6 minute read
A clean break from work
A clean break from work The proper planning of works breaks and hygiene facilities is, explains Esteban Marrufo, a key contributor to diver welfare
In these strange times, it seems like a good opportunity to talk about welfare issues around our continuously evolving industry. We are all aware of the ACOP (Approved Code of Practice) relating to diving. It is used as a foundation to plan, risk asses and work on our methodology to achieve the safest and best outcome for the tasks carried out within the inshore diving industry. However, there are numerous useful publications that assist the diving ACOP. In this article, I would like to discuss workplace health safety and welfare.
LOOKING AT FACILITIES How you view welfare often depends on your role inside the company/team you work with. Although an employer has a duty of care towards their employees, it is the duty of everybody involved to recognise and execute safe working practices. This will ensure a clean and maintainable working environment. Interpreting the meaning of these regulations is often one of the reasons for discussion inside a dive team. People might well have different ideas about what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. This is why being armed with the knowledge of welfare in the workplace should go hand in hand with the Diving ACOP.
Often, you will find yourself on one day jobs: but what level of welfare should you expect? More importantly what level of welfare will HSE Inspectors expect? For example, for a single or mixed gender dive team of up to five people the minimum expected W/C is one cubicle and one washbasin. If the team is all male then those facilities will be sufficient for up to fifteen people. For any numbers greater than these, there will need to be two cubicles and two washbasins. On longer jobs this is more easily achievable; site owners are encouraged to provide a clean sanitary area with both hot and cold running water, soap and clean towels. Plus, if required, due to contamination, showers as well. This is also expected on short duration jobs. But, in reality, how many dive sites provide these facilities? I am sure it will be agreed that on a one-day job this is difficult.
There also needs to be a separate and clean seating area for breaks, drinking water and a means of heating food or water for hot drinks. A full version of the HSE Guidance can be found at www.hse.gov. uk/pubns/indg293.pdf or, for the Construction Industry www. hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis59.pdf
Something not unique to the diving industry, but with more relevance for us than most, is drying facilities. There are so many varied factors to take into account. On a job that requires divers to dive on multiple days there should be a drying area. It should be separate from any eating area and be adequately ventilated. There has to be enough room for all the team to be able to have sufficient space and, where necessary, women and men must be able to change separately. It is imperative that the facility is fitted with high temperature cut-out devices or is properly ventilated: both, in an ideal world. Always remember electric heaters are not radiators; they should not be covered directly and best practice will ensure a fire RA (Risk Assessment) and be in line with fire safety regulations. One of the most common causes of fires is from drying facilities.
HSE (HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE) COMPLIANCE It is worth adding that, if you are working on a construction site where there is a planned schedule for inland diving operations, you should find a well-equipped welfare area that includes a robust welfare ethos and facilities that should stand up to the ACOP regarding not only welfare but also the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) document for construction sites. It clearly states on page 11 section 2.44
of the HSE ‘Health and Safety in Construction’ document that, in almost all cases, arrangements still need to be made for welfare facilities where work is of a short duration.
In this day and age, it is more important than ever to promote good hygiene and safe refuge areas. These documents are designed to keep us all healthy to alleviate the lost time through illness at work. Not complying with current recommendations can bring a whole site to a standstill thus losing operational time: this never goes down well with the client.
Going back to a one-day job, is it unreasonable to speak to the client and arrange use of facilities? If, for instance, you are working in a marina, could you pre-arrange an area just for the dive team to use as a changing area… somewhere to sit and eat some lunch? All of this can be arranged through the client via the contractor. Keep in mind that, if you are running a five-man team, you will have to take breaks all together as any shortfall in team numbers working will result in non-compliance with the diving ACOP. With, say, a six-man team or more, you can rotate the team to take breaks one at a time; this keeps the team operating. All the above points absolutely have to be taken into account at the planning stages of any job.
WORKING WHERE THERE ARE OTHER TEAMS The facilities you are expected to see are totally transferable to boats and barges. It is worth keeping in mind that with boats and barges the facilities are often built in, so you would fully expect a working boat to have a clean area for changing, a suitable area for eating etc, However what needs to be reviewed is the total amount of personnel that are licensed to be operating on said vessel and use the facilities. All boat skippers should have this under control, but if you walk into the work environment and have the knowledge to suitably question what the facilities are, you are already one step closer to achieving a good working relationship with everybody involved.
Very often you will find on a vessel month-on/month-off crew who have strict routines and strict cleaning processes. They are letting you into their work environment and, at that moment, taking a break from the day’s work, will often mean that everybody stands down. Going into their rest area, all together might, more often than not mean that you would be heavily overcrowding their refuge space. This is why prearranging all breaks and outlining from the start what you need to do to share out the areas and breaks is a hugely important part of creating a safe and happy workplace.
WELFARE FIRST In general, it is a good idea to be familiarised with the HSE Guidelines on welfare, construction sites and fire safety. These should always be reviewed in all job planning before the dive plan is executed. If you keep in mind that no job can start properly until the welfare of the dive team is taken into account, then should you have a visit from an inspectorate, there will be no problem in displaying that you have considered all aspects of the work. This is best practice and will show you to be a confident and safe employer, if you are an employee it will display a strong respect for your craft and show you have the ability to think of others.
In the modern-day site, it is imperative that the people working in our industry respect the regulations and guidelines. Never compromise your standards, always work with everybody’s welfare in mind and you will find yourself in a stronger position to assist your employer in achieving their goal of employee welfare and customer satisfaction.
Dive safe all.
Engineering Innovation above and below the waterline
River and Tidal Bridge Repairs and Strengthening Scour Repair and Protection Culvert Repairs and Re-lining Confined Space Services Ancillary Floating Plant and Pontoon Provisions Commercial Diving and Sub-Sea Services
