Are you safe from a fall while in an elevated basket? No is the answer. See the shared learning below. This is exactly why
we wear our Personal Protective Equipment Properly; it is our
last line of defense if the unexpected does happen.
Description of Incident: An employee of Honeywell subcontractor United Mechanical was working in an aerial lift installing pipe hangers. The lift was positioned over a metal grate. The grate gave way allowing a wheel of the lift to drop about 3 feet into the trench. This threw the employee out of the cage. He was saved from a fall of over 30 feet by wearing his fall protection. When he was ejected from the work platform, the employee struck his head on ceiling structures and broke his nose. Another lift was used to rescue him and he was taken to a health care facility for treatment.
Immediate Causes: Employees head struck ceiling structures
Root Causes: Inadequate floor grate design/installation – support was inadequate at the corners and failed under the weight of the aerial lift. A concrete lip provides support for the grate in all the straight runs, but not at the corners.
HSE Management System Core Process Failures: Operational Controls: Inadequate floor grate design/installation
Corrective Actions:
- Mark floor hazards and avoid driving equipment over floor grates where possible
- Require use of metal sheets over grates if driving over them is not avoidable
- Reinforce use of fall protection on aerial lifts – it probably saved this man’s life
