The Trade by Rudyard Kipling - Royal Australian Navy

In this article, I would like to introduce you
to the Submarine Force (SUBFOR) Safety
Cell, who we are, what we do and more
importantly, how you can help us to achieve
the aim – a safer work place for all. Let’s
face it, working as a submariner is a tad
riskier than most run of the mill enterprises.
But that’s just it, we are different. Our work
environment is one of the most unforgiving
known to man. But there are things we
can all do to limit the exposure to, and or
occurrence of, risk.
The Submarine Safety Cell is located on the
first floor of the Submarine Headquarters
building at HMAS Stirling in Western
Australia. We moved from our old office on
the ground floor up to our more luxurious
office upstairs at the opposite end to
Commander Submarine’s office. This was
due to a recognised requirement to provide
for, and expand on, centralised resources
to provide a dedicated unit to support
SUBFOR in all safety related matters.
The Safety Cell is headed by the Principal
Staff Officer – Safety, LCDR Guy Burton,
who has a wealth of experience and
THE TRADE
EDITION 2, 2012 1
knowledge within SUBFOR. This was
illustrated recently with the presentation
made at the last honours and awards
ceremony for thirty years of service in the
submarine arm.
By Submarine Safety Cell
The Submarine Force Safety Cell Crew. From left: Chief Petty Officer Acoustic Warfare
Analyst Submariner Mike Bell, Chief Petty Officer Marine Technician Submariner Andrew
Keay and Lieutenant Commander Guy Burton.
Next member of the team is Submarine
Safety Manager One, CPO Andy “Buncha”
Keay. His knowledge and experience
gained from 27 years service in SUBFOR as
a technical sailor and his 9 years as a Naval
Representative at Defence Materials Office
are proving invaluable.
The team is rounded out with the third
member of the team, me, Submarine Safety
Manager Two, CPO Mike “Dinga” Bell. I’ve
been around now for a while as well; having
joined HMAS Otama as a trainee in 1979.
Future manpower planning involves extra
personnel for the cell out to a team of seven
including the Principal Staff Officer.
Able Seaman Electronics Technician Submariner
Thomas Savage fills in the Danger Tag Register Log
and Able Seaman Boatswains Mate Trainee Submariner
Dean Norman assists.
Most of our work at present is reactive, but
we are aiming to turn this around to one of
a more pro-active nature. A lot of the work
comes from dealing with Occupational
Health Safety Incident Reports (OHSIR’s)
generated from individual units. Also there
is a lot of work to do in updating Joint
Service Publications (JSP’s) and Standing
Risk Profiles (SRP’s). The majority of this
work has been done by LCDR Burton with
assistance from LEUT “Buck” Rodgers.
You will also be seeing us when it comes
time for your Departmental Management
Audits when one of our team will be
checking and assisting your unit in
regards to Work Health and Safety (WHS)
regulations and requirements. A large
task recently completed by CPO Keay
was the migration of records from the
OHSIR database and other safety related
documentation spanning 12 years into
SIM/SIS.
Chief Petty Officer Acoustic Warfare Analyst Submariner
Mike Bell instructs Able Seaman Electronics Technician
Submariner Thomas Savage on the correct ways to use
a safety harness whilst working on the Bridge of
HMAS Dechaineux.
One example of a recently reviewed SRP
was that of Working at Heights (WAH)
onboard a Collins Class Submarine
(CCSM). We were tasked with reviewing
the present Standard Operating Procedure
(SOP) and recommending a safer way
to achieve the aim. After consultation
with the majority of players including
engineers, Submarine Sea Training
Group (SSTG), officers and crew onboard
HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Collins, a
recommended change to procedures was
submitted to Commander Submarines
(COMSUB).
This change was accepted at first pass and
is a credit to all of those involved and is now
reflected in the current SRP and Submarine
Standing Orders (SSO’s). All SRP’s have
been reviewed and endorsed by COMSUB
and now appear in the Safety section of the
SUBFOR website and SIMS. A CD copy
has also been produced for each individual
platform for onboard reference.
Another example of a proactive action
undertaken by the cell recently was the
design and production of the ‘Back to
Basics’ cards for distribution to SUBFOR
members. This card includes prompts for
planning tasks safely on one side and the
casing phone numbers for all boats whilst
at STIRLING on the other. These sorts of
things don’t just happen overnight and are
a result of good initiatives, design and hard
work by people who are passionate about
what they are trying to achieve.
A copy of the Back to Basics card, which is in the
process of being distributed to all members of SUBFOR.
As the card implies we all need to get back
to basics when we think safety. Check
your surroundings for hazards, sure you’ve
been in that work space or area heaps of
times – but things can and do change. Step
through in your mind what you are about to
do – take the old wait two marching paces
advice and think the task through properly.
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Think about what else is happening – who
else is working in my area and what are
they doing that could impact on my task at
hand. Identify what could go wrong – go
through the ‘what if’s’ in your mind and
work out a strategy to correct them. Satisfy
yourself that you are safe to continue
– make sure that you’ve gone through all
that you can to make the task at hand as
safe as is reasonably possible, not only
for yourself but for everyone else as well.
You never know what may be behind that
deckhead!
Able Seaman Electronics Technician Submariner
Thomas Savage checks the danger tags onboard
HMAS Dechaineux.
The biggest thing that we want to get
across to the Submarine community
though is that there is always room for
improvement. Safety is a culture that
has always been accepted by us, the
only difference is that now it is a bit more
formalised. Safety is an evolutionary
process. Make every day a safer one for
you and everyone else around you. If you
see something that is unsafe – take action
straight away. If you think that a procedure
or document could be improved – let
someone know. We will provide as much
feedback as possible to you and would
appreciate feedback from individuals and
units as well. The aim of the Submarine
Safety Cell is to support SUBFOR in making
our working environment, regardless of
where that may be, both fully compliant
with the current WHS regulations as
applicable to Navy and as safe as is
reasonably possible to all of our people.
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THE TRADE
EDITION 2, 2012