Risk Assessments

Barry Blitter · 17 August 2007, 10:09

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 · 17 August 2007, 10:35

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 · 17 August 2007, 11:46

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 · 17 August 2007, 12:59

Quote:

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 · 17 August 2007, 14:11

Quote:

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 · 20 August 2007, 15:00

Quote:

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 · 20 August 2007, 15:32

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

tango1 · 20 August 2007, 22:24

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 · 21 August 2007, 06:26

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 · 21 August 2007, 23:09

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".

Jon Brooks · 31 August 2007, 11:50

When chatting to my coding guy earlier this year he said whilst not a requirement he suggested we carry a fire blanket.
Whilst it would not put out an outboard fire it could and would buy you some time!!

Ian · 31 August 2007, 22:26

A fire blanket may not put an outboard fire out but it would help a casualty on fire, worth carrying one for the sake of the space they take up fixed inside a console.
Keep your fire extinguishers away from the transom. If the outboard is the fire source you don't want to be approaching the fire it to get hold of an extinguisher you want to approach it with the extinguisher in hand ready to use. Mine are kept in the console with a further one in seat locker ahead of the console.

Rogue Wave · 02 September 2007, 08:50

in the console or on the console? Do you have to open something to get to them?

I have to be honest After about 10 seconds of fire fighting, the only thing that would keep me on a boat with a petrol engine on fire is Sharks and I'm not talking about our principal either!

Ian · 02 September 2007, 09:12

Yes in something! Surveyor was ok with it

and it stops kids letting them off on purpose (once only) when mounted externally on the console.

Rogue Wave · 02 September 2007, 09:25

that's not fore me I want to be able to reduce access time to the extinguisher cos I think seconds count! Let's hope we never have to use them in anger and if we do this doesn't happen.

http://boatmad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9308

Ian · 02 September 2007, 09:30

Yeah read about that. The extinguishers are positioned next to the fuel cut off valve in the console so as this is the first place to visit in the event of a fire the extinguishers would not take any longer to access.
Agree with you that we hope it never happens, but 'never say never'.

Rogue Wave · 02 September 2007, 09:37

plan for the worse hope for the best!

Fuel cut offs are another thing I don't like seeing on a transom.

I could be wrong but I believe that the cut offs now have to be external BTW. We are just in the process of coding Dyna Mo Humm and the surveyor specced that the switches be external.

Were are thay on that boat you drive to the Windfarms?

Ian · 02 September 2007, 09:40

They are external on the windfarm ribs but internal on the survey vessel and Black Jack. Never been an issue so has the coding requirement changed?

Rogue Wave · 02 September 2007, 11:28

I think it might have Our taps were internal on the Scorpion and that got through OK tha was 3 years ago.

Jon Brooks · 06 September 2007, 11:12

Our fuel taps are on the inside and was no issue with coding this year.

I thought it was a coding requirement the at least one fire extinguisher was external of any consol/seat?
Our main one on the consol, in a resses, by the navigators knee.
Well out of harms way but very easy to get your hands on in a hurry.