ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC Safety Bulletin

Safety Awareness
Celebrating Operational Excellence
Dedicated to the welfare of the mariners who serve on the ships...
October 2003
YEARS OF INCIDENT FREE
NAME SERVICE YEARS
D. B. Davis 30 30
P. Hom 30 30
F. Fernandes 25 23
G. Murolo 25 24
N. Licayan 15 15
J. Ombao 15 15
M. Tibayan 15 15
K. Coley 10 10
M. Mungruskar 10 10
R. Reighley 10 10
M. Solkar 10 10
G. Carpenzano 5 5
P. Choudhury 5 5
P. Devi 5 5
A. Fleming 5 5
E. Habla 5 5
C. Mah 5 5
C. Mantooth 5 5
S. Pagkalinawan 5 5
ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC
October 2003
Volume 65, No. 10
Safety and Environment Team
Editor Richard Holder
Please direct your questions, comments
or suggestions to:
ChevronTexaco Shipping Company LLC
P.O. Box 6027
San Ramon, CA 94583-0727
phone 925.973.4181
fax (within U.S.) 877.673.9272
(outside U.S.) 631.514.3057
email L9Safety@chevrontexaco.com
Service
Safe.
Always!
WITHOUT INJURY
ARTICLES:
Welcome Our Newest Safety Team
Member
Steve OHare
Situational Awareness
Bradly Chapman
Endless Sling Safety
Praxcedes Pereira
Factoring out the Human Element
Richard Holder
2 October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
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Welcome Our Newest ChevronTexaco Shipping
Safety Team Member Steve OHare
In 1992, I was appointed as Training Officer for Plant
Protection and served in that position for five years.
This job gave me the opportunity to express my pas-
sion for safety training. I believe everyone can make
a difference when it comes to safe operations. In
training, I have used my past experiences of on the
job incidents I responded to as examples of lessons
learned. I have learned when people understand the
serious impacts of accidents or incidents they are
more likely to follow safety procedures.
In 1997, I took a two year special assignment as a
facilitator on the refinerys High Performance
Organization (HPO) study team. The HPO team was
tasked with gathering suggestions, perceptions,
ideas, general dialog data from all employees on
subjects of Safety, Reliability, Leadership, and
Changing Business Challenges.
In 1999, I went back to Plant Protection as Battalion
Chief/Supervisor. With this position, came the respon-
sibilities of Qualified Individual/Incident Commander
during emergencies and Public Relations Liaison dur-
ing operation incidents. Additional responsibilities
included providing leadership support and a supervi-
sory role to the Plant Protection crews while on shift.
In August of 2002, I accepted a position as Senior
Training Coordinator, Marketing Environmental Safety
and Health in San Ramon, CA. This job was closer to
home which is in Pleasanton, CA. It offered a 9/80
schedule, which gave me more quality time with my
5-year-old son and wife, along with the safety job and
training challenges I enjoy.
Within my experiences, in what some people would
consider dangerous occupations, I have been fortu-
nate to never experience a serious injury on or off
the job. I contribute this to the people I have worked
with and work for. We at ChevronTexaco have the
same technology, equipment and processes as our
competitors. Its up to each of us to make the
difference in Safety and Reliability. I look forward
to meeting the challenges ahead along with all
ChevronTexaco Shipping employees and our
contractors in striving for IFO.
My career with ChevronTexaco began March 1985 after
completing of eight years of military service in the US Air
Force. I started with Plant Protection Richmond Refinery
as a Fire Security Specialist. My former job experience as
an Air Force Fire Protection Specialist and my Merchant
Seaman experience helped in obtaining the job. Plant
Protection, is an emergency response organization
with primary focus and function on IFO Incident Free
Operations. The organization responds to fires, medical, HAZMAT, oil spills,
rescues and security calls 24/7. Plant Protection also provides industrial
hygiene support for operations and maintenance work activities. They
review all hot work and confined space work requests within the refinery,
initiate initial incident reports, and assist in follow-up investigations.
October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN 3
JUMP!!!!
Where????
Oops,
too late!
