Extract from:
Version: V4.0 Issued: 15/09/2014
Policy – General Safety
It is a policy of the WNBC that all facilities and equipment acquired or installed by the club are fit for purpose, safe to use and that work undertaken by members on behalf of the club is planned, prepared for and conducted in a safe manner.
The Committee nominates a member to act in the role of Safety Officer. This role coordinates all issues related to safety and will bring to the Committee those matters requiring its attention. In particular, injury committed or sustained during criminal activity, affray or occurring because of the consumption of drugs or alcohol will likely result in the expulsion of a member from the club.
Power to club premises enters via a switchboard located in a cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. An Isolating Switch is located inside.
Safety Equipment
Fire Extinguishers are located in the clubrooms and in the workshop.
A Fire Blanket is located in the kitchen.
An Industrial First Aid kit is secured to the wall outside the winch-room.
Signage
Various safety signs are located at the entry points to the club and at strategic locations within the club’s premises and the yard. Members are to take heed of the warnings provided.
Members using the club’s power equipment (Band Saw, Bench Drill, Grinding Wheels, Bench Saw etc) are to be fully conversant with their operation before use.
Insurance
Any work undertaken on behalf of the club must be authorised by the Committee. Members undertaking this work are termed Voluntary Workers. Members’ guests and other parties contracted to do specific work on behalf of a member or the Committee cannot be Voluntary Workers.
The club holds a Voluntary Workers Insurance policy to provide protection for members undertaking work on behalf of the club. The protection offered is limited and does not apply to members working on their own behalf maintaining their boats. Nor does it apply to a member’s guests or third parties engaged and supervised by a member to undertake work on a boat.
Boat movement into, out-of and around the yard is inherently dangerous and will only occur when authorised by the SlipMaster.
Entry and Exit
Entry to and Exit from the slipyard is directed by the SlipMaster supported by the Winch Operator. Entry requires a minimum boat crew of 3. Exit can occur with a boat crew of 1 for the smaller boats but more than one for the larger boats.
Boats must be carefully located and supported on the cradles such that the centre of gravity is as close as possible to a vertical axis running through the centre of the cradle. Boat positioning is managed by the crew under the direction of the SlipMaster.
Winch Operations
Only club members authorised by the Committee are to operate the winch.
While the winch is being operated, all persons are to be located well to the side of the winch cable. At no time is anyone to straddle or cross the cable while movement is occurring.
The club has supplied safety poles and striped tape to be erected as a temporary barrier across the beach for sightseers not directly involved in slipping activity. In particular, visiting children are to be directly supervised by an adult and not allowed anywhere near a boat until it has been safely placed in a maintenance bay.
Boat Movement in the yard
Movement between the main slip and the maintenance bays can be undertaken manually or it can be assisted by the club’s tractor. Only members authorised by the Committee can operate the tractor.
For a small boat, a minimum of 3 members to supply the labour is required when the tractor is used and 5 when it is not. For a large boat, a minimum of 5 members to supply the labour is required when the tractor is used and more when it is not.
During movement, one member is required at the bow and one member at the stern to prevent collisions with other boats in the yard from occurring. At no time is a member to be in front of a boat (ie. in the direction of movement) while it is being moved. During movement, boats are to be unmanned.
Cradle Wedges
Cradle movement must be prevented when they are to remain stationary for any period of time. The club has distributed numerous wooden wedges (triangular chocks) around the yard to facilitate this. Acro props are used to secure the bigger boats on their cradles. They are not to be removed during maintenance.
Chocks must be used on the main slip during gerni washdown or when preparing for an exit from the yard. Chocks must be used all the time a boat is undergoing maintenance. And, most importantly, chocks must be used to secure a Transfer in place while a cradle is being moved on or off it and must be used to secure the cradle in place on a Transfer before any movement across the yard is attempted.
Jacking
The large cradles need to be lifted up, ie jacked, before they can be moved around the yard. On occasion, boats also need to be jacked before maintenance, to straighten the keel or more uniformly distribute the weight to the ground, and after maintenance to prepare for yard exit. This activity must be undertaken with extreme care.
Jacking of large cradles needs to be performed on both sides of the cradle concurrently. 2 members are required to operate the jacks and another (or others) is to look out for any unexpected movement and help with the placement of cross-timbers and shims. Body placement directly under the cradle is to be avoided and body placement directly under the boat is to be minimised. Fingers, hands and arms should be kept out of harm’s way at all times.
Jacking of a boat in a maintenance bay should be undertaken incrementally, moving between lifting the boat and re-securing its support in the cradle. Ideally, a member doing the jacking should be supported by another person acting as a safety observer and doing the re-securing. Body placement directly under the boat is to be minimised. Again fingers, hands and arms should be kept out of harm’s way at all times.
