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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