest or is sitting down while launching. They are launching while both the moorings ropes and the boom are in the way. Although, remember that there could be other potential risks as well.
1. Don't launch when mooring ropes obstruct the way.
2. Use life vests.
3. Sit down while launching.
4. Use hardhats.
5. Don't launch when the boom is underneath.
Quantifying the Risk
To determine an overall risk of a given scenario, consequences and likelihood must be quantified. To do this we have divided the consequences into four different areas:
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Harm to people.
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Asset damages or business losses.
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Environmental effects.
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Reputation.
Please check if your company has decided to use other definitions.
Risk Assessment Matrix
To be able to assess risk, we split it into two categories; consequence and likelihood. The consequence consists of four parts: people, assets, environment and reputation. We also arrange the severity of the consequence in six steps from low to high. The likelihood is presented on a scale from low to high probability.
Risk Assessment Matrix.
After estimating the consequences and likelihood you should enter these figures into a matrix. This matrix will tell you if the risk is Low, Moderate or Intolerable. We aim to reduce all risks to Low:
- If a risk is found to be Low it is ok to perform the task.
- If a risk is found to be Moderate, contact the superintendent before performing the task.
- If a risk is found to be Intolerable, do not perform the task.
If a risk is estimated to be intolerable or moderate, the crew must consider possible solutions to lower the risk. By decreasing one of them, the risk decreases as well.
Documentation
To be able to share the knowledge from previous risk assessments they must be documented. A special form is supposed to be on board for this purpose.
Informal Risk Assessment
You have now learned how to perform a formal risk assessment. In your daily work onboard you should always assess the risk. Before performing a task always think, "are there any risks involved?".
Take Five
The Take Five program is a five-step procedure you can follow when you perform a task on your own, in a group or with your co-workers and supervisor. The program aims to allow the personnel to take a few minutes to think before a potential risk occurs.