The safety culture in the Esvagt is constantly being updated, and for the crews of the company's more than 43 vessels, this means a lot of dialogue with the HSE department and more autonomy within the overall framework.
In February 2023, Hans Richard Pedersen took the chair as the new Head of HSE at Esvagt, and with his almost 25 years of experience from the shipping company – including just shy of three years at sea – as the foundation, he began to put the team around him, including several other former seafarers.
The Danish Shipowners’ Accident Insurance Association recently paid Esvagt a visit to talk to Hans Richard about this. On the same occasion, we also met a handful of crew members on Esvagt Faraday, a Service Operation Vessel (SOV) from 2015 with a length of almost 84 metres and a width of 17.6 metres.
One of the key arguments in Esvagt's safety strategy concerns the balance between the overall guidelines established by the shipping company and the degree of autonomy and room to think for oneself – of which Hans Richard Pedersen is a 'big supporter' – that accrues to the ships.
»We have to follow the procedures, but the organization of the work and making it safe are our own responsibility. So, we make sure to take our precautions, we make sure we have the right people for the job, and we make sure that we have thorough peer training,« master Bugge Marx Hansen says.
In general, there is a good connection between what is going on and communicated by Hans Richard Pedersen and his colleagues on land, and the reality on the ships, the experienced master believes, although there are exceptions.
»We can use most things, but of course there’s some stuff that has been sent out with the best of intentions, but where we have to say that it will not really work here. That's where we can collaborate with Hans Richard and the organization and provide our input to make the initiative make sense,« Bugge Marx Hansen says.
As an example, Hans Richard Pedersen mentions a task that involved changing the risk assessments, and which he – in hindsight – calls 'a lost cause’ and an initiative that should never have been set afloat.
»There were a lot of good ideas in dividing the assessments into simple and complex tasks, and even though it does work, it is not optimal in everyday life, that became apparent,« he says and continues:
»We have also changed our Permit-to-work system to implement some new roles and who can approve these permits; realizing that the theoretical world is one thing, but when you get out of the practical workflow, it didn't add up. So, we are also re-adjusting that.«
Keep an eye on the pace
As Hans Richard Pedersen also explains in the first article, Esvagt makes a point of involving the crews in the safety work. He himself uses the expression 'wisdom of the crowd' to describe the approach, which basically covers the fact that things are tested before being rolled out.
»But still you can't hit the mark every time, and then our attitude is that nothing will happen to us if we admit we've been wrong. Everyone is doing the best they can, and then we have to correct in line with the comments we may get from Bugge and his colleagues on the ships,« he says.
In other words, 'work as imagined' should preferably be consistent with 'work as done'. If this is not the case, new knowledge is needed so that the procedures can be altered to suit the work being done – not the other way around, Hans Richard Pedersen says. Of course, provided that it is still safe.
Another example comes from another of Esvagt's SOVs, the Esvagt Dana, where it was found that people often failed to put on their gloves when they went out on deck. To make it easy, a shelf with gloves was mounted right at the exit making it all but impossible for people to miss them.
When it comes to specific tasks, it is at the frequent toolbox meetings (TBTs) that the crew members involved talk through the job and lay the foundation for the task to be carried out safely.
»Many of the things we do, we have done a lot of times, and gradually the risk of you relaxing your attitude – even just a little – increases. In those instances, you need to focus and keep an eye on the pace. But I am also in favor of making it simple. In my book, a checklist before an assignment shouldn’t take more than two-three minutes tops,« Bugge Marx Hansen says.
For the same reason, Hans Richard Pedersen emphasizes that it is not a priority for the crew to write something down from the TBTs. On the contrary, the focus must be on the dialogue in the team and the risks that may follow a given task, review the checklist and make sure that everyone knows when to interrupt the task.
»Everyone has the authority to stop a job, but in reality, we often see that people don't stop the job because they think someone else will. For many, it is also a challenge to stop the job in front of another colleague. It is a mental barrier that we need to get out of the way, which is linked to a safe psychological working environment and that people are comfortable saying 'stop the job'," says Hans Richard Pedersen.
Keep an eye on the pace
As Hans Richard Pedersen also explains in the first article, Esvagt makes a point of involving the crews in the safety work. He himself uses the expression 'wisdom of the crowd' to describe the approach, which basically covers the fact that things are tested before being rolled out.
»But still you can't hit the mark every time, and then our attitude is that nothing will happen to us if we admit we've been wrong. Everyone is doing the best they can, and then we have to correct in line with the comments we may get from Bugge and his colleagues on the ships,« he says.
In other words, 'work as imagined' should preferably be consistent with 'work as done'. If this is not the case, new knowledge is needed so that the procedures can be altered to suit the work being done – not the other way around, Hans Richard Pedersen says. Of course, provided that it is still safe.
