Appendix 5 – Record Keeping
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee-Marine Environment Protection Committee Circulars - MSC-MEPC.2 Circulars - MSC-MEPC.2/Circular.3 – Guidelines on the Basic Elements of a Shipboard Occupational Health and Safety Programme – (5 June 2006) - Annex – Guidelines on the Basic Elements of a Shipboard Occupational Health and Safety Programme - Appendix 5 – Record Keeping

Appendix 5 – Record Keeping

  1 Records are needed to document hazard control efforts such as job hazard analyses, industrial hygiene sampling, and training. Data collection systems that enable trend analysis help in identifying injuries and illnesses with common causes. A review of shipboard personnel injury and illness experience over a period of time may reveal patterns of injury and illness with common causes, which can be addressed. Similarly, a review of accidents, “near miss” incidents or problems over time can reveal patterns of dangerous practice, which need correction to assure safety. The correlation of changes in injury, illness and “near miss” incident or problem experience with changes in the occupational health and safety programme. Operations, work processes, and personnel may help to identify potential causes and likelihood of personnel accidents, injuries, and illnesses, and danger or risk to the public. Audits that evaluate the effectiveness of the occupational health and safety programme can be used to identify weak points in the system.

  2 Examples of records that should be maintained include:

  • .1 death, injury, illness, accident, “near miss” incident, and problem data including:

    • .1.1 investigation reports and root cause analysis (see also appendix 7, fatality, injury, illness and incident investigation); and

    • .1.2 injury, illness, near miss and problem rates;

  • .2 hazardous condition notifications and abatement actions;

  • .3 crewmember safety suggestions;

  • .4 industrial hygiene monitoring results for both personal and area samples;

  • .5 job safety analyses;

  • .6 safety committee reports;

  • .7 safety inspection reports or log entries;

  • .8 medical surveillance data (aimed at identifying exposures so that proper interventions, including improvement of hazard controls, may be initiated);

  • .9 training (refer to appendix 4 for a discussion of recommended training):

    • .9.1 record training outline, date and attendance; and

    • .9.2 record completion of courses such as fire fighting and confined space entry schools; and

  • .10 occupational health and safety management programme audits (refer to appendix 8 for an example).

  3 The extent of record keeping necessary to document the effectiveness of the programme will vary depending on the size of the company, level and nature of exposure to hazards on the vessel, and other factors. The records should be maintained as long as necessary in light of their intended use.

  4 Records of individual ships should also be shared with other ships and analysed as a larger base of data to gain information on frequency of problems to better identify trends.


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