Risk Assessments

[Barry Blitter]

Just wondered how many of you commercial boys and girls (if there are any). Are doing risk assessments before leaving port! I heard that many councils are now insisting on this!

[doggypaddle]

Surely not every time? a generic risk assesment to cover all boating related activities should suffice, according to the HSE even verbal risk assesments are adequate for some low risk activities(non specific)
I have done more than my fair share of risk assesments and i can say most of them would be deemed overkill by the HSE, as they point out they arent there to make things inconvienent for people just safer, unfortunately company management and the like get scared of prosecution and think that millions of risk assesments will save their bacon! no one has the balls to say thats a low risk a verbal assesment will suffice.

[Doug Stormforce]

Rupert

I think you have missed the point on the whole process of risk assessment.

Risk assessemnt is something we all do all of the time in our daily lives. When you look at a weather forecast in the morning or the night before you are carrying out risk assessment. When you identify shallow water and choose to avoid it you have assessed the risk and are taking the appropriate counter measure.

When you run a charter business/organistation you carry out an assessment of the measures you need to take to reduce risk for your customers, your boats and yourself. This is an on going process that does not stop.

[AndyB007]

Originally Posted by doggypaddle

... unfortunately company management and the like get scared of prosecution and think that millions of risk assesments will save their bacon!

My former employer required a risk assessment for every DESK! Offices can be hazardous places (so we were told) and you might have something on/in your cupboard that your colleague does not, so no you can't do one risk assessment for the whole office!!

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by AndyB007

My former employer required a risk assessment for every DESK! Offices can be hazardous places (so we were told) and you might have something on/in your cupboard that your colleague does not, so no you can't do one risk assessment for the whole office!!

That's just your HSE guy trying to be important and make sure he gets a bigger office/ consultancy fees. Or maybe to get evrybody about thinking about Risk assesment

We have to do lot's of Risk assesments out here but we do as many generic ones as we can. The reason I am employed as a coxswain is to prove the point come any incident that the company have employed a competent and suitably qualified person to crash sorry drive the boat.

What we do is write the risk assesment points and laminate it then we right our daily checks and wind, tide, sea state in Chinagraph on top of the Laminate and sign it. It takes two minutes and were covered we rub it out the next day and start again. That should satisfy The Harbour Masters

[Jon Brooks]

Originally Posted by Doug Stormforce

Rupert

I think you have missed the point on the whole process of risk assessment.

?
Rupert? miss the point? surely not!!!

Like Doug say's it forms part of a daily routine.
We, like most others have a risk assessment document which makes up part of our standard paperwork.

Anyone in their right mind would have this covered.

[Limey Linda]

Looks like Ruppy, is having a dig at this forum. "Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn"

[tango1]

hi folks! can i ask what have you done about your fire risk assesments for your boats. do you know that this is your place of work and that if you take people under your care then you alone have a duty to make sure that the risk of fire must be reduced to the minimum. i am just wondering how you folks are dealing with this assessment.

[Rogue Wave]

Fire protection or supression iequipment s part of the coding requirements.

Suitable extinguishers, specific fuel pipie, fuel switch and battery isolators all help with knocking a fire down. A liferaft is also specced! A fire is about the only thing that would make me leave a rib and get into a liferaft.

It is also pertinent to place you extinguishers in useful positions so you can get to the problem without delay or risk. i.e it is no good siting your extinguisshers in a bow locker when you need to knock down an engine fire.
It costs seconds and you may not have that

Your risk assesment should take that into account, also by prohibiting smoking you can remove a source of naked flame. Your assesment should also include daily inspections to check for leaks or faulty wiring.

[tango1]

good to see that you have done your rsearch and that you treat this as a high risk area.has anyone thought of how to protect a outboard engine as this must be one of the highest risk areas on the boat?i am wondering if a fire trace would suit aoutboard as they are very good for a inboard protection.but however in the grudge buy area of fire protection would people want to spend the money or would they do the normal thing of thinking " it wont be me" or "i am insured".