Findings of the Work Improvement on Board (WIB) programme by the Fishery Agency in Japan

Concerns are growing about the safety and health of seamen exposed to high risks while working on vessels. Their accident rate in 2013 was 9.9 per 1000 workers, 5 times higher than that in industry. In order to mitigate the risks of seamen, we developed the Work Improvement on Board (WIB) programme by applying participatory action-oriented training (PAOT) methods that have proven effective for reducing work-related risks in small enterprises, construction sites, and agriculture.

We analysed which features of the WIB programme would be most effective for facilitating the planning and implementation of practical improvements on vessels. We examined action -oriented tools used, including a WIB action checklist and good examples, and practical improvements proposed by the participants in 1-day or half-day WIB workshops. To study the effectiveness of the WIB programme, we analysed 1121 replies of a questionnaire distributed to 1459 participants of the programme. We compared the types of improvements achieved and the improvement costs in the WIB programme with those in other PAOT programmes. The impact of the WIB programme on promoting primary prevention by seamen and fishermen was discussed.

The action checklist listing practical improvements on board and good example photos apparently facilitated the planning and implementation of improvements feasible on board. The participating crews could propose readily applicable improvements of their vessels within short time. In the case of workshops held in 10 harbours between August and October 2014, participants coming from 110 vessels presented 228 improvement proposals which were mostly feasible at low cost. Among the 1121 questionnaire replies from participants of the WIB programme, over 75% evaluated the programme as necessary, practical and easy-to-understand. These positive results led to the adoption of the WIB programme for training fishermen and seamen on commercial vessels by the Fishery Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The Fishery Agency adopted plans to improve the working environment on fishing vessels by training 500 fishermen per year in the WIB programme from 2013 to 2018.

The participatory work improvement programme can work in vessels when it utilises in a flexible manner local good practices and low-cost improvements as guides. The use of action-oriented tools such as a WIB action checklist and good examples seems important. We recommend the wide use of WIB methods in occupational safety and health management systems on board vessels in Japan and other countries.