I’ve recently taken up the post as the club’s Health, Safety & Environment Coordinator, yes, Weymouth Sailing Club now has one of these, but no need for alarm, so I hope you'll read on!
I joined the club in February last year, and then we went into lockdown. I can’t claim to have extensive knowledge of how the club works or what club life normally looks like, and as someone new to sailing my sea-time has been limited.
And so, it would be entirely understandable if you are wondering “why has she taken up this post?” I suspect I was the only one to volunteer!
That said, I do have some relevant experience. I’ve been working as a safety culture consultant in high-risk industries for the past 10-11 years, (think helping to prevent another Deepwater Horizon, Pipa Alpha or Bopal). Human error (behaviour) is far more often the root cause of such incidents than system failure; therefore an organisation’s culture is very important.
I’m looking to steer a club-friendly approach to keeping members safe and healthy whilst we enjoy our sailing, social and boat maintenance activities, and to minimise their impact on our beautiful and rich marine environment. Definitely not here to point a finger, blame or shame. The aim is to help shape our HSE expectations which all members feel they can accept, own and further develop.
To achieve this, I think we need an HSE policy and guidelines that make good sense, reflect the actual risks we might encounter in the different aspects of club life, and are not so arduous we either find them painful or eventually ignore them.
If you’re still reading, I’m now going to ask you for your help.
I’m looking to speak to maybe a dozen people by phone or by one-to-one zoom, for about 20 minutes or a bit longer if you’re happy to. I want to get your input and insights about the various activities and parts of the club e.g. yard, moorings, sheds, house, sailing, maintenance, socialising, communicating etc. and their links to HSE.
If you can spare me some time, I would be really grateful. It would be a massive help.
I’ll be sending an email to all club members very soon, and you can let me know if you are willing to be further contacted.
Thanks for reading, and hope you will support our way forward on HSE.
All the best
Caz
Caz Dennett
HSE Coordinator
hsecoord@wsc.org.uk
07540 997717
