The UK MCA has issued updated Marine Guidance Note in order to specify the changes to the regulations for health and safety signs and signals at work arising from the implementation in the United Kingdom of European Commission Directive 92/58/EEC, by the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels Safety Signs and Signals Regulations which came into force on 15 February 2002.
The regulations require that where risk assessment shows risks to seafarers and workers which cannot be adequately reduced by other measures, appropriate safety signs are provided and maintained to provide warnings or instructions on protection measures, or both.
The signs and signals provided for in the Directive do not have to be provided automatically on every vessel. They are a “last resort” measure to alert seafarers and workers to residual risks which cannot be controlled by other measures taken following a health and safety risk assessment. In such circumstances shipowners and employers are required to install and maintain safety signs and or signals appropriate to the risk identified.
“Appropriate signs” must comply with standards laid down in the Annexes to the Directive, which lay down standards of design etc. for safety signs and signals so that they are easily understood throughout Europe, and in many cases (e.g. emergency signs) internationally. To avoid shipowners incurring unnecessary expense signs required by international standards (SOLAS, IMDG etc.) will be considered as meeting the requirements of the Regulations. Seafarers and workers must be trained or instructed to understand what the signs/signals mean and the hazards which they are warning against. For ease of reference the text of the Annexes to the Directive are reproduced in Appendix 1 to the Marine Guidance Note.
Except in certain circumstances the regulations apply to all activities of seafarers and workers on United Kingdom ships wherever they may be and additionally certain provisions will apply to ships other than United Kingdom ships which are in United Kingdom waters.
These regulations do not apply:
(a) To signs used in connection with the supply of any article or hazardous substance (unless legislation explicitly states that they shall.)
(b) To dangerous goods during the course of their transport by sea, including loading and unloading of such goods from the ship; or
(c) Signs used for regulating traffic (whether road, rail, inland waterway, sea or air traffic)
The Regulations do not apply in respect of the activities of workers on public service vessels or vessels engaged in search and rescue operations where such activity conflicts with the provisions of the Regulations.
The shipowner and employer must ensure:
(a) that relevant information that the seafarer or worker can understand is provided to each seafarer and worker on the measures to be taken in connection with safety signs:
(b) that each seafarer and worker receives suitable and sufficient instruction on the meaning of safety signs and the measures to be taken in connection with safety signs.
Further details may be found by reading the guidance below
Source & Image credit: UK MCA
