a woman`s view of the shipping industry

Published by SEAHEALTH Denmark
ISSUE NO 3
Autumn 2015
A GOOD SAFE WORKING LIFE
Offshore:
6
IMPROVED WORKING
ENVIRONMENT
WITH COOPERATION
8-9
IMO:
MOORING ON THE AGENDA
Avoiding bullying:
A SHARED
RESPONSIBILITY 7
A WOMAN’S VIEW OF
THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Pain and stress: A new report gives a rare insight into the
lives of the few women working at sea
Quite a few of the women
who work at sea find it
stressful. In addition to the
mental load, there are also
physical consequences: The
women have pain in their backs,
shoulders, elbows and knees.
This is the short version of a new
report by the International
Seafarers’ Welfare & Assistance
Network (ISWAN) in 2014 and
2015. Women also report that it
can be difficult to get access to
a doctor without the whole ship
knowing about it. Also certain
female hygiene needs are
currently far from being met on
all ships, such as being able
to put sanitary towels in an
appropriate bin.
Set up for men
Shipping is a male-dominated
industry with men accounting for
98-99 percent of all seafarers.
So ships naturally reflect that
the people using them are men.
Everything is designed for men. For
example, there are men in all the pictures
in the guidance on board. This is why we
want to find out more about the issues that
concern women at sea and how female
seafarers see themselves.
Caitlin Vaughan, ISWAN (International Seafarers’ Welfare & Assistance Network)
This also applies to the information on board, for example
guidance, manuals, policies, etc.,
aimed at helping men’s wellbeing
while ships sail the oceans of the
world.
material is that it is only about
men and it was this finding that
led to the decision to do a survey
on women at sea.
“Everything is designed for
men. For example, there are men
in all the pictures in the
In 2014, 17 percent of the women in
guidance on board. This
the survey said that sexual harassis why we want to find out
ment was a problem for them. Some
more about the issues
of the women did however comment
that concern women at
that the problem was one of general
sea and how female
gender discrimination
seafarers see themselves,” says Caitlin
Nothing for women
Vaughan, the project manager
The downside of the existing
from ISWAN (International
Seafarers’ Welfare & Assistance
Network) who helped run the
survey.
Recruiting and
retaining women
According to the International
Labour Organisation (ILO), the
demand for women at sea will
grow in the future. But getting
more women to join the crews
will only happen if women feel
that the conditions on board
are up-to-date. This is why the
people behind the report will
host a conference in London in
the autumn. Here, the problems
highlighted by the women in the
survey can be discussed.
Overweight, headaches and
sexual harassment
The ISWAN-survey showed that
carrying slightly too much weight
around the hips was common
amongst female seafarers. A whole
series of reports have previously
reached the same conclusion about
male seafarers, which indicates a
trend in the industry. The survey
also shows that women often have
headaches and can be subject to
unwanted sexual approaches or
other kinds of discrimination. In
2014, 17 percent of the women
in the survey said that sexual
harassment was a problem for
them. Some of the women did
however comment that the problem
was one of general gender
discrimination. Others knew
people who had experienced
sexual harassment.
“But it is a very important
subject that we should address
as a separate issue at a later
time,” says Caitlin Vaughan.
What women want
Women want sanitary towel
bins. It may seem a trivial detail
but Caitlin Vaughan points out
that the issue was important
THE WORLD @ ONE PLATE
2 · AUTUMN 2015
Meet us at
MSSM
Stand No. 5
for the women who took part in
the survey so it should not be
underestimated, especially not
on long tours when sanitary bins
are often non-existent.
“The women feel a lack of
privacy. The fact that hygiene
conditions are not ideal is also
an issue,” says Caitlin Vaughan.
Women also want to be able to
be examined by female doctors
and for their personal health
to remain private rather than
being something for discussion
throughout the ship. n
The survey mentioned in this
article is produced in a
collaborative effort with IMHA,
ITF, The Seafarers Hospital
Society and ISWAN.
For more information go to
www.seafarerswelfare.org.
