Page 20: of Marine News Magazine (February 2017)

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LEGAL

Plan for Safety

Effective Leadership and a Safety Management System are the

Keys to Success. Failure to lead has consequences.

By Larry DeMarcay

Over the last 20 years we have seen important. However, the difference between the com- a dramatic shift in the way that our in- panies that effectively carry out this message in the ? eld dustry operates. When I started prac- and the ones that do not is leadership. This leadership ticing law, many companies looked at must begin at the top and work its way down through safety planning as a balancing act where every level of the organization. This message can be com- you weighed the costs associated with municated through the usual channels including policies, safety against the costs associated with seminars, safety alerts, and training. However, none of working through employee claims. Un- this will work if all employees in the company don’t “buy

DeMarcay fortunately, our employees often ended into” the program. This is where leadership setting the up on the losing side of the balancing example is the key. test. The industry goal seemed to be completing the task at Leaders set the tone for the entire organization. When hand, regardless of the risk. boarding a vessel, I customarily receive a detailed safety

Today, due to changes in the mindset of our industry, brie? ng from the vessel’s of? cer in charge of safety. This we no longer see these types of attitudes. Now, employee type of safety brie? ng is necessary and conducted by all safety and the protection of the environment are impor- vessel owners and operators in the industry. However, sev- tant, if not the most important, issues that we deal with. eral clients that we work with, based upon the vision of

Now that the entire industry is focused on safety, it is up its leaders, take it to the next level. When visiting the cor- to each operator to ? gure out the best way to accomplish porate of? ces of these companies, I often receive a similar the goal of operating accident free. As Ben Franklin stated, safety brie? ng where I am told what to do in the case of an “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” emergency, where the emergency exits are and where my

Although you may be interested in maintaining the saf- muster station was located.

est work environment possible, without a plan and effec- I ? nd it hard to imagine that a crewmember working on tive leadership, the goal is probably unachievable. Simply a vessel does not believe that management takes safety seri- having a goal of operating safely is not enough to set up the ously when the of? ce staff conducts safety brie? ngs for all culture of safety and the plan that is needed to successfully visitors. This type of culture cannot be generated through implement a safety program. This culture must start at the the use of “catch phrases” and public-relations campaigns. top and embed itself into the mindset of each and every This type of culture can only be ? ltered down from the top employee working within the company. and understood by all employees. The process can only be done through effective leadership, the ? rst stage in imple-

UT IN RONT

O F menting an effective safety plan.

Leadership is critical to safety planning because our ves- Once management has committed to the implemen- sels and crews operate under a wide variety of conditions, tation of a safety culture, the next step is to design and with crews that operate beyond the of? ce’s ability to di- implement a plan. Because vessel operations can range rectly manage and working with and around equipment from the operation of small crewboats to enormous spe- that is capable of causing signi? cant damage to the crew, cial purpose ships, that operate in local or international the vessel and the environment. As such, communicating waters and with different rules and regulations that apply an effective “culture of safety” is the cornerstone to the for each operator no single safety plan will work for all implementation of a safety plan. This culture can only be companies. For example, Tidewater’s safety management effectively created through leadership. system would not be feasible for a towing operator who

All companies communicate a message that safety is owns three small vessels.

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