Plant – Cement – A miner was assigned the task of tightening pre-heater spandrel panel bolts when he lost his footing and fell. The fall was arrested by the miner’s personal fall-arrest system, which consisted of a full body harness, 6’ “Y” lanyard, and a 6’ extender cable in the basket configuration. The miner was tied off at shoulder level, but with the addition of the extender cable, his free fall distance was slightly above 6’. The fall did not result in the elongation of the shock-absorbing lanyard or activation of the fall indicators on the full body harness. Co-workers promptly rescued him in using rigging equipment in place from the installation of the panels. The miner was uninjured.
Best Practices
• Wear fall protection where there is a danger of falling.
• Conduct a risk analysis before starting a task to identify hazards and implement measures to ensure persons are properly protected.
• Train all personnel to help them recognize potential hazards and understand procedures to safely perform tasks.
• Monitor work tasks to reinforce safe procedures and obtain feedback from employees on the use of fall protection systems to ensure their commitment.