8 November 2021

Activities of inaugural Irish Port Safety Week at Waterford

Activities at the inaugural Irish Port Safety Week at Port of Waterford:

The first 2 days consisted of distribution information Class 3 Hi-Vis vests and Port Safety Guides to create awareness of Port Golden Rules of:

  1. PPE – correct PPE to be worn at all times
  2. Speed – adhere to speed limits within the Port
  3. All accidents/incidents to be reported immediately
  4. Use of Mobile phones is prohibited when driving any form of vehicle / or in operational areas
  5. STOP operations when banksman is not visible
  6. Never perform work you are not competent/trained to complete

Interesting feedback was given by hauliers, who are an important part of the port community.

On Day 3, our Marine Operations team were active quayside carrying out maintenance on pilot launch “Tom Brennan”. Works were carried out considering Golden Rules and exemplifying Irish Port Safety Week themes of Machinery, Me & PPE, Manual Handling and Water Safety.

Day 4 involved a focus on Machinery, Me and PPE, with stevedores promoting safety awareness with hauliers while loading break-bulk steel.

The week concluded with a focus on Traffic Management, with segregated zones for cargo, pedestrians and transport controlled by stevedores aided by signage, physical barriers and good communication.

We would like to thank all of those who participated throughout the week. The culture of safety and awareness of the risks within a busy port is an ongoing focus of the Port of Waterford, and in conjunction with our partners in the Irish Port Safety Forum, the goal remains the same – to eliminate accidents at work and to drive continual improvement in the area of Health, Safety and Welfare within the Irish Port sector.

We hope that both the Irish Port Safety Forum and Irish Port Safety Week go from strength to strength into the future and we look forward to participating again next year.