A near-miss incident involving a fall from height during well intervention activity recently occurred. While tripping tubing in the hole, the derrickman’s self-retracting lifeline (SRL) became wrapped around the tubing stand being latched in the elevators. As a result, the derrickman was lifted approximately seven feet off the tubing board before the SRL line broke and tore his safety harness. The derrickman, still fastened by the positioning lanyard (belly rope), fell to the tubing board.
Lessons Learned: Do not allow derrickman to wrap SRL lines around anything. Doing so can create slack in the lifeline which can be caught by moving parts in the derrick, and/or prevent the SRL from functioning properly in the event of a fall.
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The OSA – of which Energy Workforce is a founding member – is a voluntary industry coalition committed to reducing serious injuries and fatalities in U.S. onshore oil and gas exploration and production.
