Potential life-altering event: High pressure water blasting incident

What happened?

The shell of a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy was being cleaned with a high-pressure water blaster (1,800 bar/26,000 psi).

A worker lost his balance while repositioning during the cleaning operation.

The blast gun moved up and the water jet cut through the rubber of their boot.

The worker received a cut to his toe.

Incident reenactment – worker pressure cleaning the buoy

Why did it happen?

The blast gun was operated with only one hand while repositioning.

Risk tolerance - Worker was not wearing metatarsals (foot protection) as specified in the job safety analysis (JSA) and highlighted in the toolbox talk (TBT) conducted before starting work.

A second worker followed his bad example, but fortunately he was not injured.

Injured worker did not have the expertise and training for using the high pressure blasting gun.

Supervisor did not verify that workers were wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) before starting the job.

Line management did not confirm that the workers were competent to perform the task before work commenced.

What did they learn?

Ensure workers have the knowledge and skills to perform their tasks. This should be verified before work commences.

Workers should understand the hazards and safeguards in place and should comply with the requirements whilst completing their tasks.

Workers should wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) as highlighted in the JSAs and TBTs.

Workers should receive full training for their tasks.

Ask yourself or your crew

What should you do if you are supposed to use a high pressure blast gun / other high pressure equipment, but you aren’t fully trained?

What is the correct way of handling high pressure blast guns?

What PPE do you need to use for today’s task?

What should you do if adequate PPE is not available before starting work?

What would you do if you spotted a colleague working in an unsafe manner?

What happened?

The shell of a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) buoy was being cleaned with a high-pressure water blaster (1,800 bar/26,000 psi).
A worker lost his balance while repositioning during the cleaning operation.
The blast gun moved up and the water jet cut through the rubber of their boot.
The worker received a cut to his toe.
Why did it happen?
The blast gun was operated with only one hand while repositioning.
Risk tolerance - Worker was not wearing metatarsals (foot protection) as specified in the job safety analysis (JSA) and highlighted in the toolbox talk (TBT) conducted before starting work.
- A second worker followed his bad example, but fortunately he was not injured.
Injured worker did not have the expertise and training for using the high pressure blasting gun.
Supervisor did not verify that workers were wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) before starting the job.
Line management did not confirm that the workers were competent to perform the task before work commenced.
What did they learn?

Ensure workers have the knowledge and skills to perform their tasks. This should be verified before work commences.
Workers should understand the hazards and safeguards in place and should comply with the requirements whilst completing their tasks.
Workers should wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) as highlighted in the JSAs and TBTs.
Workers should receive full training for their tasks.
Ask yourself or your crew

What should you do if you are supposed to use a high pressure blast gun / other high pressure equipment, but you aren’t fully trained?
What is the correct way of handling high pressure blast guns?
What PPE do you need to use for today’s task?
What should you do if adequate PPE is not available before starting work?
What would you do if you spotted a colleague working in an unsafe manner?