14 November 2023
James began his journey with Peel Ports as a dock worker, operating cranes and tugs, and machinery for 12 years before becoming a trainer in 2019. He now leads a team of
four other trainers, using his experience from over the last 16 years to undertake comprehensive risk assessments and shine a light on best practices in safety.
"I normally start my day at around 8.30am by having a chat with the lads in the Dockers’
Canteen. I like to check in on everyone and see what morale is like among the team. I’m
a newly trained mental health first aider, so I know just how important it is to get on a
level with everyone and see what’s going on dockside."
"There is a huge stigma around speaking about your feelings, especially between men and in the port industry. I’m glad Peel Ports has invested in challenging that by actively promoting mental health awareness. We all go through hard times, and speaking with someone can lighten that load – there’s nothing to be ashamed of in that."
"Around 9am, we start our morning with a daily operations meeting, covering
everything from the daily weather report and tide patterns, to who will be on site that
day and what ships are coming in. Mapping out the day means everyone is crystal clear
on what’s going on and what’s expected of them."
"We also hold incident review and working at-height meetings in the morning. The
purpose of those is to discuss any incidents that have happened recently, and look at
how we can learn from them – our goalis to not make the same mistake twice &
to learn from mistakes, and we want to pre-empt anything that could be an issue
on that particular day. For example, during the summer we’re asking ourselves if we
need extra water for the team or if we have suncream available. That nips issues in the
bud before they have a chance to become problems.
The rest of my day can be a bit hectic, a mix of carrying out risk assessments and delivering training. No two days are the same"
"I’m fortunate that the Dublin team are first rate – there’s nothing more rewarding than
seeing the team turn around a vessel in record time, everything running efficiently
and smoothly as safety guidelines are followed to the T."