WHAT SEAGOING
WOMEN NEED
• Relevant information
about back pain, and
gynaecological issues, and
other health-related issues
• Easy access to hygiene
products
• Bins designed for sanitary
towels
• Good recreational facilities
“It’s just a
matter of changing
clothes together
with the guys”
20 year-old Lisa Träger does
not regard sharing a changing
room, a pat on the backside and
having to go to her cabin to
change a sanitary towel as any
problem. But if the shipping
industry in general is to succeed
in attracting and retaining more
women, these are things that will
have to improve.
Lisa Träger trained as a theatre
technician and used to work
behind the scenes in a theatre.
But just over a year ago, she felt
she should try something new.
“So now I work as an ordinary
seaman on board one of Esvagt’s
ships. We are based in Rostock
and serve the wind farm at
Kriegers Flak east of Møn,”
explains Lisa Träger.
Lisa Träger has no problem
being in a man’s world.
In addition to Lisa Träger, there
is one other woman amongst the
crew of 18. The fact that some of
the routines on board reflect the
male majority is not something
that gives her headaches.
Nor does she take offence
when men air their prejudices
about women at sea.
“Maybe it is because I am a bit
cheeky. There is always someone
who asks what I am doing at
sea as a woman. But
There is always someone who asks
I let it go in one ear and
what I am doing at sea as a woman.
out of the other. Just as
But I let it go in one ear and out of
long as I can do my job as
the other
well as they can. But I also
“We share the changing room
come from the world of theatre,
so it is just a matter of changing
which is a man’s world as well,
clothes with the guys. It is no
so I am used to it,” remarks Lisa
big deal. But there are naturally
Träger.
some women who have other
There was one guy who had
limits. I don’t take it so seriously.
to try giving her a pat on the
In the toilets in the corridors,
backside. But one slap in the
there are no bins for sanitary
face later, it was history and Lisa
towels, so I go to my cabin even
has no plans to work on shore in
though it is a little inconvenient.” the near future.
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SEAHEALTH FOR YOU
Maritime health, safety
and environment
– from theory to practice
Seahealth.dk is published by
SEAHEALTH Denmark
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About SEAHEALTH
Established in 1993, SEAHEALTH
is a private independent
institution with a board of
12 members, with six from
shipowners and six from
employee unions.
SEAHEALTH works with
the Danish merchant fleet to
promote health and safety for
seafarers regardless of rank.
We provide consultancy
services to shipowners and ships
in order to prevent occupational
injury, including industrial
accidents, occupational disease
and wear and tear. All Danish
registered merchant ships
over 20 GT are obliged to be a
member of SEAHEALTH.
At this year’s MSSM conference,
we are welcoming delegates,
exhibitors, speakers and other
stakeholders with the main
theme: “Maritime health, safety
and environment - from theory
to practice.” When working with
maritime health, safety and
environment, we often see a great
difference between what works in
theory and on paper and what is
actually possible in practice. Have
we created a culture in the maritime
industry in which the idea of fixing
things on paper automatically
means that they will be fixed in
practice as well? This and much
more will be the subject of the
presentations and discussions at
this year’s MSSM conference.
Prominent names on the poster
This year, we have a range of
excellent speakers. For instance,
the keynote poster features
Mark Gallagher, the Formula
1 expert who has had leading
roles in several Formula 1 teams.
Moreover, he is frequently called
upon by several international TV
stations as a motoring expert. At
MSSM, Mark will be recounting
his experiences in working on
safety and risk management in
international motoring.
MSSM will also be welcoming
the internationally acclaimed
journalist and author, Rose
George, whose book ”Ninety
Percent of Everything” gives
insights into life at sea from a
layman’s point of view. She wrote
the book following a five week
trip on board the Maersk Kendal
from Rotterdam to Singapore.
Amongst the other keynote
speakers, you will also find
Andreas Nordseth, Director
of the Danish Maritime Authority,
and Antonio Abaya, from the
Philippines, who has been
responsible for a comprehensive
investigation of the health of
Philipino seafarers.
At the conference’s
Get2gether event, delegates will
The 8 new Safety Links
The 8 Safety Links are old
news. Following discussions with
the industry, SEAHEALTH has
therefore given them a facelift
with new design and new content
with plain and simple wording.
