IMCA reports an incident in which there was a potential dropped object because of an unsecured door on a load. The incident took place when a flat pack spooler unit was being lifted from a vessel onto a platform.
The incident
A flat pack spooler unit was being lifted from the boat to be landed on to the main platform deck. During a lift, the storage door had opened which revealed a small tool box inside which was not secured.
Probable cause
After an investigation was concluded, it revealed the following:
- The Antiluce drop lock had no means of secondary retention during transportation;
- Inconsistent approach to implement best practice across all workshops;
- No prior industry alert sourced for similar occurrence.
Lessons learned
After the incident, the following corrective action was made:
- Secondary retention solution was implemented;
- Raise awareness at morning briefings and safety meetings;
- Ensure final release inspections cover all secondary retention areas on equipment.
In order for this incident not to happen again in the future, IMCA recommended that:
- The recommended method of secondary retention is a tie wrap;
- The recommended size of the tie wrap is between 4.7mm and 13.2mm for drop locks;
- The secondary retention must be in place on all units with drop locks for both outward and inward transportation.
In addition, there are some unsuitable retention methods, which is:
- Do not use linch pins, R-clips, spring; roll; nappy pins or any other kind of pin device as a way of secondary retaining for lifting equipment or securing at height as they can spring open or be knocked out.