Unit 6: The Human Element: Cultivating a Culture of Safety
If seafarers are fully informed and aware of the risks to their health, safety and welfare, they are much more likely to ensure they avoid the risks and remain safe. This knowledge is attained through risk assessment and in other ways throughout our lives including training in theory and practical application, information, observation, instructions, supervision and personal experience. We can improve the quality and usefulness of the information available by effective knowledge management. Application of the knowledge in the workplace is influenced by our values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors and by the views of others. This is facilitated by ensuring a safe working culture.
Extensive research has identified certain elements that contribute greatly to maintaining a safe working culture. These can be described as:
clearly defined expectations;
good communications;
clear leadership;
good planning;
risk awareness;
accountability;
good safety culture; and
effective knowledge management.
These elements should be both put in place at a Company level within the safety management system and implemented on board the vessel by the master and crew. It is important that the entire workforce, from the most junior crew members through to the senior managers ashore, are involved in the development of these elements for them to be fully successful. Many of them are already present within management systems but often some are missing, which can create weaknesses in the management system.
A good approach is to conduct a gap analysis to identify those elements that are missing or weak, and amend the systems accordingly. The more developed and comprehensive the systems are, the more effective they can be.
5. Effective knowledge management
From an occupational health and safety perspective, efficient management of knowledge can significantly improve learning and understanding and prevent accidents and incidents from being repeated. This is particularly useful in our industry where similar high-risk activities are being carried out on numerous autonomous units, such as a fleet of ships.
It has been said: ‘Man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.’ By effectively collecting relevant information, organizing it so it can be understood and distributing it to those who can use it, we can share experiences and increase our knowledge. Applying this knowledge to our own working environment will allow us to reduce the likelihood of the same type of accident or incident reoccurring on our vessel.
Knowledge management is about:
getting the right information - understand what information and knowledge has value, can improve safety, operations or services, or is necessary for fast and effective decision making;
making it easy to understand - convert the information into a format that can be easily understood and acted upon at all levels in the Company - getting it to the people who need it, when they need it.
This information must be presented so that it can be understood and is clear, useful and available to the end user. There are many ways that this can be done: posters, memos, video, computer-based training, amendments to the safety management system and safety alerts are some examples. The choice of the best medium to transmit the information will vary in each Company. Often a Company newsletter can be a very effective means of getting the information out to the fleet in an easy-to-understand way.
No amount of shared knowledge will be useful unless those receiving it are empowered and feel comfortable using it. An open and honest safety culture that encourages all seafarers to share the same high values and beliefs in healthy and safe working is essential. All should be encouraged to use the knowledge and to gather useful information to share.
It creates the necessary technical and cultural ‘delivery systems’ and organize information and knowledge so it is useful and available; and encouraging them to use it; develop an organizational structure and culture that encourages seafarers to take what they know, apply it effectively for both continuous improvement and innovation, and share it with others.
Knowledge management does not have to be complicated or difficult. Most companies will have many of the elements in place already; it is often just a case of ensuring that they are all working together.
Information is gathered from data retrieved, both internally and externally. Accident and incident investigations, Accident Investigation Agency reports, safety alerts, audits and inspections, maintenance records, trip reports, safety meeting reports, masters’ reviews, vessel visits, safety observations and improvement suggestions are but a few of the sources. It is likely that some form of analysis of the data will be needed. This can be achieved in several ways including the use of spreadsheets to create statistics. It is important to ensure that all personnel at all levels are involved in gathering this information.
Different approaches may be needed for different levels of the organization. For example, statistics presented as a spreadsheet may be appropriate for senior management but safety alerts, amendments to procedures, bulletins and learning points memos may be more effective in introducing any lessons from the accidents and incidents depicted in the statistics. It is important that the data received are converted into useful information that makes sense to the end user. It is helpful to ask for feedback from the end user on the usefulness of the information.
Lastly, incident investigation can help reduce the risk. Effective incident investigation is a key component of a good knowledge management system. In the best systems, this would include all accidents, near misses, unsafe acts, unsafe conditions and non-conformities. The ISM Code requires that a safety management system includes procedures for reporting, investigating and analyzing every non-conformity, accident and hazardous situation, in order to improve safety and pollution prevention. This should then lead to the implementation of corrective actions. The safety officer will often undertake this work and guidance is provided in Safety officials. However, on ships with no safety officer, the Company must make other arrangements to ensure that this function is carried out. Any accident or incident should be recorded so that it can be investigated to find out what went wrong and to see if anything can be done to prevent it happening again.