A ship fire exercise reveals the need for business SOPs

Over the weekend we had a simulated ship fire exercise at Warrenpoint Harbour, involving over 30 firefighters from 4 stations.

As Watch Commander of the local station, I was in the hot seat as Officer In Charge of the first fire engine in attendance, and had to run the incident for about 20 minutes before a more senior officer arrived.

Loads of emergency firefighting resources arriving in quick succession into a busy and risk-heavy industrial harbour area in a race against the clock to locate and rescue multiple crewmen unaccounted for in an engine room on fire below deck in a car ferry.

Sound complicated?

Well, it is, BUT…

There are very clear procedures and best practice guidelines gathered from years of experience across the service, and across the country. It’s all collated into a comprehensive suite of fire service documents called SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). This time the focus was on SOP-18 Marine Incidents.

- Who locates where, who assumes which roles, and who reports to whom?

- What safety considerations and precautions need to be taken before doing anything?

- What equipment needs to be taken aboard, in what order, and by whom?

- How to work out a safe and efficient plan of action under intense pressure?

- What emergency provisions must be put in place in case something goes wrong?

- How to keep control of everything and everyone, from start to finish?

Although no two incidents are the same, there are very clear structures and guidance in place so that you don’t have to start thinking from scratch.

Do you have Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in your business?

You should have.

Without them, people will self-deploy, do things their own way, very possibly not the right way, without due consideration for the big picture, and things can spiral out of control very quickly. It’s unlikely that anyone will die, but like rust, the poor quality will corrode your business over time.

Whether it’s dealing with a new work enquiry, fielding a complaint from an angry customer, training a new member of staff, or building a widget, you shouldn’t be making it up as you go along.

Build out your own suite of processes and guidance notes to ensure consistency and quality, and then ensure everyone is adequately trained, and seek to continuously improve things.