201727 Improvised work method causes injuries

 

As edited from Marine Safety Forum Safety Alert 16-20

During deck maintenance a roller on a winch fairlead was found to be seized. The crew decided to attempt to loosen the roller by using a pallet lifting strop, wrapped several times around the roller, and then fastened to the rail crane fitted on the vessel. When the crane driver applied tension the pallet strap hook broke. The resulting snap-back of the strop hit one of the crew in the back causing severe injuries.

The pallet strop hook was incorrectly secured to the crane hook, making it much weaker than the Safe Working Load (SWL) of the lifting strop itself.

Lessons learned
- A critical examination of the hook-up before tension was applied would have revealed the hazard; the strop hook is not meant to have tension applied in that fashion. Always do a mental risk assessment when trying new work methods. Ask yourself ‘What can happen here?’
- When tension is applied to a system, always stand well clear of the potential snap-back zone.