Gangway retraction causes worker to fall into water

What happened?

During a transfer from a Service operating vessel (SOV) to a transition piece using a Walk to work (W2W) gangway, there was an unexpected retraction of said gangway.

At the same time, a technician was stepping from the gangway onto the transition piece.

This led to the technician losing balance and falling into the water below.

The technician was rescued by the Commissioning service operating vessel (CSOV) fast rescue boat.

The technician suffered wrist and orbital fractures because of the fall.

Why did it happen?

The gangway was cleared for use but the emergency disconnect system alarm began to sound due to a fault in a slewing motor.

The technician did not react to the alarm that sounds before the gangway retracts.

What did they learn?

After the alarm began to sound the operator pressed the override button to allow for more time for the technician to depart the gangway.

The button press was not registered by the human interface machine, therefore the override did not occur.

The touch screen button used to activate the override is unreliable and sometimes does not register touch commands.

The traffic light was not always visible regardless of environmental conditions.

Ask yourself or your crew

Are you or other members of your team cleared to cross a gangway or a specific area?

Has a pre-transfer safety briefing been completed?

Are other operators manning the override in case of an emergency?

Does all the equipment involved in a task work properly?

Are technicians able to see and hear the alarms if they go off?

What happened?

During a transfer from a Service operating vessel (SOV) to a transition piece using a Walk to work (W2W) gangway, there was an unexpected retraction of said gangway.
At the same time, a technician was stepping from the gangway onto the transition piece.
This led to the technician losing balance and falling into the water below.
The technician was rescued by the Commissioning service operating vessel (CSOV) fast rescue boat.
The technician suffered wrist and orbital fractures because of the fall.
Why did it happen?

The gangway was cleared for use but the emergency disconnect system alarm began to sound due to a fault in a slewing motor.
The technician did not react to the alarm that sounds before the gangway retracts.
What did they learn?

After the alarm began to sound the operator pressed the override button to allow for more time for the technician to depart the gangway.
The button press was not registered by the human interface machine, therefore the override did not occur.
The touch screen button used to activate the override is unreliable and sometimes does not register touch commands.
The traffic light was not always visible regardless of environmental conditions.
Ask yourself or your crew

Are you or other members of your team cleared to cross a gangway or a specific area?
Has a pre-transfer safety briefing been completed?
Are other operators manning the override in case of an emergency?
Does all the equipment involved in a task work properly?
Are technicians able to see and hear the alarms if they go off?