Experience

How to avoid dropped objects..?

Dropping objects from height is, unfortunately, a common problem in the oil and gas industry. Prevention can be achieved through a common approach, according to Allen Smith of DROPS (Dropped Objects Prevention Scheme).

Exposure to dropped object potential in the oil and gas sector, is particularly acute in upstream drilling and well services, but also exists in all activities across the whole supply chain. This is a dynamic working environment, with operations requiring heavy equipment to be suspended and maintained at height, continuously exposed to significant forces from many sources.

There are also many supporting activities such as lifting, transportation, stacking, storing and the ongoing inspection, repair and maintenance while working at height. For over 20 years the oil and gas sector has been learning and sharing lessons from incidents through DROPS. The scheme is a member funded initiative, which includes representation from operators, major service partners and a broad cross section of the engineering and contractors sector, plus a number of specialists product suppliers promoting best practice in securing tools and equipment at height.

DROPS is an energy Industry Initiative with over 200 members from across the global supply chain. Its main objective is to eliminate injury to people and damage sustained to assets, environments and business due to dropped objects. Ultimately it seeks to deliver a ‘second-nature’ dropped objects prevention strategy, that leads to instinctive and habitual processes to identify, assessing and managing dropped object potential in every task and at every step.

Acknowledging the problem

First we must acknowledge that there is a problem and that dropped objects do pose a significant threat to a business. Data from various sources confirms that dropped objects do continue to harm and kill personnel and members of the public. Typically we learn from the unfortunate consequences of incidents but once there has been an unplanned release of gravity’s constant acceleration factor there will always be a consequence based on the item’s mass and the distance it falls. Equipment damage can result in unnecessary loss or repairs, or loss of containment that results in spills, or unnecessary waste.

Ultimately a dropped object incident will always cause damage to the business in lost time, money and reputation.

There are many examples of dropped object incidents during lifting that can be described as failures in load security. Equally, they can be related to lifting and lifting equipment. They can occur anywhere at any time. After all, lifting equipment and ancillary fixing are subject to continuous loading from lifting activities and the working environment.

Cranes require maintenance at height, tools can be dropped, and there are always surprises – from dropped level indicators, balls of congealed grease and even nuts and bolts that secure individual items to the structure. When using DROPS tools, such as the consequence calculator, it becomes apparent that even the smallest of items that fall from a height can cause harm. For example, if a 200 g bolt was to be dropped over 30 metres, a life changing, major injury would be very likely.

All incidents will have underlying causal factors and investigations will highlight areas for improvement. Common causes include:

Poor hazard identification and risk assessment

Failed fixtures and fittings / corrosion / vibration / Non—OEM Parts

Poor housekeeping (loose tools and parts)

Poor lift plan / collisions / snagging

Inadequate design / certification

Human factors / error traps

Inadequate inspection, repair and maintenance Redundant / neglected / home-made tools and equipment

Overloading / incorrect or improper use of equipment and tools

Inappropriate procedures / not following procedures

Inadequately stored / secured tools and equipment

Environment (weather, sea motion, ground movement)

Planning and operational miscalculations.

These common causes of dropped objects can also be considered as prompts to inform task planning and risk assessments.

Human factors or the range of physical, psychological, organisational influences, which can affect how people carry out tasks can also be considered as error traps or the factors and situations that cause people to make mistakes. This is an area of focus that many industries have explored and addressed

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