NINA discussion: increasingly heavy equipment

“Everything is becoming bigger and more powerful in the fleet. Stronger pumps, heavier engines. That's great, but what is often forgotten is that people need to work with this equipment. Risks that can no longer be managed could be the result."

A pressure pump has been installed on the Taurus, which is so large and heavy that we can only reach it with a crane and a safety cage. For maintenance jobs we lift the cover (weighing 7 tons!) using the crane, but you do need people to loosen and tighten the forcing screws. So someone stands on an Altrex ladder and tightens the forcing screws with an air wrench, while that cover hangs from the crane about half a meter away from him. Of course we write out a JHA and we provide an escape route. But I wonder: didn't the architect think of that? Can't this be done differently, so it's safer? If we want to spread the NINA message we should no longer want these risks. Especially in the current trend of larger and heavier, safety must be an integral part of the design process. That is in all our interests.”
By: Rob Cieremans, Taurus Relief Captain

Comments on NINA discussion: increasingly heavy equipment

Arie Kamsteeg, Fleet Manager Cutter Dredgers:
OTHER EXPECTATIONS
“Rob Cieremans definitely has a point that this trend means a lot to Boskalis and the shipyards with which we cooperate. When we placed the pump on the Taurus, we didn’t think for a moment about how we needed to tinker with it.
Thinking about safety and always putting it first is a fantastic development that Boskalis is going through. In it we are at the forefront, and that is wonderful but also difficult. Now that we can rely on NINA, we have different expectations when it comes to safety precautions than a shipbuilder who does not have this background. He has expectations that he often cannot meet in the existing commercial agreements. I think these kinds of bottlenecks are part of the process that we – with our partners and subcontractors – are experiencing.”

Joop Kriek, Plant Development:
NINA SESSION FOR IHC
“At IHC we are building a new self-propelled cutter suction dredger. Since we find it important to be on the same wavelength, we organized a NINA session at the beginning of the process for the designers of IHC. We wanted NINA to inspire them to always keep the safety of the ship's users in mind. I have noticed that the message has been well received. People are more alert. Now some designers come to us and say ‘this is not quite NINA, but if we solve it in this and this way, it will be’.”

Leo Rodenburg, SHE-Q Manager at IHC Merwede BV:
AWARENESS
“We learned a lot from the NINA-presentation. Not all of our employees have actually set foot on an active dredger. A video of the everyday practice has made them aware of what the work actually entails and how that ship is used.
Many things which have not been designed conveniently in terms of safety, are the result of ignorance. This approach, from NINA, creates awareness and cross- fertilization.”

Care to comment?
NINA@boskalis.com

© Boskalis 2021 - Privacy statement