Safety may be the number one concern for many ship building companies. You need to maintain safety among your crew and still produce a quality product in a timely fashion for your clients. Sometimes these two things can seem at odds with one another, but they really go hand in hand. If you have some concerns about the safety of your marine company, consider these five ways you can improve shipyard safety starting today.
1. Let experts be the experts.
You’ve hired experts for a reason, and this is just one of them. Experts in safety should be given the authority, and autonomy, to make decisions based on the best interest of your company and your employees. As the company owner or manager, you don’t need to micromanage the individuals who have a stronger background in safety. This will only make more work for you and frustrate them.
2. Clear workspaces and avoid clutter.
Another enemy of safety in the workplace is clutter. And it can be common for a busy employee to pay less attention to the way their workspaces are cluttered with cast offs and equipment. Create a culture where work areas must always be cleared and uncluttered. Provide the tools and processes to make this easier.
3. Always enforce protective equipment.
Some safety violations happen when an employee, or even a manager, isn’t as attentive to rules surrounding safety equipment as they should be. Make sure that you enforce policies regarding protective equipment in areas where it is required. Be swift in action when violations occur.
4. Maintain top level communications.
Another aspect of safety that often goes unnoticed is effective communication. If your staff doesn’t know about a policy change or when an incident happens, they can’t take steps to make corrections or prevent further problems. Each time you enact a new policy, make an announcement to each shift. Let your team know when incidents occur as well to use them as a teaching opportunity.
5. Provide continued training.
And throughout all of this, it is important that you maintain a consistent training program. It isn’t good enough to provide safety training only at new employee orientation. Your staff should be continuously updated with new information and trained to refresh their memory and keep them on top of safety in the workplace.
Do you want to improve your shipyard’s safety program?
Contact Hutco to learn more about our shipyard staffing services and how hiring the right people can benefit your marine company today.
