“It was during the mobilization of the Cuyutlan project. A team of welders arrived on board the drill barge from a small boat provided by the contractor. The boat had a sign clearly stating the requirement to wear a life jacket. Although the boat crewmembers were wearing life jackets I noticed the welders did not have any on. It’s also a requirement to wear a life jacket on the drill barge before the safety rail is in place. I asked the welders why they weren’t wearing lifejackets. They told me they didn’t have any. With NINA on my mind I told them to go ashore until the contractor could supply them with lifejackets.

I completed an SHOC card to alert the contractor to the situation and included two suggestions for improvement: training the boat crew and using the welder’s induction to teach about the importance of wearing the correct PPE.

The result was that the welders got their life jackets within an hour. Being a little bemused to start with, they were more than willing to cooperate after this incident. They always wore their life jackets during the time they worked on the barge. And the boat crew always made sure other passengers wore life jackets. As a team we are happy to be able to contribute to a safer working environment. It is part of our commitment to try hard to improve safety under NINA.”

In the next edition of the NINA blog: Andreas Jeron, Heinrich Hirdes.