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Near-miss: Dropped object narrowly misses worker

During some pipe work on the deckhead of a production platform, a spanner weighing 1.4kg was dropped from the work place and fell 6 metres, landing only one metre from another worker.

The immediate causes of this near-miss were that:

  • the workplace was not adequately secured against the risk of dropped objects;
  • there was an opening in the grating allowing the object to fall.

Underlying causes noted were that:

  • the work had been improperly managed and organised;
  • there had been no procedures in place for this type of work.

The resulting investigation made the following recommendations:

  • use should be made of checklists for safe work at heights;
  • checks should be made and, where necessary, deficient floor grating should be repaired;
  • clear marking out of barriers in areas below working areas should be ensured;
  • permit to work systems should be correctly adhered to.

Safety Event

Published: 30 November 2005
Download: IMCA SF 11/05

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