IMCA recently issued its Safety Flashes for December, summarising key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of shipping players.
The incident
The UK Health and Safety Executive has prosecuted a company after a worker suffered a fatal injury using high-pressure water jetting equipment for industrial cleaning purposes.
An employee was using a high-pressure jet washer to clear paint residue from pipes. During the process he was struck by the end of the flexi-lance, causing a fatal injury.
Lessons learned:
- HSE investigation found that the company recognised the risks of operating high-pressure water jetting equipment, but they had failed to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate the risks.
- They had not implemented or enforced the use of various control measures such as a pressure regulator or an anti-ejection device, which were missing at the time of the incident and, training and supervision were also not up to standard.
