Port Bouvard Yacht Club

A division of Port Bouvard Recreation & Sporting Club Inc.

Risk Management

04 October 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1	INTRODUCTION	3

1.1	Philosophy	3

1.2	Background – Duty of Care	3

1.3	Objectives	3

1.4	What is Risk Management	3

1.5	Which risks need to be managed?	4

1.6	The Australian Standard	4

1.7	This Resource – Scope and Limitations	4

1.8	Who should be involved in the risk management process?	5

2	THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS	5

2.1	Risk Identification	5

2.2	Risk Assessment	6

2.2.1	Likelihood	6

2.2.2	Severity	7

2.2.3	Risk Priority	7

2.3	Risk Treatment Action Plan	8

2.4	Monitor and Review	8

2.5	Communication	9

3	PBYC Risks	9

3.1	Compound and sailing risks	9

INTRODUCTION

This document is intended to define the risk management analysis procedure associated with the PBYC.

Philosophy

Port Bouvard Yacht Club is mindful of the risks associated with conducting sailing races and activities at club level. In an effort to assist volunteer club officials to minimise these risks, Port Bouvard Yacht Club has developed a Risk Management Plan for its major functions.

Background – Duty of Care

The Club staff and officials owe a duty of care to patrons of functions and activities where there is a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm or injury as a result of their actions. In exercising this duty of care, the law requires officials to take reasonable steps to reduce the likelihood of injury to participants as a result of those risks, which are foreseeable.

This is the rationale which underpins any risk management programme – in this case, the process of identifying risks involved in conducting functions and activities, and then adopting strategies and actions designed to reduce these risks wherever possible

Objectives

To reduce the incidence of injury to members, patrons and other persons associated with club functions and activities.

To provide a fun, healthy and safe environment for individuals to participate and enjoy.

To minimise potential club liability as a result of poorly managed functions and activities.

What is Risk Management

Risk Management is the process of systematically eliminating or minimising the adverse impact of all activities, which may give rise to injuries or dangerous situations. This requires the development of a framework within which risk exposure can be monitored and controlled. Risk Management is a tool by which persons involved in functions can seek to meet their duties and thus avoid liability.

Risks which can be covered by a risk management programme include:

Legal risks – losses and costs arising from legal actions for breach of a common law or statutory duty of care;

Physical risks – injuries to members and the public;

Financial Risks – increased insurance premiums, costs associated with injuries for business reasons, loss of financial stability and asset value, replacement costs and earning capacity and increased external administrative costs;

Moral and ethical risks – loss of quality experience and confidence, adverse publicity and damage to image or reputation.

Which risks need to be managed?

Importantly, the law does not require clubs to provide a completely risk free environment. Indeed, by agreeing to participate in function activities, patrons will be taken to have consented to those risks, which form an inevitable aspect of the activity. Clubs will not be required to take steps to counter risks where it would be unreasonable to expect a club to do so in the circumstances. Clubs will however be expected to adopt reasonable precautions against risks which might result in injuries or damages which are reasonably foreseeable.

The Australian Standard

The approach adopted in this Resource is based on the Australian Standard on Risk Management AS/NZS 4360:1999 and the National Risk Management Guideline developed by the Standard Committee on Sport and Recreation (SCORS) risk management working party.

This Resource has sought to simplify the steps set out in the Australian Standard, and includes the following stages:

Risk Identification

Risk Assessment

Risk Treatment (action plan)

Monitoring and Review

Communication

This Resource – Scope and Limitations

This resource has been developed specifically for functions activities. As such it does not address risk management considerations for other elements of yacht club operations such as governance, administration, finance, insurance, planning, etc….

The Resource is not a “be-all-and-end-all” resource, which will make the club litigation proof or completely fail-safe, however if followed, it may serve as a useful defence to claims for breach of duty of care.

Risks will vary depending upon the circumstances and the ways in which the club operates. It is up to the Committee and key people in the club when using this Resource to think about other risks not identified here, and plan for their treatment accordingly. Such “other local risks” should be included in this process where indicated in the Risk Management Tables.

Who should be involved in the risk management process?

It is important that all “key” people, from the Committee to House officials and volunteers, are involved in each step of the risk management process. Key people such as senior House officials have the training and knowledge that is required when risk questions regarding functions and activities are asked. The Risk Management process should only be completed after all other key people have been involved.

