Spotlight: feeling the force
The RNLI has been saving lives at sea since
1824. There are over 230 lifeboat stations around the UK and
Republic of Ireland and so far, the lifeboat crews and lifeguards
have saved over 137,000 lives. Connect went to visit Colin
French, Health and Safety Manager for RNLI, in Poole, Dorset, to
find out what it’s like working for the charity.
“Working for the RNLI has given me the
opportunity to meet a great mix of people who are all so passionate
about what they do. The RNLI crews and lifeguards risk their lives
every day to save others, so it’s vital we do all we can from a
health and safety point of view for them.”
The Lifeboat College, based in Poole, is used to train staff,
crews and lifeguards. Around 2,000 people pass through the college
every year to take part in the different courses. The sea survival
pool at the college is used for training, including practising
capsizes. Complete darkness, thunder, lightning and helicopter
recovery can all be simulated to very real effect but in a
controlled environment.
“We have a policy that covers the entire
organisation. When the crews are on land we do our utmost to make
sure they follow it, but we work on the basis that when the
lifeboat crews are out on service it’s about dynamic risk. That's
why they’re given specialist training, including frequent training
at sea to practise drills.”
Colin adds:
“The crews could never say that they’ll do
something or use equipment in a certain way because all rescues are
unique. Instead it’s about using common sense.”
Ironically, crews and lifeguards are more likely to get involved
in an accident when on land. In the workshops or around the office
the most common types of injuries and accidents are strains and
sprains, and slips, trips and falls.
“The complacency factor can come into play
because people perceive that being on land is less risky than when
they’re out at sea.”
Injuries at sea can be far more severe. In the lifeboats, the
crews can suffer impact injuries from the constant movement of the
boat. Lifeguarding injuries tend to occur in the surf
zone. Because of the nature of
the RNLI's activities, the level of instruction, training
and control is at a high standard.
“When crews go on a shout, particularly in
the smaller in-shore lifeboats, they have to hold on to avoid
hitting the side of the boat as it rides over the waves. They can
also suffer strains when they pull people into the boat during a
rescue. More rarely, they may sustain limb fractures.”
Colin relates one example of this, when a small D-class lifeboat
was on a night rescue in choppy seas. The boat landed heavily after
passing over a large wave and a crew member hit the radio console
in the front of the boat, fracturing their wrist in the
process.
"This is very rare compared to the number of
rescues we handle. Each year we have around 300 accidents –
60 per cent on land and 40 per cent at sea."
Colin goes out on exercises to get an idea of what the crew do
so he can understand all the implications.
“Having knowledge of what they do and
experiencing similar situations to the crew helps me make the right
decisions and come up with a pragmatic solution when dealing with
risk assessments and policies.
“Even though slips do happen, housekeeping in
the lifeboat station is extremely high. The crews are extra
conscious of keeping things clean and tidy because the stations are
open to the public.
“Because there are so many stations it’s not always easy for me and
my team of two to check everything, so the general responsibility
of the station is usually split between the lifeboat’s operation
manager, station mechanic and divisional management team. I do aim
to make visits to the stations to carry out general checks and
regular audits.”
Colin visits the RNLI shops and museums as well as the stations.
He recently took a trip to Cromer in Norfolk to one of the museums
to carry out a fire risk assessment.
“This is something we do for every part of
the RNLI. The majority of the visits are planned, but we do also
carry out unannounced audits.”
The RNLI has a health and safety committee consisting of
representatives from all areas of the charity, including lifeboats,
lifeguards, fundraising, engineering, HR and training, shops and
estates.
“The committee gives an opportunity for all
the departments to talk to us about what they’ve been dealing with
and if there have been any accidents or near misses. The feedback
from the meetings helps develop our competence-based training and
risk management programmes.
“We communicate with staff and crew on a regular basis through
notices, briefings and poster campaigns. We also ask the
divisional management team to talk about health and safety when
they do their six month visits to the stations. We always focus on
the need to make information practical and easy to
understand.
“We’ve introduced a graphic called ‘Mr Wise’ to promote working
safely and have produced posters with different scenarios to make
people see that health and safety is important.”
Colin and his team are currently developing a new strategy
document.
“For the next five years we want to take the
opportunity to improve health and safety at the RNLI. We’ve been
looking at how we can communicate safety effectively and how we can
capture and issue data, while also making it less
bureaucratic."
A couple of years ago the team introduced a new accident
database for all the stations to log accident reports online.
“We’ve reduced the time it takes to report an
accident from 10 days to 10 minutes. Within a matter of minutes of
receiving an accident notification the wheels can be put into
motion. This system also speeds up support for the injured
person.”
Since Colin started working for the RNLI in 2003 he’s enjoyed
every part of his role.
“Working for the RNLI gives me such a range
to my day. From the office right through to the wave machines at
the Lifeboat College, there’s never a dull day.”
Factfile:
- Colin has been a member of IOSH since 2001 and belongs to the
Construction Group and the South Coast Branch
- The RNLI saves 22 lives a day
- There are over 4,500 lifeboat crew members, mostly volunteers,
in the UK and Republic of Ireland
Link:
RNLI
60 Second interview
Emma Richards, Trust Health and Safety
Advisor for the NHS and member of the Healthcare Group Committee,
talks to Connect
What’s one of the most memorable experiences you’ve had in your
health and safety career?
One highlight was being
a finalist in the healthcare section at the SHP IOSH awards in
2007 for our work on violence prevention.
What do you get out of your job?
I get enjoyment and satisfaction from my job.
I also enjoy the challenges I’m faced with as it keeps it
interesting.
You work in the healthcare sector. What issues can you see
coming up?
One of the issues at the moment is the
age of many hospital buildings. I think this is going to
cause a number of health and safety challenges in
the future.
What’s the most common type of accident in your sector?
Slips, trips and falls are the most common,
as I’m sure they are for most organisations!
Has there been an increase in physical and verbal abuse in your
sector?
We’ve noticed a rise in verbal abuse in the
last three or four years. I’d say it’s a challenge for all
organisations, particularly when the public are encouraged to speak
their minds. It doesn’t help that the NHS is constantly put in a
bad light by the press which puts pressure on the staff who do a
good job.
Do you want to be considered for a 60 Second Interview?
Contact the e-Editor.