A Recipe for an Effective Safety Meeting  

Make Your Safety meetings count!

Every month your crew conducts an onboard safety meeting. The crew gathers; topics are discussed and all sign off on a form certifying it was held. All well and good as far as fulfilling the requirements, but is this safety meeting effective in getting the whole crew serious and proactive in running a safe operation?

Do we conduct a safety meeting to satisfy a Policy and Procedure requirement or is it conducted to add to the foundation of a successful (and safe) team?

Let's look at my vision of a good and effective safety meeting.

To start with, a great safety meeting needs to have great planning. Great planning requires great ideas. Where should the best ideas come from? They should come from the crew itself. The Safety Meeting section of Higman Boats has plenty of Vessel Safety related topics that can be used, but the crew may have the most relevant discussion topics based on day to day operations. As a crew, you know what is going on out there better than any office staff.

To come up with these topics, here is an idea.  Have a dedicated White Board in the galley where all crewmembers can write down safety issues that should be discussed.

Prior to planning, the Captain should assign a Safety Meeting Guru. This is a member of the crew who will lead the meeting and will be responsible for producing documented results. The Guru leads discussion and keeps the meeting flowing. Not everyone is comfortable with this role, but with some encouragement and support from the entire team, most can make it happen. The Captain can give guidance to the Guru and help organize the meeting.  To keep it interesting, the Safety Meeting Guru role should be rotated to all crewmembers.

Safety Meeting Guru Brandon Brupbacher goes through the meeting agenda with the crew of the M/V SKIPJACK.

Come up with a specific time and date for the meeting. Since this may not always be practical our type of operation, be ready to change it to the next available window.

The Safety Meeting Guru and the Captain should complete an agenda which is given to all crewmembers beforehand. It can be hand written or better yet typed up and printed out. Don't tell me there is no time to make up an agenda. The time can be found.

What is in the agenda? Keep it simple and use the form to document the meeting.

• Boat name, meeting date, time started, time finished, crew in attendance.
• List discussion items with a comments section for each topic. List reference material to be used.
• Add any specific incident that should be discussed with a comment section.
• Add a sign-off section for each crew member in attendance  for documentation.

Reference Material

After determining the agenda, the Safety Meeting Guru should find reference materials that can be used to reinforce the topics discussed. For example, a discussion item could be on the operation of the onboard fixed CO2 fire fighting system. Go to the Higman Training Newsletter archive.   Using the "Edit" and "Find on this page" dropdowns in your Internet Explorer, type in "CO2 system".  This should quickly highlight an article on our CO2 systems. Print out the article and use in the meeting. The Higman Personal Safety Manual is also a great reference tool to use in the meeting.

Meeting Day

Gather the crew for the meeting. Assign one of the crewmembers to keep track of the discussions and record comments, solutions, etc. They can use the agenda sheet to write down the responses and complete company documentation.

Capt Iry Duplantis (center) makes a point during the Skipjack's Safety Meeting.

It is not a bad idea to have an ice-breaker to get the juices flowing. An ice-breaker is a meeting tool that helps get participants energized and ready to learn.  If you go online and type in "Ice-breaker", you will find a million of them.

The Safety Meeting Guru should explain the purpose of the meeting and discuss what is going to be covered. Give out guidelines stressing that this should be a discussion with all participating. Don't let some crewmembers sit quietly with no interaction. Use questions to move the discussion. The more interaction, the more effective the meeting will be.

If a consistent problem concerning safety exists, come up with ways to eliminate the problem. Develop a plan to ensure the safety concern does not come up again.

Gather and record all of the information discussed. Summarize finding and lessons learned that will be valuable to your operation and to other boats. All ideas, recommendations and suggestions should be acknowledged and addressed during the meeting to make sure no one feels slighted.

As a final requirement, make sure the crew on their off time, participate when they get back to the boat. By sharing ideas with the whole crew, the team can only get stronger and safer.

There are many ways to have a great and effective safety meeting; it just takes a crew to sit down and do it!

SIRE Ready   

Prepping for a SIRE Inspection can make it an easy task.

You have heard the term SIRE; you know it means that an inspector will be onboard, but what is behind the program and how can you be most effective in presenting your tow?

SIRE is an acronym for Ship Inspection Report (SIRE) Program. Initiated in 1993 by an organization of oil companies called the Oil Companies International Marine Forum or OCIMF, SIRE was initially designed to gather information on Oil Tankers. The information gathered was used to identify sub-standard ships that could possibly become a liability risk to the OCIMF members. The information collected is shared by all the member companies to evaluate the suitability of marine equipment.

  

Today, the program has gone beyond ships and now includes tugs, towboats and barges. Information gathered is put in a central data base where all OCIMF members can find up-to-date information about the marine equipment they are chartering. They can also look at historical information on a barge or boat to help make a risk assessment.

 

How is Higman involved?

 

Most of our customers are members of the OCIMF and require up to date inspections of our equipment in order to work for them.  These companies assign certified inspectors to thoroughly review our vessels using a defined checklist. Inspectors are asked to report on all vessel or operational deficiencies, and to detail both positive and negative comments on the vessel's operations. Those deficiencies considered serious are assessed as 'High Risk', and are identified as such in an Observations List that is left with the Captain at the end of each inspection.

 

The initial inspection report is forwarded to the company where we can respond to any observed deficiencies.   Once we have responded, the completed report is certified and entered into the SIRE database.

