Lack of safety awareness: Worker falls through deck opening

Pieces of grating were being manually lowered down through an opening on the main deck of a vessel, which was barred off by a scaffold.

There were three workers on the main deck, and one worker on the mezzanine deck.

A piece of grating got stuck on an edge on the main deck.

A nearby co-worker tried to help and the workers shifted the grating about 15 cm (6 inches).

As the grating shifted, the new worker continued to hold onto it, lost their balance and fell 4metres (13 feet) from the main deck to a mezzanine deck.

The worker received a fracture in their right ankle.

The injured worker was part of the scaffolding team, but not a part of this planned operation.

• They were competent to work, but complacent of the risks.
• They were wearing a fall arrester but had not clipped onto an anchor point.

The taglines that were normally used when gratings were being handled manually weren’t attached during this operation.

Language barriers – different languages were spoken by different workers.

Wrong number of workers on both decks – there should have been two workers on each deck.

A permit to work was in place, and a toolbox talk had been conducted, but no specific job safety analysis (JSA) carried out before the task.

Always wear appropriate PPE when working from height.

Ensure all involved workers are aware of the hazards associated with their tasks.

Ensure that the people working on a job have been pre-assigned, are in the correct working area, and have attended all safety talks.

How can something like this happen here?

What is the correct way of lowering objects through deck openings?

Is everyone wearing the correct PPE for their task? Are they wearing it correctly?

What should you do if you see one of your colleagues working in an unsafe manner?

How can you ensure clear communication – especially where there is a potential language barrier?

What safety measures do we have in place for working through deck openings? How can we improve?