STANDARD CLUB AND VIDEOTEL’s GORY STORIES SHOCK AND EDUCATE
‘Accidents happen’, but, of course, most are avoidable. Some can be prevented by better training and others by the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), but sadly it is not sufficient for an individual to know the correct procedure: the individual has to actually apply it. Too often accidents are a result of the rules being disregarded, perhaps through over familiarity with the task in hand leading to carelessness, the choice of casual clothing or footwear instead of the correct safety gear because it is a hot day, or through sheer forgetfulness, or the unwillingness to go to find gloves, goggles or whatever PPE is appropriate.
Now Videotel has joined forces with the Standard Club to produce a set of 10 short video clips, Hazards Series 1. Made with the assistance of Inmarsat, the MCA and numerous shipping companies, each clip shows in graphic, and sometimes shocking, detail what can happen when the correct procedures and working techniques are ignored when carrying out a task. The same task is then shown being undertaken in the approved manner and with the right equipment.
Aimed primarily at cadets, deck and engine crew, students at maritime colleges and training officers, the clips are eye-catching to grab the viewer’s attention and confront the potential severity of the results of some easily avoidable mistakes. Shot using real crew doing real work, these films generate highly targeted training points and pull no punches in delivering them to the audience.
According to Stephen Bond, Videotel Managing Director, the set of video clips tackles head on the key issues of personal awareness and responsibility:
“In all walks of life, we see individuals knowingly taking unnecessary risks, and seafarers are no exception. Take the daily event of driving a car: when we are behind the wheel, we can all knowingly take risks even with our children or grandchildren on board. If with this project we can reduce accidents in the same way that governments have done through the use of shock commercials on television, then it will have been a very worthwhile exercise.”
Chris Spencer, Director of Loss Prevention at the Standard Club, added:
“'These video clips support our ongoing campaign to encourage a safety culture at sea. All accidents are preventable, especially when they involve crew taking short cuts by ignoring basic rules. If these clips save a single life then it will have been worthwhile.”
The DVD comes with a support e-booklet. For each video clip of Hazards Series 1 there is a chapter detailing the main hazards and precautions to take. The chapters can be used as an agenda for discussion/as an aide memoire for crew members.
The intended target audience is all crew on board, experienced and less so, who can benefit from fresh, modern training material. However, complacency can also lead to such accidents with more experienced seafarers, and they can also benefit from viewing this material.
It is planned to distribute the videos in a variety of ways including mobile devices and internet downloads, as well as DVD.
The first series covers the topics:
- Working Aloft
- PPE – Head Protection
- PPE – Foot Protection
- PPE – Eye Protection
- Mooring
- Housekeeping – Doors
- Housekeeping – Slips, Trips and Falls
- Manual Handling
- Hot Work
- Enclosed Spaces