In the latest edition of its Lookout publication, Maritime NZ describes a case of a severe leg injury onboard a dredge, highlighting that the owner company employed an engineering firm to assist with a repair and did not hold a meeting with the engineering firm and all staff members (including the victim) to make everyone aware of any possible risks.
The incident
While maintenance was being carried out on the pump, two men in the engine room were preparing equipment for reassembly. When the main operator went to rotate the one-metre diameter face plate, the other man told him it was extremely heavy. The victim started to lose control of it and stepped backwards, tripping on the anchor plate. The face plate landed on the man’s right leg, breaking it in two places.
Where there are two PCBUs (Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking), they are required to consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) – which should include holding a toolbox meeting before commencing work.
But the company that owns the dredge employed an engineering firm to assist with the repair –and did not hold a meeting with the engineering firm and all staff members (including the victim) to make everyone aware of any possible risks.
A company investigation recommended reviewing the procedure for toolbox meetings and how they are documented. The injured man acknowledged he should have used the correct lifting device to move the face plate, and that the anchor plate he had walked over multiple times should have been removed from the walkway and working area.
Lessons learned
- Failure to conduct a health and safety or toolbox meeting with all staff members that were operating on the repair and also between the two PCBUs contributed to this accident.
- Better decisions are made when everyone in the workplace shares their knowledge and experience and takes responsibility for a safe working environment.
- Under HSWA “overlapping duties” means that responsibility for health and safety is shared by the businesses or PCBUs that share a workplace.
- The injured man was not involved with the planning of the work by the engineering company, and was not involved with the removal of the face plate. He did not know that a chain block was needed the first time it was removed.
- The face plate had an estimated weight of 200kgs, and should have been identified as a hazard. Employees should have been made aware of such hazards. The anchor plate, with its raised edge of five centimetres, should not have been left in the walkway.
- The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requires that workers as well as maritime operators (PCBUs) and ships’ masters (officers) have responsibilities for health and safety. This means the employee should have also taken responsibility – by considering his well-being, and that of others around him, before attempting a dangerous task by himself.