Working conditions in shipbuilding in the Netherlands leave much to be desired. The Dutch labour inspectorate announced 80% of the inspected shipyards violate occupational health and safety regulations.
Lack of knowledge and underestimating risks are part of the problem. The situation is alarming, concludes the inspectorate after inspecting 120 yards where ships are built, repaired or serviced.
25% of accidents at shipyards are caused by employees falling down ladders, scaffoldings or manholes. Yards do not take these risks seriously: inspectors have come across ramshackle scaffolding, wrongly placed ladders and missing handrails. One fifth of the violations had to do with falling hazard. In additions, machines were often unsafe: they were in bad repair, the emergency stop was missing or employees removed protective shields from moving parts for convenience.
Danger of Enclosed Spaces
A ship under construction continually changes shape and composition. This often results in enclosed spaces that can be dangerous. Oxygen levels can differ greatly and dangerous gasses can accumulate, increasing the risk of fire or explosion. Inspectors found regulation for working in these spaces is often lacking. Employees do not know which substances they may encounter or in what concentrations and the ventilation leaves much to be desired. One in five violations fall in this category.
Welders Fail to Use Protective Gear
There were also a lot of violations in welding. Even though protective gear is available to protect welders from carcinogenic fumes, they often fail to use them and there is no supervision to correct them.
Improving Awareness
The metal industry has already done much to promote safety at work. For example, the most important risks have been mapped and parties involved have made agreements on safe working conditions. Good and free aids and improvement checklists and coaches are available, but in practice shipyards hardly use them.
To improve working conditions, working safely has to become a part of daily practice. Therefore, the industry has launched a campaign and a training is being developed to improve safety awareness. In addition, newcomers to the industry will receive safety instructions.
Inspections Continue
The inspectorate continues its inspections: within two years the inspections will be repeated. The yards who had the most violations can expect a new inspection shortly.