A new dialogue tool for
employees has also been added
so that it is not just managers
who get to discuss the
organisation’s safety culture.
The new dialogue sheets are
accompanied by associated
action plans so that the 8 Safety
Links now consist of a mapping
phase and an action phase.
Last but not least, in
connection with the 8 new
Safety Links, SEAHEALTH has
designed a card game aimed
at promoting dialogue about
safety on board. The new
dialogue sheets, action plans
and game will not be automatically sent out to member
ships but can be purchased on
also be able to meet author and
long haul captain, Troels Kløvedal.
Sessions for all
There is something for everyone
in the session programme for
MSSM 2015. This year’s theme
will be addressed from several
different angles and there will
naturally be presentations taking
a more general view of MSSM’s
core area of maritime health,
safety and environment.
More than 40 speakers will
provide delegates with an
exciting experience, inspiration
and new learning.
The conference runs from
27- 28 August 2015 with our
Get2gether event on 26 August.
We look forward to welcoming
you all at MSSM 2015!
Contact Communications
Officer Jonas Licht,
for further information
T: +45 3348 9316
E: [email protected]
application to the secretariat on
+ 45 33 11 18 33.
The new guidance on the
8 Safety Links is in progress and
is expected to be released over
the summer after which you will
be able to download it from our
website for free.
Read more on
www.seahealth.dk/en
Contact Senior Consultant
Søren Bøge Pedersen
for further information
T: +45 3348 9313
E: [email protected]
NEW SEAHEALTH POSTER: M/S EXPOSURE
Let it be said. At SEAHEALTH, we believe
that nobody consciously expose themselves
or others to danger. If people realise that they
are heading for an accident, they will stop
and do things differently. We also believe
that everyone on board basically wants to do
their best to avoid potential short and
long-term effects on their health. Last but
not least, we are convinced that everyone
prefers to work in environments where they
are not exposed to unnecessary noise,
vibration, chemicals, heavy lifting, fatigue,
loneliness, stress, harassment or bullying.
4 · AUTUMN 2015
We all do our best in view of our work
conditions and knowledge about possible risks.
That being said, there are still seafarers
who are exposed to physical and mental
overload in their work every single day. This
could be due to the lack of safety culture, the
ship’s construction, the way work is planned
and organised, system structure or lack of
social interaction on board.
We have collected all kinds of exposures
on the poster of the ship: M/S Exposure,
which will be introduced at this year’s
MSSM-conference. Here, you can stop by
SEAHEALTH’s stand and participate in a
small competition about identifying
accidents, risks and near miss-situations.
BULLYING
Definition of bullying:
“Bullying is when one or more
people regularly and over an
extended period, or repeatedly
and abusively, subject one or
more individuals to offensive
actions that the victim sees as
wounding or humiliating.
Offensive actions only
become bullying when those
subjected to them are unable to
defend themselves.”
Bullying
There can be many different
forms and ways of bullying.
The most common are:
• Wounding remarks
• Scolding and ridicule
• Not receiving essential
information
• Backbiting or exclusion from
the social and professional
community
• Disparagement of the victim’s
job, performance at work or
abilities
• Threats or actual physical
attacks
• Having responsibility reduced
or taken away without
justification
What can be done about bullying?
1 INDIVIDUALLY
The way you treat other people inspire
them to do the same: Do not be a bully
yourself, protect potential victims.
Be aware that your mood or way of
speaking can offend others. Take care not
to be misunderstood - and not to be seen
as a bully yourself.
Ask your collegue if you are in doubt
whether he or she is OK.
Speak up if you notice someone being
bullied. It can inspire others to do the
same.
2 AMONG SHIPMATES
Take action if you identify bullying.
When you let it happen, you share the
responsibility. Make passive witnesses
active to get the bully to stop.
Talk about it if the atmosphere
amongst you is a bit too rough. Make
sure you have a culture on board where
people talk to- and not about each other,
behind each other’s backs.
3 ON THE SHIP
Contribute to drawing up a common
personnel policy or common
agreements that prevent bullying.
