A year without Lost Time Incidents at Port of Esbjerg
Focus on safety reduces number of incidents for Blue Water’s stevedore and terminal workers in Esbjerg
An important milestone has been reached by Blue Water. Daily, around 60 permanently employed stevedore and terminal workers carry out a difficult job in Esbjerg. They handle major and heavy amounts of cargo by means of machinery and equipment.
This scope of work has traditionally been hazardous, however, through a strengthened focus on safety, Blue Water’s employees on Port of Esbjerg has in 2022 prevented any Lost Time Incident (LTI). LTI is the international term for an accident or injury causing the worker time off for recovery.
“With our Dare to Care campaign we have worked hard to ensure that Blue Water is a safe and secure workplace within an industry connected to risks. This work comes to fruition now, and all workers deserve high praise for the efforts of our joint safety”, explains Søren Messmann, Head of Operations and HSSEQ, Blue Water Port Services.
The model from Port of Esbjerg becomes a global scale
In 2019, Blue Water decided to make safety a strategic item in business development. Since then, we have worked structurally to avoid LTI's. This has been done through a long list of initiatives under the title 'The Blue Water Safety Journey'.
A close and positive dialogue between the operational terminal workers, foremen and the HSEEQ group was decisive for the development of the Dare to Care concept. The aim has been to ensure a secure working environment through common learning and improvements.
The Dare to Care initiative, which began on the Port of Esbjerg, has given a global mark on Blue Water’s more than 70 global locations. Today, the work at Blue Water is done with a global focus to expand the same model of safety with local adjustments to minimise risks of employees and cargo.
“We are proud that our work in Port Service can benefit safety in the bigger picture. In 2023, we continue the dialogue of what safety is when conducting the individual task, we take no chances, we listen to and learn from each other and improve together”, concludes Søren Messmann.
