Boating industry safety award

The NSW Boating Industry Association, which covers workplaces employing more than 9000 people, has been named as one of six winners in the 2011 WorkCover NSW SafeWork awards.

The Association's program of ongoing dissemination of safety guidance material, the delivery of training programs and workplace safety strategies led to it being named winner of the Safety Leadership category in the awards. More than 120 organisations were nominated for the awards.

The boating industry was recognised as having a challenging workplace which includes riggers working at extreme heights, workmen crawling into confined spaces in the bowels of vessels and the widespread use of volatile chemicals and complex plant and equipment.

NSW BIA divisions manager Alan Barrett says the marine industry covers so many types of workplace it requires a complex set of codes of practice and safety requirements. He points out that boating industry employees work in every field from manufacturing and importing, through broking and retailing to working in marinas and boat yards and engaging in engineering, maintenance and installing and repairing rigging on all manner of yachts.

"Working from scaffolding on a construction site is different from being suspended from a halyard on a yacht mast, so applying WorkCover standards to our industry is sometimes a challenge," Barrett says.

He said the BIA's membership represents more than 90 per cent of commercial activity in the boating sector, covering 9000 people.

He said a key challenge was communication as the membership is largely made up of small businesses and individuals located in different work settings.

The NSW BIA entered into a formal partnership agreement with WorkCover in August 2009 and since then injury rates have been both stable and reasonably low.

The BIA has also received positive feedback from members for its successful Marine Card work health and safety induction training package which develops basic awareness about safer procedures. To date more than 1300 people have successfully completed the course.