Talk for example about the fact that it
should be absolutely alright to say stop
if you do not appreciate the humour/way
of speaking, nicknames, etc.
Managers especially need to be good
role models.
Tell crew that they can come to you
as a manager if there are bullying
problems.
SEAHEALTH.DK · 5
BULLYING HAPPENS – ALSO AMONG ADULTS
ADULT BULLYING – NO THANKS
Bullying is the result of something having gone wrong in the workplace,
of somebody being afraid of losing power and influence and finally a management
that fails to intervene
Around one in every ten Dane
in labour says they have been
bullied. More than a quarter have
witnessed bullying or harassment. So says a report from 2014
on Working Environment and
Health from the National
Research Centre for the Working
Environment in Denmark.
Over the past four to five years,
there has been an increasing
awareness of the phenomenon
that adults bully each other.
‘The National Association Adult
Bullying - No Thanks ‘has helped
bring the issue to light.
“It is important that we
recognise and talk about
bullying. Making it visible,
can help give us a better
understanding of what adult
bullying is. Without a common
understanding, we will never
deal with it”, thinks Gitte
Strandgaard, the President of
the Association.
“There is a difference between teasing and bullying. Unfortunately, ‘bullying’ as a term
is often used instead of ‘teasing’
which is to the detriment of a
common approach. The problem
TELL US IF YOU COME
ACROSS BULLYING
“Bullying and harassment is something that
the HR Department at Nordic Tankers
does not come across often but it does
happen,” says Brian Tranholm Nielsen,
Global Marine HR
“From time to time we do get
complaints from employees who
feel they have been offended. It is
generally due to cultural differences. The way people talk to each
other can differ widely from
person to person and from country
to country. Therefore, we have
made a relatively big effort to
explain cultural differences from
a safety point of view. If
someone feels they have been
bullied or harassed, they could
perhaps react inappropriately in
a situation in which the safety of
the crew and ship is at stake,”
Brian Tranholm explains.
Harassment and bullying
have their own sections in Nordic
Tankers’ personnel manual, The
Nordic Way. Here, employees
are told to inform HR if they
come across an objectionable
way of speaking. On the basis of
such a report, the department
6 · AUTUMN 2015
then takes the necessary action
and if necessary dismisses the
individual(s) responsible for the
harassment or bullying.
Another section on behaviour
and interaction in the personnel
manual also states that people
should always be polite and
show respect for shipmates and
business connections’ culture,
religion and person in general.
The HR-department has
used posters and meetings to
draw attention to the company’s
fundamental values so that no
employee should be in doubt
that bullying and harassment is
unacceptable.
“We do not feel that bullying and harassment is a major
problem but when it happens,
we take it very seriously. When
at work, we need to be treated
with respect,” emphasises Brian
Tranholm Nielsen.
is that when bullying does
actually occur, it is neglected. It
may end up with someone being
relocated or sacked, but the
reason does not go away”, Gitte
Strandgaard points out.
Wanted: Bullying policy
The National Association also
experience a growing awareness
of adult bullying.
“More and more associations
and organisations are contacting
us wanting to have lectures or
project days on adult bullying,”
reports Gitte Strandgaard.
She is convinced that adult
bullying happens everywhere.
She acknowledges that she has
no experience of the shipping
industry but would be surprised
if it does not happen there as
well.
“Bullying is the result of a
workplace culture where
something has gone wrong. It
is wrong to see bullying as a
victim-/tormentor phenomenon.
So it is important for the
company to have a clear bullying
policy and action plan if the
phenomenon occurs,” she urges.
Ole John Andersen, Rederiet Færgen:
NO SIGNS OF
BULLYING
“In Færgen’s personnel
policy, it clearly states that
“Bullying is unacceptable
behaviour.” We need to behave
properly and show respect for
each other.
At Færgen, we run a
major employee satisfaction
survey every second year
and every month we measure
wellbeing indicators. These
measurements generally
show very high scores from
employees. On this basis, we
have not been able to identify
any bullying problems or a
poor working environment.
Employee satisfaction and
wellbeing is naturally routinely
discussed in the company’s
collaboration and safety
committees, and we have not
found examples of harassment
or bullying there either.
