Watch your step!
Questions for Discussion
Watch your step!
We’ve all heard this many times. But it’s so easy to get distracted and not pay attention to where we are going or what we are doing. This is how slips, trips, and falls occur.
Twisted ankles, knee strains, and back injuries are the most common injuries; but depending on how a person falls, fractured wrists and muscle tears may occur as well.
What you need to know
Distractions rank high on the list of injury causes, in these conditions. It’s important to stay focused while navigating uneven ground. If someone is carrying a piece of equipment, startled by a loud noise, moving too fast, or even talking with a colleague, his/her focus can switch away from the ground conditions. This can keep workers from identifying trip hazards, potentially causing them to take an unexpected fall.
Slowing down when the ground is soft or wet is a common practice for people who work on dirt or grass. However, conditions can be just as dangerous after the ground has dried out following rainfall. If heavy machinery moved through the area when the ground was wet, large tire tracks may have been left behind. When the ground dries, these tracks harden leaving deep ruts. These ruts pose a serious trip hazard. Not only that, if someone does trip over one and fall, they are at risk of further injury as he/she will likely land on the same deep, hardened ruts that led to the initial trip.
What you need to do
Eliminate the distractions as much as possible. As mentioned above, walking at a speed appropriate for the conditions is a must. Avoid other distractions too, such as texting or noting something in you tally book. Survey the jobsite each day in order to identify problem areas to be aware of or avoid. This includes:
1. Identifying the ruts, slippery conditions, and other uneven ground on the worksite.
2. Identifying holes and trenches on the site. Cover them and/or rope them off with caution tape to prevent access to the area. 3. Keeping shoe and boot tread clean to provide better traction. 4. Do not take shortcuts through debris piles.
At your safety meeting
Discuss how being distracted increases the risk of injury and strategize on how best to avoid those distractions. Also discuss the ground conditions you will be working with and seek out ideas on how best to avoid the hazards created by those conditions.
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Identify an obvious hazard – such as slippery conditions or a deep rut caused by heavy machinery.
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Emphasize the importance of keeping shoe or boot soles clean.
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Report any unsafe conditions.
Near Misses Reported in January
While working on a compressor, the skid was covered in oil and the contractor was going to weld a bracket on the skid. I stopped work and got operations involved to pressure wash the skid before we struck an arc.
A contractor used a knife to unscrew a flat head screw.
Work was stopped and it was explained that you have to use the right tools for the job.
While digging on the pad, no one thought to locate the line on the pad. The crew needed to widen the bell hole. Upon starting to dig, the track-hoe caught a water line and broke it.
From now on One Calls will be made and all lines will be hydro vac before work has started. The crew missed the gas line by inches.
Traveling on muddy or snowy roads have caused vehicles to slide into the bar ditches. Sometimes those ditches are deep and can cause damage to the vehicles.
To avoid any incident, the contractor should avoid the dirt roads and use caliche or black top roads instead, even though they might take longer to reach the job site but are safer.
Found individuals working below work being performed overhead.
Work was stopped and we discussed what could have been done to prevent this. JSAs were reviewed and we found that the work had not been communicated between the crews. SIMOPS. Neither crew had communicated their hazards. We discussed the requirement of SIMOPS, communicating JSAs and the importance of verbal and written communication of hazards and awareness of your surround ings.
While driving in a dust storm, an individual was almost hit by a rig mover. They pulled off of the road and waited until the dust died down.
We advised the inspectors to use caution while driving in dust storms. If it is necessary to stop, pull as far off the road as possible.
There was a blow out on the well next to the facility. We evacuated to the muster area up wind, called operations and assisted in containment of condensate. (2)The contractor did not have on FRC or safety glasses and he was asked to leave the project. (3) The contractor’s welders did not have fire extinguishers present and were shut down until they had some brought to the site.
An operator did not use a spotter while backing next to a gas line riser.
We stopped work and reviewed the JSA. The JSA had backing identified as a hazard and used a spot ter as a remedy. We went over procedures, notified safety and had a stand down where we reviewed the company expectations.
January Winners
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1. Brian Henckel - Platinum |
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