Floorhand Falls to His Death

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.

A floorhand was hoisted 40 feet above the rig floor to adjust the valve on the kelly. He was wearing a fall arrest harness and the driller hoisted him using the winch line. After adjusting the valve, the driller started to lower the floorhand back down, but instead the floorhand swung over to the derrick leg and was disconnected from the winch line. He lost his grip and fell 33 feet to his death. Incomplete pre-job safety discussions, a lack of fall protection and poor communication were all contributing factors in this accident.

Fallen worker fatally injured

Two employees were installing flagging material in the sand line while the rig engine was running. The crew chief, standing by the sand drum controls, leaned forward to assist one of the workers and accidentally bumped the sand drum clutch lever. The drum engaged and one of the employees, whose foot had been resting on the drum, fell into the drum compartment. He died from his injuries. What could have prevented this accident? Following proper lockout/tagout practices, and conducting a proper job safety analysis.