MOB Rescue with OSCAR - Water Rescue Training Dummy and C-Hero Lift.

Marine Safety Beyond Training

To ensure that marine employees are as safe as possible working on the water, water safety and man-overboard protection need to be built-in to the culture of the organization. However, studies have shown that occasional training programs are not as effective in ensuring safety. Water Safety Programs need to be demonstrated starting at the leadership level to be most effective. Making water safety part of the company culture. Pairing training with investment in water safety products and mechanisms help to make this a natural part of the culture.
In a 2018 research essay written by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev in Anthropology Today, studies show that short-term changes in training programs are not as effective as they should be. Dobbin and Kalev mention, “sometimes a short-term change occurs in attitudes, but very few find a widespread change in actual behavior.” Dobbin and Kalev offer a few reasons why these programs generally don’t work as intended.

Why Water Safety Training Programs Don’t Always Work

First, “short-term educational interventions, in general, do not change people.” This is true for worker safety courses. Second, some researchers argue that the training activates stereotypes in people’s minds rather than eliminating them. Third, training can make people complacent, thinking that because they went through the program they’ve solved the problem. Fourth, people don’t like to be told what to think and may rebel if they feel that they’re being pressured to think a certain way. Therefore it’s imperative for a successful training program to implement a solid policy to effect change, not a “check the box” culture that is easily dismissed.

Water Safety Needs to Start with Leadership

Emerald Marine Products has manufactured safety products for the maritime industry since 1996 and has partnered with dozens of other safety training institutions and product manufacturers. We have seen the successful implementation of safety procedures when the executive level of the company invests in product and policy creation that is used every day, not just quarterly or annually as required by some certification agencies. By instituting at the executive level it trickles into the entire company culture, making it feel intuitive and natural., When employees watch their leaders place a high value on safety and products that save lives, they will accept the reasoning behind use, training, and testing.

When our ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System is part of the employee’s gear and tested every shift, it becomes second nature that a fall overboard situation could occur, the actions to reduce the possibility of a MOB is top of mind. This solidifies the learning by the employee.

Fighting Complacency and Building Confidence of Water Safety Training

One of our partner companies C-Hero goes one step further in engaging employees with their MOB retrieval products. C-Hero offers an e-Training program on their products and the process of recognizing a MOB incident and the procedures to retrieve the MOB. The training instructs the employees but also provides accountability of the training, including the requirement for the employee to be video recorded and submitting that video for certification. It almost becomes a “badge of honor” that the employee has demonstrated their ability and dedication to the life-saving procedure.

A Company Dedicated Solely to Water Safety Equipment and Training

Investment in dedicated equipment and “Practice Makes Permanent” is a thorough way of instilling a successful water safety program. When it comes to fall overboard awareness, practice, and retrieval, Emerald Marine Products offers products and partnerships that can be your one-source solution for instilling a MOB awareness/prevention safety culture. Let Emerald Marine Products guide you on safety solutions that best meet your company’s needs. Contact EMP via our Contact Us webpage or phone us at 800-426-4201. Make your safety training programs effective, long-lasting, and a constant part of your company’s culture.

Marine Terminals Need Fall Overboard Alerting

Maybe your employees aren’t on boats. Yet they work dangerously close to water. The ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System protects employees working near the water with alerting devices for fall overboard awareness. If your a dredging, marine construction, or terminal operations, alerting employees within seconds of a fall in the water situation is crucial. Water that could sweep them out of sight or, in cold weather, send them into shock and restrict their muscles within minutes. A video describing how the ALERT System saved a deckhand from a near-fatal barge accident is at youtube video.

Alerting Devices for Fall Overboard Awareness

Used by scores of Marine Terminals across the United States, The ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System is fast becoming the defacto standard for reliable, affordable, and expandable alerting devices to alert of a fall in the water. Sometimes the “buddy system” of keeping track of a fellow employee is physically impossible to administer. In the current operating conditions imposed by the COVID-19 crisis, employees are also tasked with more social distancing and the wearing of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) that might hamper visual awareness of other employees near their surroundings.

Marine Terminals Pose Specific Issues for Fall in the Water Protection

The ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System provides the technology to span over 1,000 feet of coverage. Let Emerald Marine Products guide you on what system will work best for your specific locations. Conversly, because some of the locations are remote, expanding the alerting functionality of a fall overboard situation is imperative! The ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System has a mryiad of ways to expand alerting capabilities of alerting devices for fall overboard awareness. As a reult, our clients use external alarms, strobes, remote autodial, cell phone alerting trees, pre-broadcast to HF radios and even internet enabled alarms. Again, let Emerald Marine Products guide you through expanded alerting functionality.

Looking to Implement Fall in the Water Awareness

It’s easy to quickly implement fall in the water awareness. Here is a link of an article covering the aspects of protecting your employees working near water with awareness, training and retreival. To discuss a solution that works best for your company’s operations and budget contact Emerald Marine Products at 800-426-4201 or use our contact page.

Best Man Overboard System Isn’t Just for Falling Overboard

From the Center for Maritime Safety and Health Studies comes this startling statistic; “Workers at marine terminals have higher fatality, injury and illness rates than other workers in the U.S. In 2016 there were approximately 98,000 marine terminal and longshoring workers employed at U.S. ports. From 2011–2016 fatal injuries occurred at an annual rate of 17.0 per 100,000 workers, a rate more than five times that of the U.S. workforce overall. In the same period, there were also an average of 5,015 nonfatal injuries/illnesses per 100,000 workers each year, nearly double that of the U.S. workforce overall.”

Emerald Marine Products has seen a significant increase in the use of our ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System due to the concerns for employees higher than average fall rate and industries moving to do more with less, which means some marine terminal locations may only have one or two employees doing the work. The “look out for your buddy” system of being aware of a person in the water isn’t very effective.

Marine Terminals specializing in transferring fertilizer, aggregate, or other agricultural products are seeing the cost-effectiveness and increased safety awareness by placing an ALERT Man-Overboard System at their location. The product not only alerts any individuals at that location that a worker is in the water, it can also be connected to other devices. Providing a regional or national center to be aware of an employee in the water and launch a rescue operations within seconds!

Originally the ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm system was developed for commercial fishermen and crew members of vessels where their chance of falling in water was great due to hauling gear on board, handling gear on deck, tripping, slipping or getting entangled in gear. But more and more Marine Terminal Operators are understanding the fact that their shore-side workers vulnerability is just as great, if not greater. Any fall in the water is scary and could be fatal, so the awareness of a person in the water is vital to a fast and successful rescue. Don’t let the term Man-Overboard Alarm System misguide you, our ALERT system is meant for any responsible company that has employee’s working near water. If your company has employees at any risk of falling in water and that event is undetected, you are at risk of significant liability issues. The ALERT Man-Overboard Alarm System is the best man overboard system and could be a wise and financially prudent investment. For more information about our product and how it can keep your employees safe contact Emerald Marine Products via this contact link or call, 800-426-4201.