THE RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Risk Identification

The first step in this risk management program is to identify what risks exist (or may exist in the future within our functions programs and activities. It is important that people who are regularly involved in the functions are involved in identifying risk areas. There is no substitute for actual practical experience in working out why accidents occur, or what presents a potential problem.

There are a number of things that must be considered in identifying risks:

The age of patrons;

The type of activities conducted;

Injury history (including type of injury and cause);

How operational procedures are conducted, and whether there have been any previous problems.

For the purposes of this example, four Risk Categories have been identified. Also identified are a number of common risks which fall within these categories. The Task is to assess and treat these risks in the context of the activity. Space shall be provided under each category to identify additional risks which are particular to the function or activity.

Risk Assessment

Having identified the risks involved in our function activities we need to assess them in terms of their likelihood to occur and the seriousness of the consequences arising from their occurrence.

Each identified risk must be rated. These ratings describe:

the likelihood of the risk occurring (likelihood); and

the loss or damage impact if the risk occurred (severity);

the priority or degree of urgency required to address the risk.

In order to systematically assess the risks identified in the first stage of the process, we apply the risk rating scales set out below in Tables 1 – 3. The risk rating scales will allow you to rate identified risks and then identify risk management priorities.

Likelihood

The likelihood is related to the potential for a risk to occur over the period of the event.

Table 1, Likelihood Scale

Rating	Likelihood
A	ALMOST CERTAIN, will probably occur, could occur several times in a year
B	LIKELY, high probability, likely to arise once per year
C	POSSIBLE, reasonable likelihood that it may arise over a five year period
D	UNLIKELY, plausible could occur over a five to ten year period
E	RARE, very unlikely but not impossible, unlikely to occur over a ten year peiod

Severity

The severity of a risk refers to the degree of loss or damage which may result from its occurrence.

Table 2. Severity Scale

Rating	Potential impact
A	CATASTROPHIC. Most objectives may not be achieved, or several severely affected.
B	MAJOR. Most objectives threatened, or one severely affected.
C	MODERATE. Some objectives affected, considerable effort to rectify.
D	MINOR. Easily remedied, with some effort the objectives can be achieved.
E	NEGLIGIBLE. Very small impact, rectified by normal processes.

Having assessed each risk in terms of its likelihood and severity we are in a position to prioritise the risks in the decision making of what action is warranted to manage the risks (where possible).

Risk Priority

The risk priority scale determines the nature of the risk and the action required. They are indicators to assist in the decision making of what action is warranted for the risks.

Table 3 Risk Priority Scale

Likelihood Rating	Potential impact
A	B	C	D	E
A	Extreme(1)	Extreme(1)	Major(2)	Major(2)	Medium(3)
B	Extreme(1)	Extreme(1)	Major(2)	Medium(3)	Minor(4)
C	Major(2)	Major(2)	Major(2)	Medium(3)	Minor(4)
D	Major(2)	Major(2)	Medium(3)	Minor(4)	Minor(4)
E	Medium(3)	Medium(3)	Minor(4)	Minor(4)	Minor(4)

Key:

Rating	Risk Priority
1	Extreme risks that are likely to arise and have potentially serious consequences requiring urgent attention.
2	Major risks that are likely to arise and have potential serious consequences requiring urgent attention or investigation.
3	Medium risks that are likely to arise or have serious consequences requiring attention.
4	Minor risks and low consequences that maybe managed by routine procedures.
5	Use this to note a risk that does not apply to your organisation.

Once a risk priority has been determined, the committee can consider the level or risk treatment and action required for each risk.

Risk Treatment Action Plan

This stage is all about identifying and testing strategies to manage the risks which have been identified and subsequently evaluated as posing a real risk to patrons. Ideally officials will work together to brainstorm a variety of treatment strategies and then consider each strategy in terms of its effectiveness and implementation. This will necessarily involve some “reality testing” of risk treatment strategies as officials determine what reasonable steps they may take to reduce the impact of the risk arising.

If a risk has been assessed and the risk has rated highly, there will be a need to carefully consider necessary policies, procedures and strategies to treat the risk. These will include what is needed to treat the risk, who has the responsibility and what is the timeframe for risk management. These elements will comprise the action plan. Where strategies are already in place to address or manage an identified risk, insert details of that strategy in the space provided. If not, a strategy will have to be devised.

Monitor and Review

It is very important that officials review the risk management plan at the end of the function, activity, programme or season. The risk management plan should be a fluid document which is regularly updated to take account of changes.

