guidelines for safety training and supervision. All NCF units and shore commands are required to implement a formal safety organization.

As a Seabee EVERYONE is responsible for safety. According to the NCF Safety Manual, COMSECONDNCB/COMTHIRDNCBINST 5100.1 (series), the battalion safety office administers the battalion safety program and provides technical guidance. Overall guidance comes from the Navy Occupational Safety and Health Program Manual (NAVOSH), OPNAVINST 5100.23 (series). If you have any questions concerning safety on the project, the safety office is the best place for you to get your questions answered.

It is not the responsibility of the safety office to prevent you from doing something you know or suspect is unsafe, but they do have the authority to stop any operation when there is impending danger of injury to personnel or damage to equipment or property. Safe construction is your responsibility, and ignorance is no excuse. It is your responsibility to find out how to do construction in a safe manner.

SAFETY TRAINING

The key to any successful safety and health program is through the application of goal-oriented techniques, past experiences, adherence to safe operating practices and procedures, and the full cooperation of personnel. This goal is reached most effectively through a well-developed and well- coordinated training program.

Formal Training

Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 6021, NAVOSH, 2-week class, trains you on the 29 CFR PART 1926. This document contains the occupational safety and health standards for construction as promoted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as of August 1991.

The NCF Supervisory Safety course is a 40-hour course taught by NCRs or the battalion safety officer. Attendees are familiarized with the safety program, the use of safety manuals, the identification of construction hazards, and the inclusion of safety in project planning. All E5-E6 personnel in line companies and details, all project safety representatives, and all crew leaders are required to attend the course.

The Hazard Recognition/Mishap Prevention course is a 16-hour course taught by the safety chief to familiarize the working level personnel with common hazards and safe work practices. Project safety representatives and crew leaders who have not attended the "NCF Supervisory Safety" course are required to attend it.

OJT is a continuous evolution to train crew members, and the crew leader needs to use all the references listed above, plus past experiences, knowledge, previous training, and daily stand-up safety lectures.

MISHAP PREVENTION

The goal of our safety program is to prevent mishaps. Seabees do not use the word accident because it implies the absence of fault (accidents happen). Mishaps most commonly result from one's failure to follow safe construction practices. First, let's define a mishap in the following way:

A mishap is an unplanned event or series of events that result in death, injury, occupational illness, or damage and/or loss of equipment or

You may be appointed to assist the safety officer in administering the Mishap Prevention Program. The following is a seven step process for you to consider and practice in preventing mishaps.

Step 1:

Recognize hazards - Begin by recognizing that construction is a dangerous business. The potential for death or serious injury is present daily on jobsites. Identify very specifically what hazards could cause death or injury.

Hazard is defined as a workplace condition that might result in injury, health impairment, illness, disease, or death to any worker who is exposed to the condition or damage or loss to property/equipment.

Serious hazard is a workplace condition of a Category I or Category II nature as defined below.

Category I - Catastrophic: May cause death of an individual or the loss of a facility.

Category II - Critical: May cause severe personnel injury, severe occupational illness, or major property damage.