NYK Completes Winter Safety Campaign
February 25, 2008
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK; head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; president: Koji Miyahara) held its Winter Safety Campaign from December 1, 2007, to January 31, 2008. NYK carries out the campaign every year as part of its proactive policies on preventing accidents that are more likely to occur due to the turbulent seas that are more common during the winter months.
NYK considers active communication with shipowners and ship-management companies in charge of NYK vessel operations and safety management to be an integral part of NYK's impressive record with regard to safe vessel operations.
During the promotion, a range of activities focusing on this maritime safety perspective were conducted. About 270 land-based NYK employees from within and outside Japan, including NYK executives, visited around 180 vessels. During these visits, the current safety status of each vessel was checked, and ideas about safe vessel operations were exchanged.
Moreover, in cooperation with 135 staff members from domestic and overseas shipowners and ship-management companies, safety seminars and safety-promotion conferences were held three times at each of the venues in Tokyo and Imabari City in Ehime prefecture. During the seminars and conferences, those attending exchanged information and ideas on how to increase the level of safety operations. Of particular interest was the "devil hunting" Near Miss 3,000 activity, which is a process NYK uses to identify "devils," an acronym for "dangerous events and irregular looks." The process won the consensus of all those attending. Effective methods for the promotion of maritime safety were shared by all thanks to the introduction of measures by each represented company.
Through this and other promotions and campaigns, NYK will continue to strive to prevent maritime accidents and to ensure safe vessel operations through the cooperation of all relevant parties, including shipowners and ship-management companies.
These activities are based on identifying and correcting the 3,000 unsafe circumstances that, according to Heinrich's Law, will lead to 300 near misses, followed by 29 accidents or problems, and then one serious accident. NYK vessels have taken the initiative in implementing such activities to identify and neutralize factors that could lead to accidents or trouble on vessels.