A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land. Port locations are selected to optimize access to land and navigable water, for commercial demand, and for shelter 3from wind and waves.
Ports often have cargo-handling equipment, such as cranes and forklifts for use in loading ships, which may be provided by private interests or public bodies. Often, canneries or other processing facilities will be located nearby. Some ports feature canals, which allow ships further movement inland. Access to intermodal transportation, such as trains and trucks, are critical to a port, so that passengers and cargo can also move further inland beyond the port area.Ports are challenging places to work. You may be dealing with a whole range of cargoes and working alongside a wide variety of people.
Work at ports takes place throughout the day and night and in all types of weather. There are often pressures to load or unload a ship’s cargo quickly to catch a tide or to free up a wharf. Visiting drivers want to pick up or drop off their cargo as quickly as possible and get back on the road. These factors make it an exciting but also a potentially high-risk industry to work in. Ever-changing circumstances lead to ever-changing risks.
Companies must put appropriate health and safety measures in place to manage these risks properly.Accidents may occur when using various types of motorized vehicles travel inside ships, on ramps, docks, marshalling areas and parking locations. The accidents can be serious and it is important for all employers in the company to implement their safety rules and comply with those rules. In all cases, the employer remains responsible for ensuring the safety of its workers.HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PORTThere are safety and health hazards associated with the company. Safety Hazards: 1) Falls from Heights Many of the activities carried out in ports could lead to a fall from height.
Falls from a height can occur whilst carrying out trimming, sheeting and container lashing, securing loads, accessing ships, working on board a ship or working on heavy machinery. These activities may be during routine operations or during one-off maintenance activities. In ports, the added hazard of working near water means a fall may lead to the risk of drowning.Typical falls from height hazards in ports: • Access to and from vessels by accommodation ladders and gangways. •Container-top working – lashing and unlashing containers, use of slewing jib cranes.
•Access to and from places of work onboard vessels (holds, hatches, decks etc). •Falls from vehicles during loading/unloading and sheeting.How you can reduce fall from height risks: •Do a risk assessment for any work carried out at height. Select and use suitable work equipment.
•All work at height should be properly planned and organized. •Workers involved in work at height should be competent.2) Falling ObjectsWhilst carrying out loading and unloading operations and stacking and stowing goods there is a risk of falling objects. Items may be loose and incorrectly or poorly slung or stacked.
Fittings and fixtures used during lashing operations may be dropped. Loads or objects may collapse or fall having become unstable during transport or having been poorly loaded.How you can reduce falling objects: •All securing equipment, such as twist locks and lashing bars, must be adequately inspected and maintained. •Loads must be appropriately secured especially during movement around the dock.
•Marked safe areas should be provided for lorry drivers during loading and unloading operations, especially in container terminals.3) Slips and TripsOver a quarter of all reportable accidents in ports are due to slips or trips. These can be serious, resulting in broken or dislocated bones and long periods off work. They should not be accepted as ‘one of those things’ and you can often take simple steps to prevent them happening.Typical slip and trip hazards in ports: •Working on uneven, wet or icy surfaces on loads.
•Badly stowed ropes, cables, container lashing gear and other equipment.How you can reduce slip and trip risks •Specify appropriate flooring/surfaces. •Maintain plant to prevent contamination. For example, oil getting onto the floor. •Good housekeeping – encourage a ‘see it, sort it’ culture.4) Mooring HazardsMooring can be a hazardous activity as there is a risk of a person getting caught in a line or a winch.
The lines can be very heavy and awkward, particularly if they are wet, and may break and snap back.Typical mooring hazards in ports: •Subsurface buoy shackle and chain fastened too close to the fiber line. •Rotational movement of the mooring line lead to the subsurface buoy arrangement getting tangled up into the fiber line. •Getting caught in rope or winchesHow you can reduce mooring hazards: •All workers carrying out mooring operations should be specifically trained.
•They should wear appropriate personal protective equipment. •They must stand clear of lines being thrown but be ready to pick them up as soon as they have landed. •They should only enter the snap back zone if it is necessary to carry out a specific task. •They should never put their feet in bights or eyes of mooring lines or step over a mooring line under tension.
