IMCA Publishes Summary of 2018 Safety Flashes
Published on 6 February 2019
- 136 incidents reported in 29 Safety Flashes in 2018
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has issued an Information Note showing that in 2018 it published 29 Safety Flashes reporting 136 incidents. Delivered regularly throughout the year, IMCA’s Safety Flash system provides a fast andvital communication channel to help improve safety performance in the offshore industry.
The data of reported incidents in 2018 show several trends, which are:
- 10% were ‘near misses’;
- 10% were the result of equipment failure;
- In 7% of cases, people suffered hand or finger injuries;
- Eight involved fires: two of these were laundry fires, and three fires related to the inappropriate management of Lithium-ion batteries; and
- In three, injuries were sustained by persons transferring from one vessel to another whilst offshore.
116 of the 136 incidents reported in the Safety Flashes came from IMCA members; the remainder were from government bodies, regulators and trade associations, including the Marine Safety Forum. IMCA works closely with other industry bodies and regulators to ensure that appropriate incidents are passed on and lessons learned are circulated to members.
Nick Hough, IMCA’s Technical Adviser for Health, Safety, Security & Environment, said: “The Safety Flash system is an important method to learn from the experience of others. We encourage everyone in the industry to take-part and report incidents. This influences industry safety awareness.”
IMCA ensures the strict anonymity and appropriateness of all published Safety Flash material. Nothing is published without clear permission from the contributor.
A full list of the Safety Flash incidents of 2018 is available to all in the industry at legacy.imca-int.com/alerts/downloads/safety-flash/18.