Page 25 - 2022 - Q1 - Minerva in Focus

Chief Engineer Tito S. Flores
M/V Schinousa

For me, promoting a posi-
tive safety culture on-
board means having prop-
er training and communi-
cation. This process in-
volves building trust and winning the
confidence of the ship’s staff, thus helping
crew members to change their way of
thinking and acting by sharing experience
and addressing a shared problem. The
crew should know what is important and
how things work. A poor safety culture will
likely lead to weaknesses due to the per-
son-works interface problem. The senior
officers’ attitudes and values regarding
safe working are critical factors influenc-
ing the entire crew’s approach to work
and, ultimately, their health and safety
performance. It is not enough to provide
Make sure there is proper implementation safety culture onboard. The Master can safety equipment, systems, and proce-
of the Safety Facilitator Manual, which is an eliminate ignorance by establishing good dures if the culture does not encourage
excellent tool for involving all crew mem- communication with the crew and sharing healthy and safe work conditions. For in-
bers in the ship’s safety culture. Getting all good thoughts. There is a saying, “Two stance, crew members do not feel com-
crew members involved and making them heads are better than one.” So, the Master, fortable reporting a near-miss; therefore,
feel like participants in creating a safety with his team by his side, can enhance the an unfortunate incident may be repeated
culture and not its recipients will motivate ship’s safety culture to keep everyone safe. in the future and turn into a serious inci-
them as individuals, making them more dent. It is essential to eliminate this com-
likely to engage with the company’s safety, Capt. Armando Dumadapat munication barrier.
health, and security programs. If every Master / M/V Parapola
crew member is committed to safety, you Chief Engineer Matthaios Lymperis
will see much better results. Strong leadership and M/T Minerva Joanna
commitment are vital for
3. Educate your crew promoting the safety cul- Safety is the key to a ves-
Constant training, meetings, and regular ture onboard. Setting your- sel’s smooth and success-
communication are crucial to upholding high self as a good example will ful operation. The entire
safety standards. Promoting a safety culture build trust among the crew members and crew, especially the senior
is not a one-time event. Ongoing training and encourage them to perform each task by officers, should encourage
monitoring of crew progress are vital! observing the required safety measures. As a positive safety culture on board in every
a Master, you should keep them involved in way possible.
Capt. Reimar H. Deiparine their development, train them, support
Master of M/V Schinousa them, and communicate with them. You Communicating about safety and contin-
should recognize their excellent perfor- uously training the crew using examples
As a Master, I encourage all mance but let them know that they are ac- of various incidents or accidents on other
crew members to be countable for their actions. Another source vessels will help us recognize dangers more
open-minded, especially of encouragement is constantly reminding readily and thus prevent unsafe situations.
about their personal safe- them that they are not only working for We should learn from any mistakes and
ty. I try to create a balance themselves but for their families as well, avoid repeating them. We have to teach all
between my authority and my crew’s initia- who are waiting for them to come home in crew members to report any danger signs
tives. A Master should avoid creating a one piece. That will inspire them to work in they detect so every vessel operation can
blame culture by reassuring their crew that accordance with the company’s safety pro- be carried out safely according to the com-
they should report near-misses or cedures and maintain a safe working envi- pany policy and safety rules.
non-conformities without any fear of being ronment onboard. After all, a safe and
punished for such reporting. Safety com- healthy workplace not only protects the
mittee meetings, where individual safety crew from injury and illness but can also
awareness is emphasized through a proper increase their productivity and work quali-
discussion involving all crew members, ty and boost their morale.
also contribute to maintaining a strong

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