Another example comes from another of Esvagt's SOVs, the Esvagt Dana, where it was found that people often failed to put on their gloves when they went out on deck. To make it easy, a shelf with gloves was mounted right at the exit making it all but impossible for people to miss them.
When it comes to specific tasks, it is at the frequent toolbox meetings (TBTs) that the crew members involved talk through the job and lay the foundation for the task to be carried out safely.
»Many of the things we do, we have done a lot of times, and gradually the risk of you relaxing your attitude – even just a little – increases. In those instances, you need to focus and keep an eye on the pace. But I am also in favor of making it simple. In my book, a checklist before an assignment shouldn’t take more than two-three minutes tops,« Bugge Marx Hansen says.
For the same reason, Hans Richard Pedersen emphasizes that it is not a priority for the crew to write something down from the TBTs. On the contrary, the focus must be on the dialogue in the team and the risks that may follow a given task, review the checklist and make sure that everyone knows when to interrupt the task.
»Everyone has the authority to stop a job, but in reality, we often see that people don't stop the job because they think someone else will. For many, it is also a challenge to stop the job in front of another colleague. It is a mental barrier that we need to get out of the way, which is linked to a safe psychological working environment and that people are comfortable saying 'stop the job'," says Hans Richard Pedersen.
HSE is there for the ships and crews
The aforementioned statistics on submitted learning cards have been published internally by Esvagt in the shipping company's safety newsletter, HSE Weekly, which is something the crews greatly appreciate – at least on Faraday, Bugge Marx Hansen reports.
»It's really good to get some feedback and that it comes continuously, because otherwise it can be a bit overwhelming if it's allowed to pile up while you're ashore,« he says.
However, a newsletter does not solve all the challenges on its own, Hans Richard Pedersen points out, but it is a good basis for a dialogue on what is happening on the ships and to make it easier to have those conversations across the organization.
The dialogue also applies in case there has been an incident. Regardless of the severity of the accident, it will never be closed without the crew having been involved in the process and given the opportunity to express their opinion.
»The ships and crews are the reason we have a business in the first place, and the reason the customers come back, so as I see it, HSE is there for them. We help them work safely so that they can perform at their best with the customers,« Hans Richard Pedersen says.
»When we present Esvagt, we talk a lot about our safety work. I don't think there are many other shipping companies that can keep up. I think we are far ahead when it comes to offering something new. We will do it safely or not at all," first mate Silas Holm adds, with his captain backing him up:
»There’s this points system, which is used when you bid on a tender, and we score high. And the points give us an advantage when it comes to pricing, so we’re in a good position,« Bugge Marx Hansen says.
Silas Holm looks back with pleasure on his start in Esvagt in 2014, where he was taken care of and thoroughly familiarized with safety in particular from day one through a Safety Awareness course, just as he agrees with his seafaring colleagues that the HSE department is good at supporting the work at sea.
In this connection, Hans Richard Pedersen emphasizes the value of HSE being open about the various initiatives and giving the crews some leeway, also financially for smaller investments, which the head office does not need to interfere with as such.
Important to get the administrative stuff in place
In the control room on Esvagt Faraday, UFDS meets Chief Engineer Morten Ærendal, and here too it is clear that safety is something you have in the back of your mind, in the engine, the workshop and all the places in between.
»Of course, we have our procedures, and many of the tasks are routine, but then we talk about things on our toolbox talk in the morning, and we talk about how we have to take care of ourselves. Depending on the type of job, we do a risk assessment, so if it's something with electricity, we have a checklist to ensure electrical insulation and the like, plus it serves as a checklist for us, so we have the right equipment with us,« he says.
For the daily morning rounds, the crew do not make a new risk assessment every time, but rather make sure to talk things through on the TBT and also address the routines that are otherwise on the backbone.
»In the engine, we are good at talking together about the craftsmanship; what it is we should do, what should we be aware of, how do we take care of each other and so on. And we have always talked about that down here, even before it became procedure,« says Morten Ærendal.
Although it can sometimes seem a bit rigorous to run through a checklist before a job that can be carried out in a few minutes, it is important to remember to get the administrative stuff in place, he points out.
»I’ve been a machine worker back in the day, and the attitude was a little more of ‘cowboy’. And that's how it was,« as he says, sporting a wry laugh.
»Since then, we’ve seen a dramatic development when it comes to safety. Even when it comes to lifting things; In the past, you just got to grips, but today you need equipment as soon as the weight increases just a little. And it's all good, because we should be able to enjoy our pension when we get that far. In that way, the procedures are there for our own sake,« Morten Ærendal says.
