TT Club analysis finds 82pc of terminal accidents preventable

Jun.19--EIGHTY-TWO per cent of accidents in the port and terminal sector are the result of preventable human error, says London insurer TT Club executive Julien Horn.

"The prime concern is one of culture," said Mr Horn, Middle East regional executive and director of TTMS (Gulf), the Network Partner based in Dubai.

"There must be a 'safety first' running through the work ethic of all terminal personnel throughout the Middle East, and indeed the world," he said.

Speaking at the Trans Middle East Conference in Doha, Mr Horn detailed claims records where there were numerous examples of safety awareness lacking in staff.

This ranges from little understanding of areas in which lifting machinery operates and from straying into prohibited sectors in vehicles or on foot, to wrongly identifying weights of containers.

Preventative measures are numerous and many are specific to the type and nature of the equipment operated in individual facilities, he said.

Such measures may include quay crane boom anti-collision devices and adequate crane braking systems, regular equipment maintenance regimes, fire prevention systems, adoption of best practice in packing and handling of cargo, and appropriate processing of dangerous goods.

"We often hear descriptions of incidents as, ‘a freak accident' or ‘just bad luck'. Inevitably, however it is a preventable human action that is the cause of these ‘one in a million' chance occurrences," said Mr Horn.

"Good, consistent and diligent training regimes are clearly a fundamental building block in eradicating incidents that can result in serious bodily injury and sadly, in some cases, death. But at the heart of a successful risk management policy is the attitude that safety is everyone's responsibility." he said.

The TT Club, found that out of 9,500 claims of a value in excess of US$10,000, 20 per cent involved lift-trucks,N 18 per cent quay cranes and 18 per cent yard cranes or straddle carriers.

TT Club is the international transport and logistics industry's leading provider of insurance and related risk management services.