- IMCA provides lessons learned from an incident in which a pin was required to be pulled on a hinge system for the dynamic gangway system.
- Actions: Investigated how a collective dropped object arrest system such as a net could be installed under the gangway for future work.
IMCA provides lessons learned from an incident in which a pin was required to be pulled on a hinge system for the dynamic gangway system on a W2W (walk-to-work) vessel, reports Safety4sea.
The incident
As part of this task metal wedges were used to hold some of the gangway components in place. The job of pulling the pins was not going as expected due to space limitations, the effects of surface corrosion on the pins and the chosen method of pulling the pins. While pulling the pin out, the metal wedge in place was dislodged and fell between the gangway components, 13m to the deck below. No-one was underneath the gangway at the time.
What went wrong
- The metal wedges did not have a place to secure a tethering device;
- The method chosen to pull the pin was not optimal;
- Not all the tools could be secured from dropping and there was no collective dropped object arrest system to catch smaller tools or items;
- The aft area around the gangway was not fenced off and personnel could have walked underneath the drop zone;
- Simultaneous operations were taking place in the area on deck around the gangway and there was a risk of someone accidentally walking into the DROPS zone.
Actions taken
- Modified the metal wedges to accept a tethering device;
- Investigated how a collective dropped object arrest system such as a net could be installed under the gangway for future work;
- Identified an optimal solution for pulling the pins on gangway;
- Improved guidance and training for personnel on barriering-off areas in a DROPS zone.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: Safety4sea
