Training support backs safety equipment supply
UK based independent marine safety supplier and Seawork exhibitor Ocean Safety supports its major equipment supply contracts with training sessions to ensure that ship operators and crews know how to use safety equipment in the case of emergency.
The company provides a mixture of standard sea survival course programmes and tailored courses for individual organisations. As well as running RYA Basic Sea Survival courses, Ocean Safety has recently contributed to an RYA Sea Survival Course for Safety Instructors, a vigorous three day session that is held at the Portland Sailing Academy.
“We put a strong emphasis on an individual’s personal survival, says Ocean Safety’s training manager Chris Waterman. “We are strongly encouraging our lifejackets to be fitted with AIS Personal Survival Beacons, specifically the Kannad R10 SRS, the handheld-sized survival recovery system. If a crew member falls overboard, the Kannad R10 is activated and will alert ships in the locality via AIS to a person in distress.”
Lifejacket sales at Ocean Safety have recently been augmented by contracts with the Scottish and Irish Fishing Federations, which are funding a lifejacket for every registered commercial fisherman. Meanwhile, liferaft contracts with the RNLI and low-season servicing contracts for 2000-plus passenger cross channel ferries also keep the servicing facilities busy. All sales transactions from Ocean Safety are backed up by a range of training options.
“A number of organisations have central servicing stations, which, once rigorous training procedures have been completed, are certified by Ocean Safety, says Chris Waterman. “Our personnel will deliver top-up training to the servicing stations at agreed intervals. Station managers can then train their own staff and service their own equipment.
Lifejacket and safety aid training has extended to construction companies, a number of whom are taking advantage of funding from the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board), which is making site safety grants available, to offer safety training for personnel operating next to water.
Chris Waterman delivered training sessions in three separate UK locations for the Belfast based construction and civil engineering company McLaughlin & Harvey, which was CITB grant funded. Personnel were introduced to Ocean Safety’s Kru Sport Pro lifejacket, a favourite with workers who prefer a low-profile lifejacket that is barely noticeable to wear. They were also shown how to operate, maintain, re-arm and re-pack them.
The company also supplied lifejackets to Mackley Construction, which has personnel working on a new Thames waterfront development, and backed this up with a product awareness training programme for operating, servicing and maintaining lifejackets. The course was one of many tailor made courses provided by Ocean Safety not just for lifejackets but for also liferafts and other equipment, including electronic rescue devices.