Gantry Operations
Gantry movement must be prevented when it is to remain stationary for any period of time. Chocks are used for this. Movement on and off a Transfer and across the yard is to be managed as for cradle movement outlined above.
Lifting, lowering and gantry movement is a 2-person operation. Body placement directly under the load is to be minimised.
Fire - Preventative Action
Club members have experienced fire on-board boats caused for a number of reasons. When unattended, damage has been extensive. Should a similar fire start in the yard, the impact on other member’s boats and the club’s facilities could be disastrous. Members must take simple precautions to minimise this risk.
The electrics of all boats slipped are to be disconnected while in the yard and left unattended. Other sources of potential conflagration on-board should be disconnected and possibly removed from the yard during boat maintenance. In addition, boat owners should remove any inflammable materials (fuel, thinners, paint etc) from the yard when leaving at night.
Relevant Club Publications
Work Practice – Slipping
Slipping Advisory
Guidance – Intrusive Maintenance
Policy – Environment Protection
Weather
On-water mooring inspection and maintenance activity will only be undertaken when weather conditions and tides are judged suitable by the Moorings Manager. Only day-time operations are undertaken, with wind speed at ‘Moderate’ or below and with no rain or storm activity occurring or predicted.
Mooring Barge Preparation
Preparation, use and ‘pack-away’ of the mooring barge is undertaken by club members assembled by the Moorings Manager.
Preparation for use of the mooring barge is in accordance with the guidelines provided in the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook. The safety equipment fit-out is as directed by this handbook.
A bladder is used to carry fuel for the outboard and both should be removed from the mooring barge when it is not being used for long periods. On-board fire-fighting equipment includes a fire extinguisher and a power washer. Guard rails surround the central work area of the mooring barge but access points to the water are provided on either side and at the bow and stern. Crew members are free to use the guard rails to steady themselves but they are not to be climbed upon. Personal kit taken on board (spare clothing, drinks, food, mobile telephone etc) should be stored away from the work-space in the storage bins provided.
Mooring tackle assembly work is conducted on-shore as much as possible. The loading (and unloading) of heavy tackle onto (from) the barge is to be undertaken by a minimum of 2 members, 1 manning a winch and the other supporting tackle movement from the ground.
Mooring Barge launch is supported by a Winch Operator. Retrieval is supported by a Winch Operator under the direction of a SlipMaster.
Crewing Roles
A minimum crew of 3 is to be used for on-water operations. Another, possibly two members can be added for training or if the anticipated workload warrants it. A crew is drawn from club members and agreed to by the Moorings Manager.
Nominal roles are the Overseer (aka Captain), the Tiller Hand and the Bow Hand. All three will have experience in mooring operations.
The Overseer is responsible for work scheduling, record keeping and electric-winch operation. The Tiller Hand is responsible for mooring platform movement during launch and retrieval and to/from the moorings, hand-winch operation and supporting labour. The Bow Hand is responsible for anchoring if required, mooring attachment, securing and reattaching any boat currently on a mooring and supporting labour. Additional crew supplement supporting labour. All are responsible for personnel safety on-board.
Winch Operations
Winch operations, using either the hand-winch across the bow or the electric overhead winch through the central cut-out, are conducted progressively. Mooring tackle is part retrieved then held on-board by a fixed-length chain and hook. The winch hook is then repositioned and more tackle is retrieved. Reversing this process returns the tackle safely to the water.
Used Tackle
Mooring tackle that is no longer serviceable is returned to the shore for disposal as scrap metal.
First Aid
A portable first-aid kit is located in one of the storage bins on the mooring barge. It has bandaging and support aids suitable for treatment of minor cuts, lacerations and bruising injuries and for first-responder restriction of blood-loss. A more substantial first-aid kit is located in the slip-yard outside the winch-room.
The club does not support a ‘soldier-on’ philosophy during mooring operations.
Mooring operations will be abandoned if an injury requires further treatment on-shore. If emergency services are required, they should be invoked from the mooring barge to help contain the response time.
Because of the location of the members’ moorings, shore-access is usually available within 10 minutes of an injury being sustained. Access could be via walking or wading, beaching in front of the slip-yard or landing via the North or South Jetty, depending on the tide. If a support run-about is being towed by the mooring barge, it should be used to take the injured party to shore.
All injuries sustained are to be reported to the Moorings Manager and the club Safety Officer to allow re-engineering, process modification or other restriction / precaution to be instituted if necessary.
Relevant Publications
Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (Government publication)
Profile of the Mooring Barge and Crew used for Inspection, Maintenance and Installation
Work Practice – Mooring Inspection