Mental health issues and unsafe behaviors are leading causes of accidents and deaths at sea. Seafaring is an isolated and stressful job with long periods away from family and social support. Suicide rates for seafarers have more than tripled in recent years and are now the most common cause of death at sea. Yoga and meditation are presented as holistic solutions to improve seafarer mental health and attitudes by reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and promoting wellness. Regular yoga practice has been shown to benefit employees on land by increasing productivity and reducing health costs. Introducing yoga training for seafarers could help address the underlying causes of many accidents.

1. 1
A HOLISTIC Approach
to
LOSS PREVENTION
on board
Capt. Anil Puri

2. Introduction
 The Issues
• Marine Losses
• Mental Health onboard
 The Causes
• Loss Causation Models
• Human Element Related Causes
• Unsafe Behaviour
 Attitude & The Human Mind
 The Solutions
• Wellness at Sea
• ??????
2

3. The Issues
3

4. Collision
4

5. Fire
5

6. Anchor Drag – Pipeline rupture
6

7. Anchor Drag – Pipeline rupture
7

8. 8
Personnel Injury

9. Missing at Sea !!
9

10. Apart from this….
 UK P&I Club identifies risk areas on
board ships
 These risks include
• Enclosed spaces,
• Master Pilot exchange,
• Moorings,
• Loss of power,
• Slips trips and falls
• as well as……
Mental Health. 10

11. Top 3 Killers at Sea
 3. Heart Disease
• Unhealthy lifestyle
• Smoking / Alcohol
• Obesity
• Poor diet
• Stress
• Lack of Exercise
11

12. Top 3 Killers at Sea
 2. Hypertension
• Stress
• Fatigue
• Unhealthy lifestyle
12

13. Top 3 Killers at Sea
 1. Mental Illness
& Depression
• 2015 WHO Study
– Seafarers 2nd most
at–risk of
committing suicide
• Isolated , remote life
• Loneliness, separation
• Depression, anxiety
• Long periods – havoc with mental stability
13

14. Suicide is now the biggest
cause of death at sea.
 Suicide rates among
seafarers have more than
tripled since 2014 and are
now the most common
cause of death at sea,
according to figures from
the UK P&I Club.
 Crew deaths attributed to
suicide have increased from
4.4 percent in 2014-15
to 15.3 percent in 2015-16. 14

15. Suicide is now the biggest
cause of death at sea.
 Between 2001 and 2005, merchant
seafarers scored the second highest level
of suicides amongst all professions, after
coal miners, according to research
published by Swansea University in 2013.
 Today, the rate of suicide for international
seafarers is triple that of shore workers,
according to the IMO.
15

16. Suicide at Sea
 Poorly discussed
– taboo subject
• Machismo culture
• High levels of
prejudice
• Poor mental
health education
16

17. Mental Health
 Analysis of crew
mental health
• Anxiety
• Social isolation
• Pressure of work
• Disturbed sleep
17

18. Mental Health
 Do not seek help
• Confidentiality
• Job security /
blacklisted
 Mental breakdowns at
sea common
 Numerous accidents
18

19. Mental Health
 Major concerns
• Distant from Family
• Financial issues
• Fatigue & Long hours
• Increasing work demands
 Technology a hindrance
 Eg Wi Fi – alone – no socialising
 Increased automation – less crew
19

20. Mental Health
 Forming relationship onbd difficult
• Personality
• Language
• Culture issues
20

21. 21

22. The Causes
22

23. OHS – Conceptual Approach
23

24. History of Accident Modelling
(Hollnagel, 2010, slide 7)
24

25. Domino model of accident causation
(modified from Heinrich, 1931) – 1st Scientific approach
25

26. 26
The DNV Loss Causation Model
Developed by Mr. Bird of ILCI
– in 1991 purchased by DNV

27. The Energy Damage Model
(Viner, 1991, p.43)
27
Damage (injury) is a result of an incident energy whose intensity
at the point of contact with the recipient exceeds the damage
threshold of the recipient

28. Generalised Time Sequence
Model (Viner, 1991, p.58)
28

29. Reason’s ‘Swiss Cheese’ Model
(modified from Reason, 2008 p.102)
29

30. The Reason Model of System Safety
(Reason, 1997)
30

31. Implications for OHS Practice
 In 2010, Hovden, Albrechtsen & Herrera
observed that:
 … technologies, knowledge, organisations,
people, values, and so on are all subject to
change in a changing society.
 Nonetheless, when it comes to occupational
accident prevention most experts and
practitioners still believe in the domino model
and the iceberg metaphor. (p. 953)
31

32. Domino model of accident causation
(modified from Heinrich, 1931) – 1st Scientific approach
32

33. Accident Cost Iceberg
33

34. 34

35. Unsafe Acts
35

36. 36

37. Why focus on Unsafe Behaviour?
 80-95 % of accidents are triggered by UNSAFE
BEHAVIOURS which then interact with other
pathogens in the workflow processes or work
environment to produce an ACCIDENT
 Focus on unsafe behaviours is a better index of
safety performance than accident rates
• Proactive vs Reactive
 Unsafe behaviours easier to measure on a day to
day basis
37

38. Why do people behave Unsafely?
 They have never been hurt before – I have
always done it THIS WAY.
• This REINFORCES the Unsafe behaviour till the law of
averages catches up with them.
 Hard to follow as rewards of unsafe behaviour
(time-saving, more production etc) are
IMMEDIATE & POSITIVE
38

39. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not Engineer out the HAZARDS ?
 Does not always
work as PEOPLE
override the
engg controls.
39

40. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not punish people till they behave safely ?
 Some approaches – use discipline & punishment
to discourage unsafe behaviour
 And safe behaviour is largely ignored
 Mostly results in opposite of that intended
• Ie. Accidents & near misses are not reported
 Punishment should be limited to
• Who deliberately put others at risk
• Only after the organisation has done
everything in its power to create the safest
working environment and the unsafe act is a
wilful act aimed at flouting authority
40

41. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not praise people for behaving safely ?
 Incentive and reward
schemes
 Makes sense as it
reinforces safe
behaviour
 Strengthens a positive
safety culture
 Should be coupled with
constructive feedback 41

42. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not Change ATTITUDE ??
42

43. Attitude &
The Human Mind
43

44. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not Change ATTITUDE ??
 Link from ATTITUDE change to BEHAVIOUR is
very WEAK
 Because a single ATTITUDE comprises of 3
domains
• Cognitive (Evaluation - Thinking)
• Psycho–motor (Action - Doing)
• Affective (Feelings)
 And then a single ATTITUDE is linked to other
ATTITUDES – so nearly impossible
44

45. 45

46. UNSAFE BEHAVIOUR
– Why not Change ATTITUDE ??
 But BEHAVIOUR change to ATTITUDE change link
is MUCH STRONGER
 If people change BEHAVIOUR, then they tend to
re-adjust their ATTITUDES and BELIEF SYSTEMS
to the new behaviour (less mismatch)
 This leads to new ATTITUDE & BELIEF systems
which reinforce the new behaviour.
46

47. 47

48. 48

49. 49

50. The Human MIND !!
50

51. 51

52. 52

53. 53

54. 54

55. The Solutions
55

56. 56

57. Wellness at Sea – Sailor’s Society
 ‘Holistic’
coaching
programme
57

58. 58

59. Our Suggestion for
ATTITUDE change …
An over 3000 year old Indian
Science ……
59

60. Yoga – A TOTAL Solution
60

61. 61

62. What is Yoga ?
62

63. History of Yoga
63

64. Which YOGA ?
64

65. ASHTANGA YOGA - Traditional
65

66. 66

67. ATTITUDES in YOGA
67

68. The YOGIC Lifestyle
68

69. Yoga & Interpersonal Relationships
69

70. 70

71. 71

72. The Science of Yoga
Research Articles in Medical Journals
 Effects of yoga on stress and inflammatory factors in patients with
chronic low back pain: A non-randomized controlled study
 Post-operative exercises after breast cancer surgery: Results of a
RCT evaluating standard care versus standard care plus additional
yoga exercise
 A study of Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy in the promotion of self care
 Mind–body therapies for functional bowel disorders — A review of
recent clinical trials (open access)
 A detailed investigation into yoga interventions used in clinical
trials
 Efficacy of yoga and of mindfulness-based stress reduction in low
back pain — systematic reviews with meta-analyses
72

73. The Science of Yoga
Research Articles in Medical Journals
 A randomized comparative trial of yoga to reduce stress and
anxiety
 A comprehensive yoga programs improves pain, anxiety and
depression in chronic low back pain patients more than exercise:
An RCT
 Core muscle function during specific yoga poses
 A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary
therapies for addiction
 Yoga for hypertension: A systematic review of randomized clinical
trials
 Effects of yoga on depression and anxiety of women
Cochrane Corner: Yoga to prevent cardiovascular disease
73

74. Yoga At Work
74

75. Yoga At Work
75

76. Yoga is Officially Sweeping the
Workplace – Jan 05 2017, TIME Health
 From 2002-2012, Yoga Practice
doubled amongst US workers – 6 to
11%
 Meditation rates increased – 8 to
9.9%
 Yoga & Meditation has been shown to
increase employee well-being &
productivity (US Centre for Disease Control)
76

77. Yoga At Work
 A recent New York Times article by David
Gelles, At Aetna, A C.E.O.'s Management
By Mantra, discusses how health
insurance company Aetna, along with
many other companies, are not only
 incorporating wellness programs into their
workplaces,
 but also reaping the benefits as well.
77

78. Yoga At Work
 More than one-quarter of the company’s
work force of 50,000 has participated

 And report, on average, a 28
percent reduction in their stress levels, a
20 percent improvement in sleep quality
and a 19 percent reduction in pain.
 They also become more effective on the
job, gaining an average of 62 minutes per
week of productivity each, which Aetna
estimates is worth $3,000 per employee
per year.
78

79. Yoga At Work
 Demand for the programs continues to rise;
every class is overbooked.
 Gelles says the benefits Aetna is seeing in
offering their employees yoga and meditation is
also being documented in companies such as
Google, General Mills and Goldman Sachs.
 He says the programs are designed not just to
improve employees’ health, but also to help
employees be more present minded, less likely to
make rash decisions, and even get along better
with coworkers. 79

80. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
80

81. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
81

82. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
82

83. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
83

84. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
84

85. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
85

86. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
86

87. Yoga with Seafarers
– my experience so far
87

88. 88

89. So When will
YOU & YOUR COMPANY
start this great INDIAN
Tradition ??
Thank you
89