However, that is no
guarantee that there could not
have been individual situations
in the company. If so, I assume
that managers have not been
aware of the situation. After
all, we are working in a sector
where some of the shipmates
may have a ‘tough but kindly
tone’ which outsiders might see
as bullying. We always need
to be on guard about this,
especially when new employees
join one of our teams.
Bullying and harassment
normally lead to a bad
atmosphere and dissatisfaction which will be noted in
the department and attract
the attention of the manager.
It is up to managers to
intervene and put a stop
to any bullying as soon as
possible, if necessary with
assistance from HR.
Bullying is unacceptable
and must be stopped if and
when it happens.”
NEWS
MOORING ON
IMO’S AGENDA
Between 1997 and 2013, four
seafarers died on board Danish
ships during mooring accidents.
Over the same period, 43 other
seafarers on Danish ships were
injured, some of them seriously,
during mooring operations.
Throughout the period there
were 402 accidents and injuries
associated with mooring on
Danish flagged ships.
These depressing facts
helped convince IMO in June
that they needed to put better
mooring procedures on the IMO
agenda.
“We have seen rapid developments on board ships in recent
years. They are getting bigger
and bigger but it is as if ship
designers have neglected the
consequences, for instance when
it comes to mooring. Winches
and hawsers have all grown
rapidly to be able to handle the
enormous forces involved in
mooring but the design and
way of carrying out mooring
operations has not changed for
many years,” explains Steen
Møller Nielsen, Chief Consultant
at the Danish Maritime Authority’s
Department for maritime
regulation and manning, who
was one of the instigators of
getting the issue on the agenda.
Bigger ships
challenge health
and safety during
mooring
“SEAHEALTH has previously
worked with the Danish Maritime
Authority and the industry to
draw up a guidance on mooring
from an operator’s perspective.
But now it is time to get
international, technical rules for
mooring drawn up to reflect ship
development. That is the issue
we have put on the agenda at
IMO. Happily, the member states
of the organisations agree that
we shall do something to make
mooring safer, says Steen Møller
Nielsen and continues:
“We are specifically working
towards having the rules amended
with the revision of the international rules that will become
effective in 2020. But with so
many interests involved and
the complexity of establishing
safe, flexible solutions, the next
amendment of the international
rules scheduled for 2024 is
probably the most realistic
timeframe. However, the most
important thing is that we
establish some international rules
and standards on mooring so
that fewer seafarers get injured,”
points out Steen Møller Nielsen.
SOUTH KOREAN
THE NEW
GENERAL
SECRETARY
FOR IMO
There were six candidates
for the post of General
Secretary of IMO, when they
were scheduled to choose a
new General Secretary at the
IMO meeting in London in
June. One of the six was
Andreas Nordseth, Director of
the Danish Maritime Authority.
He had a very good chance of
being elected. However, it was
the South Korean candidate,
Ki-tack Lim, who got the most
votes in the final ballot
between him and Andreas
Nordseth. Therefore, Ki-tack
Lim takes over the post of
General Secretary, following
Koji Sekimizu from Japan.
Ki-tack Lim takes over the
maritime top position from
1 January 2016, initially for a
period of four years.
Currently, he is the Chief
Executive of Busan Port
Authority.
Ki-tack Lim graduated
from Korea Maritime and
Ocean University and has
been working for South
Korea’s maritime administration under different
governments for almost
30 years. He has also been
active in IMO since the
mid-1980s and has a good
international network. Ki-tack
Lim has extensive maritime
knowledge and is well-liked in
the industry.
Photo: Remigiusz Piotrowski
– HFV’s photo competition 2014
NEW ISO STANDARDS ON THE WAY
All ship owners use ISM/SMS
as the international standard for
their safety management
systems. Some ship owners are
also certified to ISO 9001, ISO
14001 and some also to ISO 18001.
All these ISO standards are in
the process of being revised and
it is expected that new versions
of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 will
be approved in September this
year whilst the replacement for
18001 – which will be numbered
45001 - is expected to be ready
in September 2016.
ding them to be integrated in
corporate management systems.
