The workshop builds on a study report prepared by Kjersti Bergheim, PhD student at the University of Bergen, supported by Norwegian Hull Club`s Claims Department. The theme to be highlighted at the workshop was if near miss reporting is just an indication of a safety culture or if it is impossible to implement.
In total 47 people from both ship owners´ side and marine insurance brokers participated. This is a clear signal the shipping industry remains focused on safety work.
Sharing experience
Claims Director of Norwegian Hull Club, Jostein Egeland, shared his experiences from major casualties of 2009. His focus was on causes , consequences and what role the workers´ environment played. The message? How to avoid similar casualties in the future.
Near miss and near miss reporting
Kjersti Bergheim from the University of Bergen mainly focused on "what is a near miss" - and why and how to report.
Bergheim pointed out that so called "authentic leadership" is a particularly important skill.
" An authentic leader readily admits mistakes, thereby setting a good example when it comes to near miss reporting, for example. By being an open and honest role-model, he motivates co-workers and builds trust which is essential to a good safety climate: It will be easier to report a near miss on board a ship where safety is given high priority and admitting mistakes are appreciated". Good leadership as a tool for near miss reporting engaged the audience and initiated a dialogue between the speaker and the participants. It seemed as if there was a certain agreement that authentic leadership is synonymous with grey hair.
Survival of the fittest
Roar Espevik, with several years experience in the navy and from the research environment at the University of Bergen, focused his speech on teams.
What makes good teams? And in relation to near miss or near accidents it is all about learning. Put in another way: The mantra is "adaptable". And what Roar Espevik so well described: The Norwegian translation of "survival of the fittest" as "den sterkestes rett" (survival of the strongest) is probably the worst translation ever. It is only those who are adaptable who survive. Otherwise the world would be ruled by dinosaurs!!
Expanding horizons
"To see risk management from a psychological standpoint rather than the purely economic or technical, is very interesting and in that respect a new approach to what I have seen presented earlier" said Yngvill Marie Erichsen from shipowner Odfjell ASA. She agreed with Hildegunn Aaberg with the marine broker NorthEdge Risk Services in Bergen that the event had been very useful.
As Hildegunn Aaberg said: "It is very interesting to see how the different companies in forums such as this are open about their own systems to ensure the crew's safety".
Very enthusiastic
In conclusion it was opened up for the panel discussion and in addition to Roar Espevik and Kjersti Bergheim, Lars E. Hanøy from Knutsen OAS, Haugesund and Kjell Rein from KGJS, Bergen attended. The first mentioned shared his experience with near miss reporting while Kjell Rein compared his experiences in terms of aviation. It was noted over ten contributions from participants who all put in very engaged and interesting viewpoints regarding near miss reports. It would be an exaggeration to say that any conclusion was given - nevertheless- agreement was reached that reporting for the report's sake will not reduce the number of accidents.
