Working at Heights removed as prerequisite for Sea Survival

Training providers are requested to disregard previous advice from Global Wind Organisation that Working at Heights will be a prerequisite for any participant completing the GWO Basic Safety Training, Sea Survival Module.

Reference to the prerequisite in Version 16.1 has been removed. V16.1 remains a valid document until 2nd November 2023 in accordance with our policy to provide six months’ grace period following an update.

Training providers are encouraged to transition to version 17 at their earliest convenience following release on 2nd May.  

Background

BST Sea Survival V16.1 introduced a prerequisite to have a valid Working at Heights record (WaH).The prerequisite was recommended by the V16.1 Sea Survival working group because “focus in the transfer training must be on following the correct procedures and conduct safe transfer (not to practice and learn Working at Heights abilities)”, and that some Working at Heights abilities are necessary tools to conduct safe transfer using SRL and twin fall arrest lanyards safely – both in real work environment and during training – but are not part of the Sea Survival syllabus.

However, the prerequisite has created a number of practical, operational concerns for members. It introduced an inflexibility in booking courses for all technicians, and WaH is not considered a necessary safety training for several job roles attending this training (such as floating solar, bird counters, boat / CTV Crews).The Training Committee has, in a recent retrospective meeting recognised it had not considered the practical implications of bringing in WaH as prerequisite, and have gained a better understanding of both risks and the target audience groups using this module.

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