Getting fall arrest equipment right

Description of Incident

A crew person was changing the lamp bulbs on the vessel mast, working at a height of around 4m above the deck. The person was wearing a full set of PPE including a certified safety harness with a lanyard equipped with a shock absorber. There was a Permit to Work in place. However, the total length of all this safety equipment had not been properly taken into account.

• 1.75m: the safety lanyard shock absorber;

• 2m: the lanyard itself;

• 1.9m: the approximate height of the person being protected.

This added up to 5.65m, whereas the person was working 4m above the deck. In the case of a fall from height, the fall arrest equipment would have been of no use and the person could have fallen to deck unprotected. He did not fall – no-one was injured.

To view this IMCA safety alert in full, click the 'Download Alert' button above and refer to section 2 of the document.