Could This Have Been You?

On average, 5,000 to 6,000 workers are killed each year. Learn from the following reports of real workplace fatalities to avoid a similar fate.

Tell your crew about what happened to these workers. Failing to identify hazards before a job leads to many accidents in the oil and gas industry.

Lowering A-legs in the oil and gas industry can be hazardous if all the wrong things happen, and they did to one Alberta worker.

What happened?
He was moving an oil rig when the A-leg he was attempting to lower, fell and crushed him.

An oil rig crew was finishing the process of laying down an oil rig derrick on two bed trucks in preparation for the move. The worker assisted a gin pole truck operator in rigging the A-leg section of a mast so a spreader bar could be removed and the A-leg lowered.

The A-leg was secured to a lifting lug that was attached to a hook and winch line of the gin pole truck. The worker removed a pin that secured a spreader bar to the derrick and then climbed onto the derrick to remove the spreader bar. The worker pulled the spreader bar off, lost his balance and fell forward under the suspended A-leg. Simultaneously, the lifting lug used in lowering and raising the A-legs failed. The A-leg fell on the worker, causing fatal injuries.

What was the cause?
Occupational health and safety officers concluded that the causes of the incident were:

• Use and failure of an uncertified lug
• Worker lost his balance, causing him to fall under a suspended load
• Lack of documented safe work procedures regarding lowering of A-legs

Preventing a recurrence
The following measures were implemented by the employer to prevent further incidents:

• Re-engineering and certification of the lifting lug on the A-leg component
• Development of safe work procedures for lowering and raising A-legs
• Conducting on-site meetings to communicate hazards and new procedures for rig moves
• Conducting a presentation on the fatality, the hazards and the corrective measures to the
• Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors
• Development and distribution of an industry alert bulletin
• Plans for an external health and safety audit