Ensuring Safety & Compliance on Scotland’s Waters
Keeping Our Communities Safe Around Water
Scotland’s lochs and rivers are incredible places to explore — but they can also be unpredictable. Lochside works to reduce preventable drownings by providing clear guidance, practical training, and community support. Our goal is simple: to help everyone enjoy the water safely, all year round.
SHEQ Audits
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Risk Assesements
Safety Training
Compliance Support
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SHEQ Support for Marinas & Workboat Operators
Workboat Safety Reviews
Independent audits, compliance checks and operational reviews for safer workboats.
Workboat safety in the UK is currently undergoing significant regulatory updates with the introduction of the Workboat Code Edition 3 (WB3), which came into force on 13 December 2025 and requires all certified small workboats and pilot boats to implement a Safety Management System (SMS) by 13 December 2026
Marina Safety Audit
Marina Safety training, Compliance checks and review for controled risk in marina operations.
Marina Audit to the Gold Anchor
The Yacht Harbour Association
Training Programes
Independepent training and operational reviews for competant management and operations.
Leisure & Loch Safety
Paddling and Boating Safety
Cold Water Awareness
Looking for information on cold water safety, Look to the National Centre For Cold Water Safety. You can dive right in, or watch the short video that explains how their site is organized. See the sections described for more information.
Emergency Actions
Safety Near Water
Drowning – the facts
Every year, in the UK, around 400 people die from drowning as a result of an accident in or around water.
There are thousands of individuals who survive drowning events but who are left with severe, and often permanent, life-changing injuries. Our search, rescue and emergency services respond to over 100,000 water-related rescue, and flood events annually. All of these place huge burdens on families, individuals and society.
Many of these deaths are as a result of simple everyday mistakes, such as a trip or fall into water, or misjudgments such as underestimating the effect of swimming in cold open water unprepared can have. Others result from inherently risky activities including jumping/tombstoning from a great height into water.
