Individual / Organisation Name: PAUL SEAR

NGMW432

Individual / Organisation name: PAUL SEAR What state/territory: WA

Review of the National Guidance Material for Working Safely on the Waterfront Public Comment Response Form Complete and submit this form by 5PM AEST FRIDAY 10 AUGUST 2012 to [email protected]

Comments on content of the national guidance material Section/page no. Comment

Comments on additional issues identified in section 4.2 of the Discussion Paper Section/page no. Comment

Hatchmen I work at Fremantle, everyday at toolbox I put my hand up as a safety delegate. I operate cranes, am always aware of what is happening around me.

I was the hatchman on a nightshift on a gracht boat unloading steel. We were getting towards the last lot of lifts, lifting crane boom sections out of the hold. most of the sections had an inner section inside that were strapped so as not to move anywhere, we lifted a section that was not strapped unbeknown to us, late at night, tired, fatigued etc. anyway as the lift was being taken out it gently hit the side of the hold, which caused the lift to start to rock allowing the inner section to roll out of the outer section. I, being the hatchman, in a perfect position to see what was happening with the load, called out to everyone below to get out of the way. The inner section came out, crashed to the floor, and then skidded across the floor for a bit. Luckily no one was injured. The truss section sustained damage but that can be replaced.

anyone that works at Fremantle knows why they are trying to get rid of the hatchman, when you look over at another ship being unloaded by another stevedoring company and no hatchman to be seen, it makes it hard to fight for something that we all know should be happening. Hopefully it’s not too late to change this but if we all work together [Redacted] and be seen to be doing the right thing and be visible doing the right thing, will win this fight.

so, YES the code of practice should preserve the role of the HATCHMAN it is important because the HATCHMAN has a bird’s eye view of everything happening below and onshore I feel the HATCHMAN should be used all the time, if he is the down driver that has just come out of the crane after a 2.5 / 3 hour run its only commonsense to let him rest whilst watching what is happening in the hold and onshore, rather than sending him down below to work under the hook. I’m not too sure if the management have any idea of what FATIGUE means.

LET’S JUST HOPE COMMONSENSE PREVAILS.

Stevedoring Should the guidance material refer to the qualifications (Cert II, Cert III and qualifications Cert IV in Stevedoring) that have been developed for the stevedoring industry?

it is very important, if we didn’t, we would have more deaths

Safety Induction Should the newly developed stevedoring ‘safety skill-set’ be used to skill-set underpin safety inductions?

Safety inductions are very important and everyone should do refresher inductions, if that makes any sense. We need to stay on top of safety.

Use of checklists Should the safety checklists, which set out examples of the types of hazards, and acceptable/unacceptable ways of handling those hazards, be maintained in the guidance material?

I agree with the specific checklists because every port has different workloads, cargoes. vessels, etc

Comments on the implementation of the national guidance material in each jurisdiction which may have included launches, information and training sessions, and whether it has been useful in the workplace as a resource for improving safety practices. Section/page no. Comment

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