Common Hazards

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Chemical Agents

Risk of:

  • Adverse health effects e.g. respiratory problems.
  • Fire.
  • Death.

Possible causes:

Exposure to:

  • Dusty cargoes or respiratory sensitisers.
  • Flammable, toxic, poisonous or corrosive cargoes.
  • Fumigated cargoes.
  • Gases due to decomposition or bacterial action of some cargoes.
  • Vehicle exhaust emissions.

Environmental Conditions

Risk of:

  • Increased risk of an accident or incident.

Possible causes:

  • Weather: cold or wet weather can reduce concentration and make manual tasks more difficult.
  • Tidal movements can have an effect on the safety of access to ships and increase the risk of collision between dockside equipment and the vessel.

Fatigue

Risk of:

  • Increased risk of accident or incident through poor perception or physical exhaustion.

Possible causes:

  • Lack of job rotation.
  • Unpredictable ship arrival times.
  • Requirement for a fast turnaround.
  • Long hours, pace and intensity of the work.
  • Physically demanding nature of the job - close to sailing time the work becoming more frantic.
  • Excessive glare or inadequate lighting.
  • Working in cramped, confined conditions.

Lifting Operations

Risk of:

  • Serious injury or death due to being hit by falling or moving object.

Possible causes:

  • Loose, incorrectly or poorly slung fittings and fixtures.
  • Unstable or poorly loaded cargo.

Mooring

Risk of:

  • Sprains, strains and musculoskeletal disorders.
  • Serious injury or death.

Possible causes:

  • Manual handling of heavy, awkward or wet ropes.
  • Being caught in the ropes or winches on board the vessel.
  • Back lash if the rope breaks on the dock or jetty.

Slips, Trips and Falls

Risk of:

  • Minor injury, concussion, serious injury or death.

Possible causes:

  • Wet or icy surfaces.
  • Poor housekeeping.
  • Badly stowed ropes, cables, lashing gear.
  • Inadequate lighting.

Manual Handling / Ergonomics

Risk of:

  • Sprains, strains and musculoskeletal disorders.

Possible causes:

  • Operating container cranes, straddle carriers, tug masters and so on.
  • Lifting, carrying and manoeuvring loads, lifting gear and attachments.

Work at Height

Risk of:

  • Serious injury or death due to a fall from height.

Possible causes:

  • Carrying out trimming, sheeting, container lashing operations, securing loads, accessing the hold and working on board the ship.
  • Working around unfenced dock edges.
  • Inadequate access to the ship.

Workplace Transport

Risk of:

  • Serious injury or death e.g. being run over, crushed or falling from a vehicle.
  • Property damage.

Possible causes:

  • Lack of traffic management.
  • Unsafe systems of work.
  • Mounting and dismounting from vehicles.
  • Lack of pedestrian and vehicle segregation.

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of hazards and risks.