NGMW094

Individual / Organisation name: Terry Evans

What state/territory:

Review of the National Guidance Material for Working Safely on the Waterfront

Public Comment Response Form

Complete and submit this form by 5pm AEST friDAY 10 AUGUSt 2012 to

Comments on content of the national guidance material
Section/page no. / Comment
Comments on additional issues identified in section 4.2 of the Discussion Paper
Section/page no. / Comment
Hatchmen / I have worked in the industry for over 10 years and have no doubt that the "Hatchman" Cargo space lookout is and will always be a position that is not negotiable. I have worked in the hold a lot as hold foreman and having that other set of eyes looking out for us blokes lets us get on with the job at hand in turn this is a plus for the company.
Incidents that I have encountered where the Hatchman has seen something that I haven’t include ( loose dunnage falling back into the hold ; Hatchman stopping the use of other cranes whilst doing a lift ; crossed chains ; keeping an eye on personal that I couldn’t due to the size of the cargo ; voids in the cargo. The list is endless and at the end of the day I work in a high risk environment so this person is helping lower the risk and helping us maintain a Safe work environment so as we can all go home to our Families in exactly the same way that we started UNHARMED.
Any safety feature that we have in place now that will help prevent a fatality or injury and adds to reassuring blokes safety should not be compromised by big companies drive for the almighty DOLLAR. It would be a sad day if a governing body ignored or eliminated a position that is used everywhere else in the WORLD in the HIGH RISK industry of the MARITIME and STEVEDORING INDUSTRIES as well as being part of marine orders 32 since its inception.
It is my opinion and an opinion that is shared by all stevedores that a Hatchman/Cargo Space Lookout should be used in any situation where there is a person driving a crane whilst personnel are working under the Hook.
Stevedoring qualifications / The water front is a Trade of its own a job that is unique to the loading and unloading of ships (Stevedoring). This is a job that takes years of experience to learn. I was lucky when I started as I was surrounded by the older generation wharfies. But things have changed instead of 20 to30 years experience now we have a lot of people with only 1 to 5 year wharfies and only a hand full of 10 to 20 year wharfies. Being a trainer the hard part is trying to teach old dogs new tricks and I totally agree with the Cert 2, 3, and 4 in stevedoring. Any Certified training and Qualification for Stevedoring can and will only help not only the Employees but the Employers reduce the risk of injury and enhance the awareness towards Safety. This is another qualification that has been dropped by the BIG Companies in chase of the dollar. These Certificates were in place 10 years ago but where dropped as save a Dollar. I have a Cert 4 in stevedoring and are well aware of its benefits towards our industry
Safety Induction skill-set / I won’t comment as imp not up to speed on this topic but anything that can help new workers be better prepared for life on the water front can only be better for all involved.
Use of checklists / All check lists are there for the safe operation of machinery and safe and acceptable way to work with or around these hazards and the only way to go forward with this is to maintain what we have and to continuously improve and identify new hazards as they come along
Comments on the implementation of the national guidance material in each jurisdiction which may have included launches, information and training sessions, and whether it has been useful in the workplace as a resource for improving safety practices.
Section/page no. / Comment
Other comments
I can’t understand how these companies who preach safety are hell bent on cutting corners for the Dollar are trying to take away safety positions that are there to help maintain the safety and well being of there biggest assets the EMPLOYEES