Health and Safety Executive Health and Safety Executive Dropped Objects Update November 2011 Donald Dobson Health & Safety Executive Offshore Division

Dropped objects – quarterly totals

2011 January to November - All Incidents

Derrick & Well Ops Incidents

Well service mast fell over in extreme wind. Following jarring, bumper bar (10kg) detached from racker & fell 25m to rig floor. Floodlight (18kg) fell 20m to rig floor. Laying out coiled tubing BHA, section (16.3kg) detached & fell 6.4m to rig floor. Removing low-torque valve (43 kg) from completion string, HWU hand dropped valve 24m to skid deck. Sling parted lowering choke hose (1715kg) through rotary table, hose fell 43m into sea. Top-drive service loop snagged on derrick; end pulled from top- drive, dropping 30m to rig floor. Picking up wire-line valve (130kg), it detached from running tool & fell 4.3m to rig floor. Using tong head (42kg) as counter-weight on tugger, attachment point failed; head fell 6m to rig floor

Crane & Lifting Operations

“Chandelier” & whip-line limit switch detached from crane, falling 45m to deck of vessel Lifting vent fan motor (208kg) into place, nylon sling melted by turbine exhaust gas. Motor fell 2m onto grating. Moving catwalk machine, tag line snagged handrail which fell 3m Tag line snagged torque wrench (7.4kg), knocking it off lower riser assembly, striking IP on knee.

Other dropped objects

Other Dropped Objects Section of ventilation ducting (500kg) dropped 8m onto walkway below Scaffolder struck redundant flood light fitting with pole; fitting (25kg) fell 3.5m. Ceiling panel & emergency lighting unit (18kg) fell 2.2m. Large spanner (1.26kg) dropped 7m from scaffolding to deck. Stacking blank flange (31kg) it slipped between handrail and kick plate, falling 4.7m to stairway below. Scaffold board (4.8kg) on port bridge deck dislodged by helicopter downdraft & fell to C deck 10m below. Deck hatch lifting point cover fell through lifting point when scaffolder stood on it