There are many potential hazards within a shipyard. Your welders, for example, are often working in tight spaces with hot materials, fire, and heavy safety gear. They need to be trained with their specific equipment and given the tools they need to be safe on the job. So how can you complete a hazard assessment for your welders and ensure they have a safe work environment in your shipyard.
Assessment of Risk
Before you send an employee into any space in your shipyard or on a new build, make sure you assess the risk. How tight are the confines? How would your employee enter or exit? How hot does the space get? What safety gear should your employees use? The more you know about the possible hazards, the better you and your team can prepare.
Review the Confined Spaces
Within a shipyard and in the shipbuilding industry, confined spaces can be one of the most challenging parts. Areas of a new build can be practically too small for one person, but the necessary work has to be completed. Understanding the risk and the safety precautions that need to be taken will be critical to the process.
Inspect the Tools
Before an employee goes into any confined space, make sure to inspect the tools they’ll be using. For example, welding in place may have to be completed, but if the welding torch is damaged, it could create an additional hazard. Make sure all tools are in good working order to prevent an accident from happening in such a small space.
Control the Hazards
As much as you can, control the hazards. This can be difficult, but you can only control certain aspects to make sure you have a handle on those. For example, ensure that hazardous materials are kept out of workspaces. Clean everything thoroughly. Follow the safety protocol to the letter in all aspects of the shipyard.
Creating a culture of safety will be as important as hiring the right welders and training your staff.
Do you want to hire top welders for your shipyard? The team at Hutco can help today.