The keeping of records, and the continued evaluation of the risk management plan in the light of such records is crucial. The risk management procedures should include the documentation of any accidents, as well as information on the effectiveness of the risk management plan. Statistics on continuing injuries or accident occurrences should be used to determine whether there are specific activities that require either increased precautions or supervision.

The risk management plan cannot remain static. Risks can change according to changes in the law. Constant evaluation and updating must be done to take account of developing trends and the organisation’s own experience.

Communication

It is essential that all club members and participants in club programs are aware of the risk management programme and are consulted in its development, implementation and evaluation.

The PBYC should ensure that each participant is introduced to the risk management policy and obligations as part of their entry conditions. Patrons who are not members of PBYC should also be made aware of the club’s risk management procedures and any rules with which they must comply.

PBYC Risks

Compound and sailing risks

The below table is the analysis completed of risks around the sailing compound including sailing activities according to the risk matrix above.

Number	Description	Likelihood Before/after	Impact Before/after	Risk before action	Risk after action	Action
1	Stung by a bee	B/B	D/D	3	3	Appropriate clothing to be worn at all times. Minor first aid
2	Asthma attacks	C/C	C/D	2	3	Appropriate information collected at any training or other functions
3	Stand on a cobbler	C/C	C/D	2	3	Shoes worn at all appropriate times. Medium first aid to hospital.
4	Hit by boom Possible concussion	A/B	B/B	1	1	Promote be aware of surroundings, Crew communication at all times
5	Crush fingers	A/B	B/B	1	1	Promote be aware of surroundings, Crew communication at all times
6	Hyperthermia	D/E	B/B	2	3	Close supervision in the winter months for prolonged weather exposure
7	Cut foot (rock in compound)	B/B	C/D	2	3	Shoes to be worn as appropriate. First aid administered as required
8	Sunburn	A/C	C/C	2	2	Sun policy enforced at all times, Suncream readily available and hat policy enforced
9	Rope burn	B/C	C/C	2	2	Promote be aware of surroundings, Crew communication at all times
10	Jelly fish stings	C/C	D/D	3	3	Appropriate clothing to be worn at all times. Minor first aid
11	Hit by car/trailer	C/D	B/B	2	2	Be aware of surroundings. Trailer movements tightly monitored and enforced in rigging areas.
12	Heat stroke – dehydration	C/D	B/B	2	2	Sun policy enforced at all times, Suncream readily available and hat policy enforced. Water bottles to be taken on all boats
13	Bullying	B/C	C/C	2	2	Appropriate supervision at all times. No bully policy to be enforced.
14	Pricked by hypodermic needle	D/E	B/B	2	3	Shoes worn at all appropriate times. Medium first aid to hospital. Clean up all areas on regular basis.
15	Burns	C/D	A/A	2	2	Be aware of surroundings. First aid applied as required.
16	Boat capsize, Boat entrapment, Drowning	D/E	A/A	2	3	PFD’s to be worn at all times while sailing, no exceptions. Rescue boat ratio to junior boats 1 to 5. 2 power boats on race coarse at all times, both capable of rescue situations. 1 person on power boat with sufficient capability for rescue awareness.
16A	Harness entrapment	D/E	A/A	2	3	Suitable knife or strap cutter to be kept on board rescue boats.
16B	Prop strike	D/E	A/A	2	3	Rescue boat awareness of people in water. Engine off when people within 2 m of stern of boat.
17	Heart attack	D/D	A/C	2	3	Defib located in JYC classroom for immediate action

The above matrix highlighted extreme and major risks, these include;

Extreme – Hit by boom / Possible concussion

Extreme – Crush fingers

Major – Sunburn

Major – Rope burn

Major – Hit by car/trailer

Major – Heat stroke, dehydration

Major – Bullying

Major - Burns

Items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 and mainly risks associated with the sailing activities. The risks noted are for novice sailors and the risk diminishes with the experience of the sailor. It is important that we then instil good on the water practices at an early age. All junior training programmes will be instructed by a qualified YWA instructor to emphasize these issues to then lower these risk levels accordingly.

Items 5, 7 and 8 are risks associated with on shore activities.

Car and trailer activities in all rigging areas is to be minimised and tightly controlled to minimise this risk.

Bullying is an un-acceptable behaviour in a any terms and will not be condoned. Where someone is found guilty of this behaviour, a warning will first be given. On the second instance of this happening, it will be brought to the attention of the PBYC committee to determine action required.

Burns is a risk around any open flame such as camp fire or kitchen utilities. All due care will be taken around these areas as per normal procedures to minimise this risk.