Berlin – Ports in the ASEAN region take on the challenges posed by local communities, customers and shareholders to operate in a more sustainable manner. Having developed and implemented management systems is a direct pathway to achieve the Triple Bottom Line in terms of social responsibility, environmental quality and economic prosperity.

As far as the Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) performance is concerned, “Zero Accident” has become the primary goal of many ports in ASEAN showing a strong commitment to drive OSH management systems forward.

In partnership with the Sustainable Port Development (SPD) in the ASEAN region project (implemented on behalf of BMZ), five ports in four countries including Indonesia (Port of Tanjung Priok), Vietnam (Saigon port and Saigon Newport), Cambodia (Sihanoukville Autonomous Port) and Thailand (Bangkok Port) have been improving their OSH management systems.

With the primary aim to reduce the number of accidents, technical assistance from the SPD project was provided based on the requirements, targets and priorities of each port. Taking into account the different conditions the SPD project has provided tailor made technical assistance as well as supported the implementation of corrective and preventive measures to reduce the number of accidents. Activities have started since August 2013 with a focus on key priority issues varying from one port to another based on the technical assessment results.

Steps that have been taken include 1) the development of technical capacity of port key personnel from different departments (e.g. safety, cargo handling, harbour service, maintenance, etc.) by conducting a series of workshops; 2) technical assistance in the revision of manuals/procedures/work instructions to ease the implementation, in-depth analysis of accident statistics to identify the problematic areas and develop preventive measures to avoid their recurrence; and 3) support in implementation and monitoring the effectiveness of countermeasures.

Due to a strong commitment from the ports, the joint activities have resulted in significant changes of their existing OSH management systems. Some ports introduced a model accident report template. Additionally, a model accident registration and model procedure for accident investigation and reporting have been adopted and implemented at a pilot terminal of each port. OSH key performance indicators especially accident rates are being monitored and if successful, further dissemination at other terminals will be made within next year. Together with port management and staff, the SPD project has closely monitored and provided further technical assistance as needed to ensure the continual improvement in the respective ports. Source: GIZ

For more information – Contact: franca.sprong@giz.de