A recent Safety Flash by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), focuses on an incident in which a rigger suffered a serious injury when his finger got trapped between a sling and one of the forks on a fork-lift truck, to provide lessons learned.
The incident
The incident occurred when the rigger was installing a steel wire sling on one fork of the fork-lift truck in stand-by, and the fork-lift operator started to lift the fork without instruction or alert from the banksman nearby.
What went wrong
- The experienced fork-lift operator started to lift the fork without any instructions, without any reference to the Banksman who was the person through whom communication ought have been channelled;
- The rigger took no account of the fact that his fingers were IN THE LINE OF FIRE;
- Neither the task nor its risks were suitably assessed by the lifting team.
What were the causes
IMCA’s member identified the following as causes:
- Complacency – the fork-lift operator acted without thinking, based on previous experience;
- Lack of communication.
Lessons learned
- Always wait on clear instructions or signals from the Banksman during lifting operations, particularly if you don’t have a clear overview of the work area;
- Think through where you position yourself – keep out of the line of fire;
- Ensure everyone involved in the task takes part in, and is properly briefed at, a toolbox meeting before starting, and that this meeting covers all the hazards involved;
- IMCA’s member took steps to arrange for this particular task to be done in a different way in order to prevent recurrence.
