A leading maritime training expert with a long career at the front line as Head of Safety and Training has said that the safety culture in many companies operating vessels is sorely lacking, citing time pressures and outdated training contributing to an alarming number of deaths in enclosed spaces.
Capt Chawla is CEO of Maritime Knowledge Limited/MarinePALS, a leader in state-of-the-art micro-learning videos, gaming apps for learning, VR programs and online mentoring in the maritime sector.
He was responding to new research for the International Bulk Terminals Association which identified at least 1010 ship and shore worker deaths over the past 25 years in enclosed spaces – far higher than previous studies had suggested.
The study found that failures of training, safety enforcement and ship design were all contributory factors to the high death toll, as well as seafarers being forced to work fast to ensure ships left ports on time, according to the study author.
Capt Chawla cited several reasons for the alarming statistics but homed in on a few key areas, saying: “The first of many reasons for deaths in enclosed spaces is a lack of a strong safety culture in the company. “Secondly under time pressure to clean and inspect tanks, complacency can happen. There is an urge to get the job done, disregarding a proper check of the atmosphere.”
He added he had seen cases where a crew member has chosen to simply ignore the correct and vital safety checks despite knowing the dangers. Capt Chawla criticised the lack of importance some operators have when it comes to training, saying: “A common factor contributing to an inadequate safety culture is that training is not taken seriously and is treated like a ‘tick box’ exercise for compliance.”
He said that a new and refreshing approach needed to be taken for safety training on vessels, and that the traditional classroom ‘pupil/teacher’ set-up is now not enough.
“The key gap in my opinion is that training is often done in a boring manner, such as a classroom chalkboard or PowerPoint presentation. Also often, due to a weak safety culture in the organisation, the on-board training is not supervised by senior officers,” he said.
Capt Chawla said the absence of checks by a third-party meant standards were not being upheld: “The element of third-party checks is also missing. In my opinion, if Internal ISM Auditors and Port State Control were to start observing enclosed space entry and rescue drills, training across the industry will improve quickly.”
He added there is already more effective and stimulating training packages available which brings maritime safety training into the modern world. He stated: “MarinePALS recognises the need to do things differently to reduce these deaths and improve safety. We believe in delivering training in a timely manner and using methods that are engaging.”
“We make short bite-size chunks of learning. We have a series of short videos, less than seven-minutes each, that cover all the regulatory guidance and include practical guidance to prevent such accidents. “We have also produced a series of videos of less than a minute that serve as reminders and are based on behaviour-based safety.”
Capt Chawla credited industry associations like InterManager, Intertanko, Nautical Institute, GlobalMET , OCIMF and others which are already working with the IMO to review the regulations and guidance on this subject.
He concluded: “What I would like our industry to achieve quickly, working with various stakeholders, is to look for design controls that eliminate the need to enter into enclosed spaces for operational reasons or fixed systems that give constant warning to the seafarer, when the atmosphere is unsafe.”
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