Catwalk levelling jack dropped on worker’s foot

What happened?

A crew was in the process of rigging in a third-party hydraulic catwalk.

A worker was positioned at the end of the pipe swing arm support (swing arm) to pull it away from the catwalk.

As the swing arm was pulled away, it suddenly dropped approximately two feet and the levelling jack struck the top of the worker’s foot above the toe protector area.

The worker sustained a fractured foot.

Leveling jack that struck the worker’s foot

Why did it happen?

The catwalk’s swing arm moved to the unlocked position during transport, and this was not identified during the inspection.
The operating manual did not include adequate instructions on configuring the swing arm for transport or prior to rigging in.

View of pipe swing arm support: unlocked and locked

What did they learn?

When handling equipment that could place a worker’s body under the equipment (i.e., in the line of fire), consider other options, such as the use of a tagline.
Perform a thorough hazard assessment and equipment inspection.
Review rig-in/out procedures and operation and maintenance requirements.
When receiving third-party equipment, ensure the equipment operating manual is available and applicable procedures are reviewed.

NOTE: Feedback on improvements to the instructions within the operating manual were provided to the third-party provider of the catwalk.

Ask yourself or your crew

How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?

What happened?

A crew was in the process of rigging in a third-party hydraulic catwalk.
A worker was positioned at the end of the pipe swing arm support (swing arm) to pull it away from the catwalk.
As the swing arm was pulled away, it suddenly dropped approximately two feet and the levelling jack struck the top of the worker’s foot above the toe protector area.
The worker sustained a fractured foot.
Why did it happen?
- The catwalk’s swing arm moved to the unlocked position during transport, and this was not identified during the inspection.
- The operating manual did not include adequate instructions on configuring the swing arm for transport or prior to rigging in.
What did they learn?
- When handling equipment that could place a worker’s body under the equipment (i.e., in the line of fire), consider other options, such as the use of a tagline.
- Perform a thorough hazard assessment and equipment inspection.
- Review rig-in/out procedures and operation and maintenance requirements.
- When receiving third-party equipment, ensure the equipment operating manual is available and applicable procedures are reviewed.
NOTE: Feedback on improvements to the instructions within the operating manual were provided to the third-party provider of the catwalk.
Ask yourself or your crew
- How can something like this happen here (e.g. on our site)?
- What safety measures (i.e. procedures, controls/barriers) do we have in place to mitigate the risk?
- How do we know the risk controls/barriers are working?
- What improvements or changes should we make to the procedures, controls/barriers or the way we work?

Published on 10/04/23 1077 Views

A crew was in the process of rigging in a hydraulic catwalk. A worker was positioned at the end of the pipe swing arm support to pull it away from the catwalk. As the swing arm was pulled away, it suddenly dropped and the levelling jack struck the top of the worker’s foot, causing a fracture.

Original material courtesy of Energy Safety Canada

Energy Safety Canada