3 research outputs found
Organisational support and safety management in shipping: A Study of shipboard safety supervision
Who is dominant? Occupational Health and Safety management in Chinese shipping
This paper investigates the implementation of the International Safety Management
(ISM) Code in the Chinese chemical shipping industry. In particular, it examines the
tension between management focus on speedy production and seafarersâ participation
in safety related decision making and analyses how this tension is managed. It shows
that while on paper companies have policies stating safety commitment in compliance
with the ISM Code, in practice shore management tends to prioritise efficient
production. When Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and shipâs sailing schedules
are in conflict, managers implicitly request shipmasters to prioritise the âcore interestâ
of the company. Although the ISM Code endows shipmasters with overriding
authorities in relation to shipboard safety management, they tend to read between the
lines and tacitly follow managersâ intentions. The study suggests that if the ISM
implementation makes a difference, it is the practice that managers become more
subtle in giving orders to exert their dominance. The study further reveals that the
managementâs practice is not only irresponsive to seafarersâ safety concerns but also
makes rather limited contributions to promote OHS Management