Together in Safety is an industry consortium which comprises a range of leading organisations and individuals from across the global maritime sector. In this series, we’re shining a spotlight on some of the members involved in the coalition.
Here we speak to Graham Westgarth, non-executive director at V.Group and founding member of Together in Safety, as he shares his thoughts on why safety is so important and how businesses can ensure they create the safest environment possible.
Can you tell us what your company does?
V.Group, where I am a non-executive director, provides ship management and ancillary services to the shipping industry, in particular vessel owners. It provides ship management and marine HR services to around 800 vessels.
V.Group consists of many different, individual brands, each one specialising in marine services for our customers. These include GMT Travel, Oceanic, Marcas contracting and procurement, SeaTec, and V.Risk, which provides marine insurance. These services support our ship management clients as well as third parties. As an example, Oceanic provides catering services to more than 2,000 vessels.
When did you join the coalition and why?
Together in Safety was a concept that was developed at a Global Maritime Forum event in the Far East through a working group which was established to consider how safety could be improved across the industry. I was a member of the initial working group and have been involved in its evolution and development since then.
Why is Together in Safety’s role so important in the shipping industry?
In essence it’s an organisation dedicated to providing easy, free of charge access to guidance on how to create a successful safety culture associated with best-in-class practices on mitigating the risk of activities which have, over the years, proven to result in injuries or incidents to seafarers and/or vessels.
There is significant evidence to demonstrate that adoption of the relevant practices will improve safety performance in a company. The beneficiaries of this are, of course, the seafarers and their families as well as companies themselves. Additionally, as an industry, shipping is vital to ongoing global development and prosperity. In order to ensure we have an industry which is sustainable and attractive to seafarers, present and future, we need to provide a safe environment.
How does your company utilise Together in Safety’s resources?
We use it in multiple ways but primarily as a benchmarking and reference tool when reviewing or developing new procedures or practices. Additionally, when participating in working groups, it provides an opportunity to share information and best practices.
Which aspects of Together in Safety are the most useful/effective?
This is very difficult to answer. I would argue that if any of the material or activities associated with Together in Safety prevents injury or incidents on a particular day then it’s of equal importance to any other element you might consider vital on another day and under different circumstances.
