As most of our customers and partners will know, the work environments you encounter in the maritime industry come with their own unique set of risks. While offshore platforms, port facilities, open water, and tide gauge installations at height provide many exciting opportunities, it is also important to approach these spaces in ways that ensure the safety of our own staff and others we work with. To this end, members of our Marine Monitoring Team recently undertook training courses by the Global Wind Organisation. The GWO offers a range of training of different lengths and topics designed to help attendees remain abreast of the risks those working in this sector can face and how these can be safely managed. Building on our team’s existing experience, courses like this are an important part of our continuing commitment to meeting health and safety standards.
Although intended primarily for those working specifically in the wind industry, the GWO course contained many crucial skills and lessons for OceanWise’s endeavours, not least because of our increasing engagement with projects in this sector. Valuable exercises in first aid, health and safety, and fire training were combined with more specialized instruction in sea survival, working at height, and emergency procedures when offshore. This is especially important in the environment of the wind industry where emergency services may be far away or inaccessible. It was also valuable to reassert the basic skills crucial for safety in marine environments like the proper use of lifejackets, safe transfer to and from vessels, and Search and Rescue systems.
Aside from the chance to spend a few days out of the office, up ladders or on offshore installations, GWO’s Basic Safety course will be an important addition to our team’s roster, enabling them to keep themselves and others safe while on site. It is important for OceanWise’s commitment to compliance and safety that we remain aware of how to recognise the dangers inherent to the installation and maintenance work we do, as well as how to deal with these risks both before and after incident. Despite the magnitude of many of these risks, we learnt that they are avoidable with proper management and attention, and can be dealt with confidently with the proper training.
