“DARE TO SPEAK UP!”

Kaido Kaja, hopper Dredger Captain participated in the NINA DO-IT workshop in Tallinn in January 2019, with 15 colleagues (Captains, Chief Engineers, First Mates).

“For me the NINA DO-IT workshop was a refresher. I did not learn new things about NINA, but I did learn a lot from colleagues: we talked about safety, shared experiences and dilemmas and exchanged a lot of information. That definitely makes this training valuable for me.”

“What I see is that safety consciousness in general is very high. Working safely has become natural, it is something we do without discussion. However some crew members still find it hard to speak up or stop a job, because in the past it was all about sand and dredging. This does not mean safety was not important, but today we absolutely are on a different level. For safety’s sake it is important that they do speak up, that they come forward when they have better ideas to do a job safely. Even if this means it costs more time or effort. Openness related to safety is the new reality, and this requires we all have to be reminded from time to time.”

“As a Captain it is my role to facilitate this behavior by creating an open culture. What it takes is the ability to switch between roles. I have to be dominant, because I am responsible for ship and crew. But when it comes to safety I have to be approachable and listen to people’s input. This goes for all of us, as we all have the same goal: going home safely with ten fingers and ten toes.”

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