There has been a dramatic increase in dropped objects occurring offshore Western Australia in the first quarter of 2013.
Nine dropped object notifications have been received by NOPSEMA so far this year.
All of these dropped objects have occurred on mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs).
As a comparison, one dropped object was reported on a single MODU for the same period in 2012 and a total of 13 for the entire year.
The weights and heights of the dropped objects ranged from a couple of kilo's to over 2 tons and from less than 1 metre to 43 metres.
The ‘DROPS Calculator’ highlights that a mass of as little as 700 grams falling from a height of 15 metres could result in a fatality.
Dropped objects have included drill pipe and casing, a spool of wire rope, a navigation light fitting, slip inserts, a hose bundle, an equipment handle and a camera located in the derrick.
Three members of the workforce have recieved injuries as a result of three separate dropped object events.
Two workers required a medical evacuation from the offshore facility, while another worker required first aid treatment.
In another case, a member of the workforce was standing only 2 metres from where a 28 kilogram object landed having dropped from a height of 19 metres.
Analysis using the industry supported ‘DROPS Calculator’indicates that six of these dropped object events could have resulted in a fatality.
Analysis of the dropped object events in 2012 highlighted the predominant root causes as being:
1. Poor design of equipment;
2. Work procedures not being followed correctly;
3. Wrong procedures used or no procedures used;
4. Dropped objects not anticipated and factored into the planning for the work;
5. Lack of training, lack of instruction, lack of understanding of the task; and
6. Preventive maintenance issues.
Operators and other duty holders need to take urgent action to arrest this worrying trend.
The Risk Management Tool Box re-iterates the requirement for duty holders in offshore and onshore environments to ensure an appropriate balance of preventative and mitigative control measures are identified and implemented during lifting operations.
There is also a critical need to apply the hierarchy of controls to kinetic energy hazards which are present during lifting operations.
In particular, operators are reminded that the control mechanisms should focus on elimination, substitution and engineering controls before consideration of administrative controls and the use of PPE.