The Britannia P&I Club has issued its latest edition of ‘Risk Watch’ to shed focus on hand and finger injuries by highlighting recent cases handled by the Club and advising on lessons learned.
The Club notes that accidents involving lacerations,fractures and in some severe cases,the amputation of hands and fingers, are still common. Such accidents are often caused by complacency,with inappropriate or insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) being worn, combined with a lack of communication.
The Club recommends before carrying out any task, a risk assessment to be carried out.This can be either formal or informal but must identify the potential dangers and the risks involved.The crew should then create a detailed plan of how the work should be done and what type of PPE (if appropriate) should be worn.
Crew must also be aware of the safety procedures in place and know how to operate equipment in a safe manner.Crew must never be complacent and must always focus on the task as complacency and lack of attention can often cause injuries.
By following these recommendations, hopefully the risks inherent in carrying out the tasks can be reduced to a minimum and many of these accidents can be prevented.
Find out more by reading Britannia P&I Club Loss Prevention publication
Source: Britannia P&I Club
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