Page 60: of Marine News Magazine (November 2020)

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SAFETY

In Focus:

W S

ORKBOAT

AFETY

By Eric Haun

The American Waterway Operators

Brian Bailey, Director of Safety and Environmental Stewardship for the American

Waterways Operators (AWO), was recently named a 2020 Rising Star of Safety by the

National Safety Council (NSC), a nonpro? t public service organization promoting health and safety in the U.S. Marine News spoke with Bailey about workboat safety and the AWO’s mission to protect industry workers, assets and the environment.

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your role at AWO. healthy atmosphere. Each and every AWO member com-

I’ve been with The American Waterways Operators as pany believes it is their responsibility to look after employees its Director of Safety & Environmental Stewardship since – whether they’re shoreside or a? oat. Real change can hap- 2016, and lead continuous improvement efforts to pro- pen when we sit down together and brainstorm, attempting mote safety, security and environmental stewardship the to develop real, tangible safety solutions to make sure that tugboat, towboat and barge industry. Speci? cally, I admin- everyone returns home from work the same way they left. ister members’ compliance with AWO’s requirement that To give an example, the Tankering & Barge Operations carrier members maintain third-party audited compliance Subcommittee, a subsidiary of the Interregion and Coastal with a safety management system (SMS), speci? cally the Safety Committees, has identi? ed the need for safe and

U.S. Coast Guard-accepted Responsible Carrier Program; reliable means of access/egress at the vessel-to-facility in- the Safety Statistics Reporting Program, a safety data point terface. The group noted the lack of regulations addressing collection repository; and, the activities of the associa- access/egress between ship and shore leads to a haphazard tion’s safety committees and subsidiary groups including system that puts individuals at risk of injury or even death. the Tankering & Barge Operations Subcommittee. I have They brought together a large group of stakeholders, did more than 10 years specializing in the successful leader- some data collecting, reviewed the most commonly used ship and management of organizations and programs. I’m systems for access/egress, delved into examples of safety originally from the Baltimore metropolitan area and am a risks that tankermen and others encounter, designed a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. work process to mitigate these risks, and lastly provided recommendations to close access/egress safety gaps over

Why is it important for industry stakeholders to come to- time. All this was published in a memo entitled “Mitigat- gether on safety issues? And best case scenario, what can ing Access/Egress Risks at the Vessel-to-Facility Interface.” be achieved through discussions such as those arranged by

AWO and other groups? Other than COVID-19 issues that have dominated safety

I believe in safety evangelism. And, the importance of talk this year, what do you see as the top safety issues fre- convening the broader towing industry community to learn quently discussed among AWO members?

about and engage on safety issues is more critical than ever. Fall overboard prevention continues to be a top issue and

Each and every employee in the towing industry knows safety priority. And, as an industry, we must do all we can to safety is important. They all want to work in a safe and fully understand and promote the contributors to falls over-

November 2020

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