Alarming rise in cases of workplace casualties at shipping terminals

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that globally, every 15 seconds, 153 workers meet with an accident at the workplace.

Container terminals and ports in particular can turn out to be the epicentre of such accidents. They are very congested areas filled with laborers, machines, and containers. Besides being crowded in nature, a terminal must also function with efficiency. Inevitably accidents and injuries are expected to occur in such a complex working environment.

Although the development and implementation of work safety measures have gradually brought down the number of serious incidents, shipping terminals are still far from being a risk-free workspace. Based on statistics, the most common safety incidents at shipping terminals can be classified as:

• Trips, slips and falls
• Driving related incidents
• Handling and lifting incidents
• Falling objects 
• Falls from a height

The graph above shows an average of how often these incidents have occurred at a conventional shipping terminal.

In addition to these incidents, shipping terminal accidents can occur in connection to heavy machinery and equipment. Shipping terminals are full of such equipment and can pose a high safety risk to the personnel working in their vicinity if appropriate safety measures are not followed.

Impact of safety incidents on the organization

The highest impact of safety incidents in any work environment is low work morale. This holds true for shipping terminals, as low employee morale can reduce the speed and efficiency of operations, not only impacting the overall performance of the organization but also influencing global trade volumes.

A good example of this is the container terminal explosion in Tianjin, China in August 2015. A series of explosions took place in a chemical warehouse resulting in a chain reaction of explosions that engulfed the complete port of Tianjin in flames. These explosions caused millions of dollars of property damage, resulted in the death of more than 144 people and injured more than 700. The image below shows a detailed view of the damages caused by this incident.

Detailed damage report of the 2015 Tianjin Port explosion

As seen from the numbers above, safety has a huge impact on the operations of any logistics company. This is the reason why top management of such companies works towards bringing about a culture of safety in their organizations.

How can 21CC Education help?

21CC Education aims to help logistics companies initiate a culture of safety in their workforce. Partnering with a leading logistics service provider in the country, 21CC Education has developed an e-learning course that teaches employees the safety protocols to be followed to avoid accidents while they perform their tasks at ports and shipping terminals. Our course includes e-learning modules on critical processes within shipping terminals. They include:

• Confined Spaces
• Defensive Driving
• Energy Isolation – LOTO Training Program
• Manual Handling
• Permit To Work System
• Risk Assessment and Job Safety Analysis
• Working at Heights
• Fire prevention
• Loading dock safety
• Warehouse safety

Focusing on vital safety procedures, the modules from our Workplace Safety course aim to make employees aware of the dangers of not following safety protocols and also how these protocols can protect them from workplace safety hazards that can have a permanent impact on their work lives.

Using 2D and 3D animations, we have simplified complex safety processes of the organization into easy-to-understand sections with appealing illustrations to drive the point across. To ensure an enhanced learning experience for all employees, 21CC has also developed games within these e-learning modules to identify safety hazards in their work environment and to teach the right safety protocols to be followed in emergency situations.

One of the games we developed for our client involved employees going through a set of observations or scenarios from in and around the shipping terminal and indicating if they are safe or a hazard to the employees.

By applying simple learning mechanisms, 21CC Education aims to be the right learning partner for logistics and shipping companies to ensure the safety and well-being of their employees and in turn, increase the operational efficiency of these organizations while building employee morale.

Conclusion

Safety will always be a critical topic for logistics companies, as employees work close to massive equipment, vehicles, and machines. By partnering with 21CC Education, logistics companies can drive their safety culture toward their employees and protect them from the risk of any mishaps and accidents that can impact their lives and the reputation of the organization they work for.