LIFELINES, LADDERS, AND SCAFFOLDING

you must be on the main deck in foul weather, wear your life jacket. You must always wear an inherently buoyant life jacket whenever you are handling lines or are otherwise involved in underway replenishment or transfer operations. A ship’s deck has many tripping hazards, such as cleats, bitts, and pad eyes, as well as larger obstacles, such as boat davits and winches. Learn their locations so that if you must go on deck at night, you will have a better chance of avoiding these hazards. Don’t sit or lean on lifelines. When the sea is unusually rough, a safety line may be rigged on the main deck. When you are moving along the deck, you should stay inboard of, and hold on to, the safety line. The flight decks of aircraft carriers are particularly hazardous areas. Beware of propellers and jet blast! Often, propellers are invisible because of the speed at which they rotate. They can act just like a meat slicer; so you need to use extreme care when walking or working near propeller-driven aircraft. Jet planes present other hazards—a person can be sucked into the jet’s intake, be burned, or be blown overboard (or against an object) by its exhaust. Keep off the flight deck if you don’t work there. Because of minimum lighting requirements, nighttime is especially hazardous on the flight deck. When working on the flight deck, always wear your ear protectors when jet engines are running. One other caution—Smoking is prohibited on the flight and hangar decks and in all fuel and ammunition-handling spaces. In general, the same rules apply to ships with operating helicopters. Only authorized personnel are permitted in the landing area during helicopter operations. Those personnel must wear proper protective clothing and equipment. During vertical replenishment operations, keep out from under loads and stay clear of the unloading area until the helicopter has departed. Keep the landing area free from loose debris or “foreign object damage” (FOD) that may be blown about by the downwash from the rotor blades or sucked up by jet intakes. During flight quarters, the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is a dangerous place. This deck, combined with the hangar deck, magazines, and shops, provides the equivalent operating facilities of a large airfield. However, the hazards associated with aircraft operations are focused into a relatively small area. Therefore, personnel are exposed to a greater potential of danger. REVIEW 3 QUESTIONS Q1. List four boat safety precautions that every Sailor should know. a. b. c. d. Q2. If a boat swamps, what usually causes a loss of personnel? Q3. Why should you learn the location of cleats, bitts, and pad eyes on a ship’s deck? Q4. What are two hazards found on flight decks of aircraft carriers? a. b. LIFELINES, LADDERS, AND SCAFFOLDING Lifelines, as used here, refer to lines erected around the edges of weather decks. They are safety barriers to prevent personnel from falling or being washed over the side. Never sit, lean, or stand on any lifeline—if the ship takes a sudden roll while you are leaning against a lifeline, you could fall overboard. Never remove lifelines without permission from the proper authority. When removing a lifeline, 19-6 Student Notes: