In SwedishThemes
Full-time work environment duties
The management of the Rosella has got to grips with the work environment onboard by holding frequent safety committee meetings and having designated safety officers. Viking Line’s full-time chief safety officer, Bent Björn-Nielsen, supports all of this.
Captain is key person for better work environment
Keen safety officers are good, but knowledgeable and engaged captains are also necessary if work environment activities are to make any real progress, according to Karl-Arne Johanson at Seko Seafarers. He is pinning a lot of hopes on a new work environment course that is under development at SAN.
Drugs testing effective – if done professionally
Testing is one method for checking that the rules of the shipping company are followed. However, you have to be aware of unprofessional testing companies and poor quality measuring instruments, says Olof Beck, professor of pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet in Solna.
Zero tolerance onboard appreciated
Banning alcohol onboard is a good thing. It raises safety levels, discussions are avoided about how much is acceptable to drink, and colleagues with alcohol problems are not constantly subjected to temptation. That is how the crew on the Sirius Olympus view the situation.
The necessary talk
Somebody looks rough when it is time to be on watch. He or she perhaps smells of alcohol sometimes, has a hangover or seems to be drunk. This is the time for you, as an officer or HR manager ashore, to have a talk with the person.
Seafarers in risk group for alcohol problems
Zero tolerance is not a good method for preventing alcohol problems onboard. It is more successful to have an open dialogue about drinking habits.
Repetitive movements a threat to health
Too many repetitive movements tire out muscles and may even cause chronic injuries in the long term. However, most repetitive strain injuries can be cured and by using simple methods many problems can be prevented, according to Ingrid Dahl, ergonomist and physiotherapist at the corporate healthcare company Feelgood in Göteborg.
Reducing the risk of strain injuries
Ingrid Dahl, ergonomist and physiotherapist, gives the following advice to employees and employers to reduce the risk of strain injuries.
Seamen at risk helped by ITF
Unpaid salaries, crews abandoned and worn ships. In merchant navies around the world there are many examples of seamen working under abysmal conditions, but Annica Barning, ITF inspector, explains that the absolute worst ships seldom come to Sweden.
Flags of convenience
The International Transport Workers Federation, ITF, lists 32 nations that have so-called flags of convenience. The basic criterion for a flag of convenience is when a ship sails under the flag of another country than that of the owner.
The flag makes all the difference
In this issue, 3 2009, of SAN News we have chosen to turn our gaze outwards and take a closer look at the conditions onboard ships in the world’s merchant navy. Which flags offer good working conditions and which are the worst? It is difficult to give categorical answers to such questions since conditions vary substantially between different ships sailing under the same flag.
Land and sea come closer at Broström’s office
A two-day introduction to the shipping company for all new crewmembers will bring land and sea closer to each other at Broströms.
– I know that it will be appreciated and it is something we should have done a long time ago, says personnel manager Kenneth Thorén.
Job exchange creates a feeling of solidarity
After six months in the office, he feels more a part of the shipping company and he has a greater understanding of how people work on land. Chief mate Martin Carlweitz thinks that more employees should try exchanging jobs.
Eight months of paternal leave welded family together
After eight months of leave, father Fredrik and his son Axel have grown close and the family has become even more united. But combining a job at sea with the role of father to small children is no easy match.
Seamen’s wives icon status on Åland
– Seamen’s wives are credited with a number of characteristics and are identified through their husband’s profession in a way that no other women are. To a certain extent this picture is true, and the characteristics of seamen’s wives are often used to describe Åland women in general.
Seamen’s priest: Families need to meet to support each other
The seamen’s priest in Göteborg wants to make the church into a natural meeting place for seamen’s families. He believes there is a need to meet and exchange experiences.
Colleagues in crisis – a safety risk
A person in the middle of a crisis may be able to ”turn on the autopilot” and appear to manage their job quite well. In reality though, he or she may be a time bomb that should be taken off the ship as quickly as possible.
Debriefing an important procedure after accidents
Don’t ask if any of the crew want to have debriefing – just make it part of the standard, routine procedures after a serious accident. That is the advice of the psychologist, Arto Nordlund.
Safer work environment onboard with routine SAM
At Stena Nautica, systematic work environment management (SAM) is in full swing. A large number of risk assessments have been made and several deficiencies have already been made good.
Passenger traffic in the lead – slower headway for smaller ships
The quality varies and the work has reached different levels, but five years after the Work Environment Act was passed most crews have started work with Systematic work environment management (SAM).