This will force managements to
take greater
All the standards have the same structure
responsibility for
and wording. This will benefit companies
the working
wishing to be certificated to more than
environment. It will
one of the standards
also be more
difficult for comISO 45001 tightens up on the
panies to protect their image in
requirement for occupational
the field of health and safety by
health and safety issues, demanjust outsourcing high risk work.
All the standards have the
same structure and wording. This
will benefit companies wishing to
be certificated to more than one
of the standards. Also, all the
standards must be integrated in
the overall corporate management systems. This means that
senior managements will need
to take greater responsibility for
quality, the environment and
occupational health and safety.
SEAHEALTH.DK · 7
SAFETY OFFSHORE
The offshore wind industry should make use of
good sector relations to create common
standards for health and safety.
The offshore wind industry has
the same objectives as the oil and gas
industry: Avoiding industrial accidents
and building up a good safety culture.
But we tackle it differently
Anders Boman, Chief Operating Officer
of Northern Offshore Service
The offshore wind industry should make
use of good sector relations to create
common standards for health and safety
BETTER WORKING ENVIRONMENT
FROM WORKING TOGETHER
Unlike the oil and gas
industries, collaboration
and networking is very widespread and a special feature of
the offshore wind industry. This
industry-wide approach is also
evident when the offshore wind
industry meets at the CrossWind Network to set up common
standards for occupational
health and safety.
Cross-wind
So says Anders Boman, who
since 2012 has been working
as the Chief Operating Officer
of Northern Offshore Service,
whose ships supply offshore
windfarms. Before that, Anders
Boman spent 20 years in the oil
and gas industry.
“The offshore wind industry
has the same objectives as the
oil and gas industry: Avoiding
industrial accidents and building
up a good safety culture. But
we tackle it differently. In the oil
8 · AUTUMN 2015
and gas industry, many decisions
are taken top-down. The wind
industry is much more modest
and we are especially good
at working together with our
customers,” says Anders Boman
and continues: “So the idea of
creating a network and working
together to develop better safety
is right up our street.”
Tug of war from shore to sea
From Anders Boman’s and
Northern Offshore Services’
viewpoint, one of the major
challenges is agreeing on how
best to work on the transition
between being sea and shore
based. The technicians who
work on offshore wind turbines
typically come from shore-based
companies. Their safety culture
is shore-based. Anders Boman
describes one example of a
situation in which a technician
had to get from the ship to
the wind turbine. Here the
technician’s company demanded
that he used a safety line.
“We seafarers regard that as
decidedly dangerous. We would
never think of using a safety line
in that situation. What happens if
the ship moves or you fall overboard? Then you cannot get away
if you need to, or you can possibly
be left dangling from the line,”
explains Anders Boman.
In the Cross-Wind Network,
the companies involved can focus
on specific issues that apply to the
offshore wind industry and
agree on the best and safest way
to tackle them.
Important standards
Regardless of whether you buy
a burger from McDonald’s in
China, USA or Denmark, you get
the same product with the same
standard of hygiene. And just as
in the fast food industry, the aim
of the offshore wind industry is
to agree on a series of minimum
requirements that everyone in
the industry should comply with.
Requirements and standards not
only make work safer but the
company should also be able to
save on resources because less
time needs to be spent on checking
the quality of the product being
purchased. That should be
obvious since the company
supplying the product has to
comply with the requirements.
Why yet another network?
Other people in the network say
that the Cross-Wind Network
should be able to fill a gap.
Nowadays there are already
multiple networks in the offshore
wind industry, but none of them
focuses so specifically on the
safety culture as the Cross-Wind
Network does. It is important that
the industry agrees on making
the health and safety a top
priority in order for the crew to
get back home safely. n
HARMONY NEEDED
WHEN THE WIND
BLOWS
15 companies are now in the Cross-Wind
Network which aims to ensure high safety
standards in the offshore wind energy industry
In conjunction with SEAHEALTH,
the offshore wind industry set up
the Cross-Wind Network in August
2014. After 12 months in action,
15 companies have now joined the
network.
The aim of the network is for the
offshore wind industry as a whole to
achieve higher levels of safety. The
first step on the way is more dialogue.
