OH&S Incident Report Analysis
Marine Notice 25/2007
This marine notice has been issued to draw attention to OH&S incident report analysis data published by AMSA on its web site each year. This report provides a comprehensive breakdown of incident data over a rolling 5 year period and may be of assistance to ship operators, OH&S shipboard representatives and others when developing and implementing strategies that will reduce the incidence of work-related disease and injury on Australian ships.
One of the purposes of the OH&S incident and dangerous occurrence reporting system is to allow AMSA to analyse all reported incidents and dangerous occurrences with a view to identifying existing and emerging trends. From these trends, targeted education and audit campaigns can be conducted with the aim of trying to address negative trends.
AMSA has been comparing the number of incidents reported with the number of workers’ compensation claims made since the introduction of the Occupational Health & Safety (Maritime Industry) Act. The comparison shows a significant discrepancy, the ratio of claims made and incidents reported being in the order of 3 to 1.
The comparison has indicated that there appears to be a significant number of incidents not reported, both by the blue water sector and the offshore sector.
AMSA urges ship’s masters and operators to review their reporting procedures to ensure that reporting obligations are being met. In submitting reports it should be noted that the report should also indicate what controls or corrective actions have been implemented or taken to prevent a recurrence. This will assist AMSA in determining the extent of any action required from the Inspectorate as well as providing a better analysis of the OH&S incidents experienced by the maritime industry and in turn, will assist in the prevention of future incidents in the industry.
Ship masters, managers and operators are reminded that the following must be reported:
- Any accident that results in the death of, or serious personal injury to, any person.
- Any accident that results in an employee being incapacitated from performing work for a period of five successive days or more.
- A dangerous occurrence (i.e.: a near miss) which occurs at or near a workplace at which an undertaking is being conducted by the operator.
Ship masters, managers and operators are also reminded that the reporting requirements also apply to incidents involving contractors and other persons on a prescribed ship as set out in Section 6 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993.
The rolling report and further information on incident reporting can be found on AMSA’s website www.amsa.gov.au
Mick Kinley
A/g Chief Executive Officer
30 November 2007
Australian Maritime Safety Authority
GPO Box 2181
CANBERRA ACT 2601
File No: 030025-10
Internet address for all current Marine Notices: http://www.amsa.gov.au/