 

Where to start before a SIRE Inspection?

 

The first place to start is at HigmanBoats.com. A completed sample of a SIRE inspection report can be found for a boat and for a barge. Read through the elements to get a good idea of what the inspector will be looking for. Having vessel documents such as COD, COI and the Radio Station license will speed up the inspection process. It is important to have a good knowledge of the Higman Policy and Procedure Manual to be able to present relevant sections when asked by the inspector.

 

Let's look at some inspection details that will come up.

 

Wheelhouse:

• All navigation lights must work including the horn light and the anchor light if present.
• Be ready to show updated charts. If you have Rose Point, be sure you have "synchronized" recently so all internal electronic charts are up to date. Be ready to show Local Notice to Mariners online.
• Have the current Voyage plan with current references such as the Coastal Pilot, Light List, and Tide Tables available.
• Make sure the Air Draft, Incapacitated Wheelman Procedures and the Station Bill are posted.
• Have the following dates available: boat delivery date, last dry dock date, last random drug and alcohol test date and date of the last USCG boarding.
• Have recent checklists available: Change of Watch, Pre docking,
• Have crew experience information: USCG license type with expiration date, how long they have had the license, number of years with Higman and number of years in the industry.
• Make sure crew is knowledgeable in the Policy and Procedure Manuals, Cargo Transfer Procedures, MSDS Book and the Safety Manual. Be ready to answer questions.

Safety Gear and Security:

• All life vests must have working light and whistle. Bunk rooms must have life vest for each bunk.
• Strobes on life rings must work.
• All emergency lighting must work.
• All smoke detectors must work.
• Fire extinguishers are serviced, with seals, pins and up to date. The Fixed CO2 system is up to date.
• First aid kits are complete and without expired items.
• AWO Alternate Security Plan is up to date with approval letter.
• Make sure the inspector is challenged for ID by crew when arriving.

Hull and Engine Room:

• All flood lights are working.
• Piping diagrams and general arrangement drawing available.
• Fire pump is ready to be tested.
• Electric panels and circuit breakers are properly labeled with no punched out breaker cutouts.
• Engine room is clean without engine or hydraulic oil leaks.

Barge Inspections:

• No oil leaks around engine, pumps, hatches; barge deck clean and gear/rigging properly stowed.
• Emergency engine shutdowns work. Fire Extinguishers up to date.
• All paperwork in box up to date and old paperwork gone. Piping diagrams onboard. Current Hose test/piping test certificates onboard.
• Signs properly in place.
• Voids clean and dry.

The more prepared you are for a SIRE inspection, the easier it will go.  Having a crew that knows the in and outs of the Policy and Procedure Manuals, the better your they will do on the inspection.  

Wheelmen's Seminar on Horizon   

Nautical Trivia
LST 325 

During the next few days you may spot a strange looking ship transiting down bound on the Mississippi River and westbound on the ICWW. LST 325 will be moving from Evansville, IN (mi 791, Ohio) to Port Arthur, TX.

 

LST 325

is one of the last operating ships of World War II. It is currently home ported at Evansville, Indiana at the USS LST Memorial museum. The ship is kept in navigable shape and will transit from Evansville, IN to Port Arthur, TX via the Lower MS River and GIWW, 7-14 January, for dry docking and repairs at Gulf Copper Shipyard, West Port Arthur. For additional info on the vessel, go to http://lstmemorial.org/. 

LST 325 on Normandy Beach in 1944

The LST (Landing Ship, Tank) was unique in that they could be beached to discharge troops and a maximum amount of heavy equipment without using any harbor facilities.  When you she her, you will notice the dimensions are not much different than an inland barge (325 ft x 50 ft). Being flat bottomed with a squared hull; they were not the best riding ship at sea. The WWII crews called them "Long Slow Targets" relating to their maximum speed of 10 knots.

 

Below is a condensed version of the LST-325 voyage plan for your information.

 

LST-325 VOYAGE PLAN,   Home Port - Evansville, Indiana 

• Destination: Gulf Copper Shipyard, South Yard, West Port Arthur, TexasDeparture  - 1000 (CST), JAN 07, 2013, LST Landing, Evansville, Indiana, Ohio River
• U.S Hwy 190 Bridge, Baton Rouge- JAN 11, 2013
• Arrival  - JAN 14, 2013, Gulf Copper Shipyard, South Yard, West Port Arthur, Texas
• Scheduled Stops: Mt. Vernon, Indiana and Paducah, Kentucky for fuel; Ohio River - four (4) Locks and Dams; and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway - four (4) Locks

Thanks to Jim Stark of the GICA for this information.

The ship's arrival in Mobile was with great fanfare; I think half of the city turned out to watch the ship dock at the downtown container terminal.

During that time, I was with Midstream Fuel in Mobile and my parents had recently moved to the area from the North to retire. How did I get involved with the ship?

My dad was an officer on the USS WALDO COUNTY (LST 1163), during the Korean War. That ship was based in Little Creek, VA where I was born.

With great interest, my Dad got onboard with the restoration project. Of course, he enthusiastically volunteered his marine engineer son (me) to help the aging crew in my spare time. Many of my Saturdays were spent doing mechanical and electrical repairs to the ship, all with plenty of advice from the ancient mariners.

In all it was a great experience!

Have a great and safe week!