Experience from other industries
indicates that dialogue and involvement is the way to go.
Contractors with the greatest
success of creating a good working
environment ashore involve their
subcontractors extensively
“Contractors with the greatest
success of creating a good working
environment ashore involve their
subcontractors extensively. When the
Danish public service TV operator DR
built a new head office ten years ago,
the contractor and subcontractors
jointly drew up the guidelines used
during construction. They had no
serious accidents,” points out
SEAHEALTH’s Carsten GydahlJensen, who is the project manager
of the Cross-Wind Network.
In the long run, the aim of the
network is to produce common
standards for the offshore wind
industry, preferably by way of
proper certification schemes like
the ISO standards. SEAHEALTH
is working to ensure the project
gets the backing of G9 - an
association of the nine largest
energy companies in the world. At
the same time, the aim is to turn the
Cross-Wind Network into a panEuropean network.
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MSSM 2015
WHAT CAN
SHIPPING LEARN
FROM FORMULA 1 ?
Photo: Natursports / Shutterstock.com
Lightning fast, noisy Formula 1
racing cars may not seem to
have much in common with a
conference on maritime health,
safety and environment.
Nevertheless, the two worlds will
merge when one of the major
personalities of international
motor sport, Mark Gallagher,
visits MSSM 2015. Mark has
three decades of experience
behind him on international
motoring’s top shelf, Formula 1.
A sport that used to be known
as the bad boy in the class
when it came to safety. Those
involved have seen a successful
transformation decreasing the
number of injuries drastically
in the last 20 years. With his
30 years in motor sport, Mark
Gallagher has been involved in
various areas of Formula 1, and
at MSSM 2015 he will be sharing
his and the Formula 1 sport’s
winning ways.
Wake-up call
Formula 1 used to be notorious
for its many accidents and
deaths. Since its first season in
1950, 26 drivers have lost their
lives in Formula 1 races and the
motor sport has 48 lives on its
conscience. This all culminated
in 1994 when there were three
serious accidents in the same
race weekend, with two deaths
as a result.
The accidents served as a
wake-up call for the industry
which since then has made a
major effort to boost every
parameter of safety. And it
has worked! The technologies
developed as a result of this
change of focus are now being
used to improve general road
safety.
360°c focus on risk
The great amount of international races every year puts
high demands on the Formula
1 teams. Valuable equipment is
transported around the world
every few weeks, the teams have
to constantly keep up to date
with the latest technology, they
need to have a professional,
dedicated team and not least,
a faithful sponsor behind them
to pay for it all. If one of these
– PACKED
WITH EXCITING SESSIONS
Here are three of them:
SESSION 10: Rules alone do
not make for safety
Most people agree that creating
safety requires more than rules
and procedures. For many years
now, the concept of a safety
culture has been used as ‘something’ we need to have because
safety is good. But what
10 · AUTUMN 2015
specifically does a safety culture
add up to? Is it actually no more
than airy ideas, the emperor’s
new clothes, unwritten rules and
procedures? For this session at
MSSM, six panellists will each
suggest and debate how safety
can be improved.
Delegates will be invited to
ask questions and participate in
the debate.
SESSION 1 & 6 NUDGING: Do
fewer of the wrong things
In nudging, there are no wagging
fingers. Everything revolves
around motivation. It is all about
motivating people to make
the right choice and minimise
the risk of making for example
unhealthy choices. Nudging
leaves room for change because
it plays on the factors that
links fails, the whole house of
cards collapses. In Formula 1,
the risk is thus not only about
cutting the number of accidents
on the track. It is also about
major financial risks, which is not
surprising as Formula 1 is the most
expensive sport in the world.
Sharing 30 years of experience
of risk management
At MSSM, Mark Gallagher will
discuss how safety plays a
leading role in the development
of motor sport and how risks are
generally managed in the sport.
Hopefully, the maritime industry
can recognise itself in motor sport’s
developments and perhaps learn
something from the sport’s
sharper focus on safety?
motivate people to unconsciously
make the right choices.
