Personal protective equipment and safety during drills
What this domain tests
Drills only work if they are run safely and everyone wears the right protective equipment. The exam asks what to wear, how often drills must happen, and how to avoid turning a drill into a real casualty.
Personal protective equipment
- For abandonment and drills: lifejacket over warm clothing, immersion suit where carried, safety helmet, eye protection, gloves, coveralls and sturdy non-slip boots.
- For fire drills: firefighter's outfit, helmet with visor, gloves, boots and breathing apparatus for the team; ear protection for noisy alarms and machinery.
- Check equipment before the drill: lifejacket straps and light, immersion suit zip and seals, helmet chin strap, BA cylinder pressure.
Drill rules
- Every crew member takes part in at least one abandon ship drill and one fire drill every month. If more than 25 per cent of the crew have not drilled in the previous month, drills are held within 24 hours of leaving port.
- Each lifeboat is launched and manoeuvred in the water by its crew at least once every three months.
- Drills are briefed beforehand and debriefed afterwards, and recorded in the official logbook.
- Nobody jumps overboard, no live pyrotechnics are used in a drill, no one stands under a suspended boat, and the drill stops if conditions become unsafe.
Worked example
During an abandon ship drill the boat is being lowered and a crew member stands under the falls without a helmet. You stop the evolution, clear the area and restart only when everyone is clear of the falls and wearing helmet, lifejacket and boots.
Traps
- Treating a drill as a race and skipping the lifejacket.
- Wearing loose clothing or open shoes near davits and winches.
- Using real flares for practice.
- Not recording the drill, or assuming drills are optional in port.