Safety and Health in Ports: ILO Code of Practice

Despite new and sophisticated innovations, port work is still considered an occupation with very high accident rates. Every port, in light of its specific circumstances, needs to develop working practices that safeguard the safety and health of portworkers. This essential code of practice provides valuable advice and assistance to all those charged with the management, operation, maintenance and development of ports and their safety. Offering many detailed technical illustrations and examples of good practice, the provisions of this code cover all aspects of port work where goods or passengers are loaded or unloaded to or from ships, including work incidental to such loading and unloading activities in the port area. It is not limited to international trade but applies equally to domestic operations, including those on inland waterways. While the code looks to the future by including a methodology for considering innovations, it retains advice on older conventional methods as well. New topics, which were not included in the previous publications, are: traffic and vehicular movements of all types; activities on shore and on ship; amended levels of lighting provision; personal protective equipment; ergonomics; provisions for disabled persons; and the specific handling of certain cargoes, for example logs, scrap metal and dangerous goods.