Situational Awareness by Bradly Chapman
4 October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
Last year I heard a news story that
nearly one hundred people were killed
in a nightclub fire. Two possible con-
tributing factors in the tragic event
were: 1) human behavior and 2) the
club was not required to have a fire
suppression system. Ironically, the club
had more than one exit. However, in
an emergency when people panic, they
will typically attempt to exit the same
way they entered the building. Maybe
if those people, when they came into
the club looked around and thought for
a moment what will I do if? there
would have been far fewer fatalities.
I was thinking that a tragic event like
this was a rare occurrence, but do you
know what I found out? Next time you
are on the internet perform a search for
nightclub fires. Performing this
search on my personal computer result-
ed in no less than 136,000 hits. There
were similar stories and related circum-
stances in dozens of countries. Sadly,
most of the deaths were probably
caused by people being trampled near
a blocked exit instead of actually being
killed by the fire.
Now think about situational awareness
and your own personal approach to
ensure safety. Here is mine. If a
crowded place only has one exit, or too
many people for the amount of exits,
then you should probably go some-
where else!
I am sure we all have friends (or even
ourselves) that continually seem to get
into car accidents. Many times it is
deemed the other persons faultbut is
it? Is it simply the wrong place at the
wrong time or is it a matter of situa-
tional awareness? I commute 135 miles
a day and am continuously amazed at
how often I see people narrowly avoid
a collision. You can actually watch an
event unfolding and then the last
minute reaction that narrowly avoids
an accident. Had the person been pay-
ing attention and thinking about the
situation around them they could have
easily changed lanes and the near miss
would never have been in question.
Often it is even going against what
we think we know. Being raised in
California we were always taught in
the event of an earthquake get out-
side. Well if you are in the financial
district of San Francisco and an earth-
quake occurs there could be up to 10
feet in depth of broken glass in the
streets. Obviously being outside is not
where you want to be! Every place has
its own hazards. Dont assume you
know what you will do. Learn to
recognize an areas unique hazards
in advance and decide what you will
do if.
When you join a ship you complete an
OPS-32 which familiarizes you with the
vessel and its operations. Do you take
the same time to familiarize yourself
with your surroundings when you go
somewhere new? Most likely you dont
but I ask why not? It is basic human
nature to not want to ever think of
anything bad happening. We may
spend our whole lives and nothing bad
ever happens and this reinforces our
behavior. You may think it is a waste of
time to think different scenarios out
but it only takes one time. It takes
extra time to think about what if but
knowing what may happen and what
you will do may be what saves your life
or that of a loved one.
Situational awareness is doing more
than just noticing where the exit signs
are in an unfamiliar setting. It is
counting the doors to the exit in case
the hall is filled with smoke and you
cant see the exit sign. It is more than
taking a map with you when traveling.
It is reviewing the map and knowing
the directions before you ever leave.
It is asking the hotel clerk if each
room has a fire suppression system
and requesting that you be placed on
a lower level floor.
We cant always foresee situations
that may arise but we can be better
prepared by thinking of different
scenarios and asking ourselves
what will I do if?
Situational awareness should be part of your thought
process whether at home or on board ship. It is more
than knowing where you will jump if an overhead load
breaks free or knowing where a fire extinguisher is
located if a fire breaks out. It is also deciding not to
do something or go somewhere simply because it could
potentially be an unsafe thing to do.
Safe Always.
October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN 5
Endless slings (round slings) can be an excel-
lent alternate to wire rope slings in accom-
plishing many shipboard tasks that require
lifting, principally because of their high
strength to weight ratio characteristics.
However, there are also many other advan-
tages. They are easy to use and less likely to
mar, scratch or damage the load. In addition,
these types of slings can also be rotated to
avoid uneven wearing, which results in a
longer life and good reliability. One of the
best advantages comes in the straightforward
approach in managing the overall safety with
regard to maintenance and inspection.
Endless Safety by Praxcedes Pereira
Along with air tools, air hoses, chain blocks, and hydraulic equipment, slings
should also be included in a maintenance and inspection program to ensure
safety and reliability. Managing this properly is a very important, and in some
cases, a time consuming task that cannot be neglected. There are various
methods in approaching and developing an effective maintenance and inspec-
tion program, but one must consider the types and variety of slings employed
in making this determination.
continued on page 6
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6 October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
We like to use Lift-All Tuflex polyester endless slings
because they are water-resistant and have less bounce &
elongation than nylon. Stretch is usually 3-4% at rated
workload limit. These slings have a color coded system
that indicates the maximum safe working load that
makes it easy to select the proper sling for the job.
The color scheme for Max SWL/Lbs is illustrated in the
chart above by the configuration employed. They are
available in 3, 6, 8, 10 & 12 foot lengths, which are
standard off the shelf. Maximum non standard length
is 20 feet. All of these slings have a red warning core
inside the jacket (made of woven nylon) that indicates
when the sling must be removed from service due to
excessive wear or deterioration. The inspection, mainte-
nance and replacement is often far less complicated
than that of wire slings.
Every task that involves lifting or using slings has a JSA
that includes Safe Operating Practices & Angle Effect.
We use only four colors of slings presently on board and
all sling storage spaces have SWL's for various hitches
posted along with the operating practices of Tuflex
Polyester slings by Liftall. This makes it easy to identify
the SWL of the sling even if the leather certificate that
is attached is no longer legible. It should be noted
that manufacturers do not always have the same color
schemes and configuration factors. To avoid confusion
it is best to only have one brand of slings on board the
vessel.
Endless Safety (contd.)
October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN 7
Safe Operating Practices:
Determine if the weight of the load is
within the rated capacity (as color
coded) of the sling
Inspect slings for damage prior to
each use
Sling shall be used in the appropriate
vertical, choker or basket hitch with
the load balanced to prevent slipping,
bearing in mind the SWL at various
hitches
Slings should be protected from
being cut by sharp corners, edges
& protrusions
Slings should not be dragged over
abrasive surfaces, nor pulled from
under loads
Slings should not be exposed to
sunlight (UV), prolonged exposure
damages the sling
ANGLE
DEGREES FACTOR
ANGLE
DEGREES FACTOR
ANGLE
DEGREES FACTOR
90
85
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90
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1.00
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.643
.574
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.423
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.643
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.906
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.906
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SLING CAPACITY
DECREASES AS
THE ANGLE
DECREASES.
8 October 2003 SAFETY BULLETIN
Human factors engineering deals with
designing or modifying equipment or
installations to match the physical and
mental capabilities of human beings.
It is based on physiology, psychology,
sociology and engineering principles.
The idea is not very new, actually it
has been around for a very, very long
time. In fact, the concept has been
around for several hundred years. In
summary, the objective of human fac-
tors engineering is making things
more user friendly to manage and
operate safely.
For example lets have a look at cell
phone use. Energized cell phones are
prohibited in hazardous areas on and
around tankers. Im not sure how
many live cell phones are carried while
boarding a tanker, but the policy is
undoubtedly broken due to lack of
effective communication. It can easily
happen when a gangway watch does
not address the safety issue to per-
sons boarding a vessel who could
have cell phones turned on. The prob-
lem can be compounded by the pres-
ence of a poorly designed warning
sign. Look at the sign illustrated in
the cartoon on the right. Is it effec-
tive? Does it
illustrate good
human factors
engineering
practices?
Will persons comply if the gangway
watch forgets to confront a potential
cell phone user?
The answers to these questions are
no, no, and probably not; in that
order. The sign in the cartoon does
not illustrate good human factors
engineering principles. To be effective
a warning sign must address the
hazard, how it is avoided, and what
the consequences are if a certain
action is not taken. In the human
mind-set, usually the question why
needs to be addressed before a
change in behavior can be expected.
Ordinarily, people are not
apt to follow instructions
if they dont understand
the reasoning behind
them.
The sign in the cartoon
would probably be more
effective if was written
differently. A better sign
would communicate the 3
elements previously men-
tioned (the hazard, how it
is avoided, and what the
consequences are):
Human factors engineering is not
something that should be practiced
only at the design stage. It is some-
thing we can continuously improve
upon. This is just one example of how
human factors engineering can be
implemented to help manage a safety
concern in the event of human error.
Im certain there are many other
examples that can be identified.
The important thing is to take action
when a hazard is identified to increase
the level of safety for all.
Factoring out the Human Element for Safety
There are many studies that indicate most casualties are attributed to
human error, which is not very surprising considering most humans are not
faultless. Given a set of circumstances in an incident, human factors are
difficult factors to do away with. One approach to factor out the human
element is called human factors engineering.
DANGER
COMBUSTIBLE ATMOSPHERE
TURN CELL PHONES OFF
DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY