Near-miss: Dropped object narrowly misses worker
- Safety Flash
- Published on 30 November 2005
- Generated on 12 September 2026
- IMCA SF 11/05
- 1 minute read
During some pipe work on the deckhead of a production platform, a spanner weighing 1.4 kg was dropped from the work place and fell 6 metres, landing only one metre from another worker.
What were the causes?
The immediate causes of this near-miss were that:
- the workplace was not adequately secured against the risk of dropped objects
- there was an opening in the grating allowing the object to fall.
Underlying causes noted were that:
- the work had been improperly managed and organised
- there had been no procedures in place for this type of work.
Lessons learnt
The resulting investigation made the following recommendations:
- Use should be made of checklists for safe work at heights
- Checks should be made and, where necessary, deficient floor grating should be repaired
- Clear marking out of barriers in areas below working areas should be ensured
- Permit to work systems should be correctly adhered to.
IMCA Safety Flashes summarise key safety matters and incidents, allowing lessons to be more easily learnt for the benefit of the entire offshore industry.
The effectiveness of the IMCA Safety Flash system depends on the industry sharing information and so avoiding repeat incidents. Incidents are classified according to IOGP's Life Saving Rules.
All information is anonymised or sanitised, as appropriate, and warnings for graphic content included where possible.
IMCA makes every effort to ensure both the accuracy and reliability of the information shared, but is 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.
Share your safety incidents with IMCA online. Sign-up to receive Safety Flashes straight to your email.