Recognizing that health and
safety is not just your own
responsibility means you have
to recognise that your health
and lifestyle is also affected by
your working life. You spend
about a third of your life at
work and your health therefore
naturally gets affected by the
way your workplace treats health.
Is your workplace one that
prioritises healthy employees
and makes an effort to promote
a healthy working life?
The technical approach to
health has been to “do the right
thing” but the focus needs to
switch to “doing fewer of the
wrong thing.”
Health for example in the workplace is not only a question of
attitudes laid down in personnel or
health and safety policies. Health
in the workplace is more about
influencing the behaviour that
affects our lifestyles and day-to-day
lives. Behaviour is closely linked
to motivation or in other words:
We can far more often change
behaviour if we are motivated and
do not feel pressurised. This is the
concept underlying ‘nudging’.
WELFARE AT SEA
THE PLEASURE OF BEING ABLE
TO KEEP UP WITH LIFE ASHORE
Fast, easy access to those at home and day-to-day news are important measures
for wellbeing and job satisfaction, feels the Director of the Danish Government’s
Seamen’s Service
”Is it really necessary for
well-paid Danish seafarers to
have access to the daily news?
After all they are only out for a
few weeks.”
“Books? Can’t they buy them
in a bookshop?”
The above are, believe it
or not, points of view that the
Danish Government’s Seamen’s
Service staff still often hear. This
reveals a lack of understanding
why seafarers also need to keep
up with life ashore.
“Why should you be cut off from
news, the latest books or the latest
films just because you work at
sea? And what does it matter
if you are highly or modestly
paid? You have just as much
need to keep up with the news
and to be in daily touch with your
family and friends whether or
not you earn a lot,” feels Søren
Philip Sørensen, Director, Danish
Government Seamen’s Service.
He speaks from experience: It
does not take many minutes
before he receives the first e-mail
from impatient seafarers if the
daily e-newsletter is slightly late.
“News is extremely welcome,”
he confirms, supporting his point
of view by referring to the demand
for the new service offered by
the Seamen’s Service seven
places around the globe.
225 of the approximately 600
vessels in the Danish merchant
Director of the Danish Government’s Seamen’s Service, Søren Philip
Sørensen, is willing to initiate a conference on the future welfare of
seafarers if the industry wants it. Photo: SEAHEALTH
fleet have signed up to the TV
scheme which broadcasts the news
from Denmark’s Radio every day.
News is part of wellbeing
“I believe ship owners undervalue the importance of news
which in my view helps a great
deal to create a good working
environment and wellbeing on
board.
Probably none of us onshore
want to be without the news for
eight - ten weeks at a time. And
if we are far from home, we can
still keep up via the Internet.”
He points out that only very
few seafarers have this option,
and continues:
“Internet connections are
getting better and better at
sea but the quality is still far
from what we have onshore.
Unfortunately, many do not know
this. Internet services at sea are
rarely like those onshore when
it comes to speed and usability.
So streaming at sea is only for
the few.”
The challenge
“But it won’t always be like
this. Good, stable, fast Internet
connections are simply a
necessity for retaining seafarers
and for attracting young people,”
feels Søren Sørensen.
“It is one of many challenges
facing Danish ship owners.
Perhaps the solution could be for
individual ship owners to tackle
this and use satellite links to
offer their crews news and
internet access on an individual
basis. That would also make it
easier to deal with seafarers’
different cultural and ethnic
backgrounds.”
And perhaps we have already
had a preview of this. Maersk
Supply, which has a tradition
for signing their new ships up
for TV and film schemes, has
opted for a new solution for
their latest ship. They allocate
the amount the scheme costs
and then the crew can decide for
themselves what they want to
use the money for.
“Maybe such individual solutions are the future,” remarks
Søren Sørensen.
Invitation
He and the Seamen’s Service
would like to know more about
how the future will look and
what opportunities there will
be, considering financial issues,
safety, internet connections and
individual needs involved.
“If the interest is there, we
would very much like to give a
helping hand and organise for
example a half-day conference
on the issue for stakeholders
and ship owners.
So Søren Sørensen is urging
ship owners and seafarers to
contact him at [email protected], if such
an event could be of interest. n
SEAHEALTH.DK · 11