Skip to content

Near miss: failure of work procedures during hot work at height

What happened?

During a crew change handover walk around the vessel hull, the Master observed a welder working close to the open/unsecured edge of a PS davit area. The incident occurred during planned installation of additional access support plates at the port side davit area. A ‘hot work permit to work’ was raised for completion of welding activities; the work area was agreed, a risk assessment conducted, and a toolbox talk (TBT) signed off by all participants.

Welding operations were immediately stopped, and additional fall prevention measures installed.

Arrow showing welder working with unprotected edge behind and potential to fall into water

What was the cause?

The person authorizing the work did not properly assess the work area. Unprotected edge-related working at height hazards were left unattended with no safety precautions considered.

What went wrong?

  • STOP WORK AUTHORITY was not applied;
  • Risk seen as tolerable: the person working near the unprotected edge considered the job as a ‘quick 5-minute task, so nothing to worry about’.

Members may wish to refer to:

Safety Event

Published: 6 March 2020
Download: IMCA SF 09/20

Relevant life-saving rules:
IMCA Safety Flashes
Submit a Report

IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of all. The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on Members sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Please consider adding [email protected] to your internal distribution list for safety alerts or manually submitting information on incidents you consider may be relevant. All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate.

IMCA’s store terms and conditions (https://www.imca-int.com/legal-notices/terms/) apply to all downloads from IMCA’s website, including this document.

IMCA makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in the documents it publishes, but IMCA shall not be liable for any guidance and/or recommendation and/or statement herein contained. The information contained in this document does not fulfil or replace any individual’s or Member's legal, regulatory or other duties or obligations in respect of their operations. Individuals and Members remain solely responsible for the safe, lawful and proper conduct of their operations.