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In late 2010 when a well site was being demobilised, a handrail fell from the sub-base walkway of a draw works skid being moved and struck a worker walking below at ground level. The initial contact was a glancing blow to the head, dislodging his hardhat. The handrail then pinned him to the ground. The injured worker is now a quadriplegic with limited hand movement.
The root cause of the incident was that the handrails of the sub-base, either side of the draw works handrail, were left in position when the draw works were moved.
Contributing factors included the lack of suitable guidance documentation, hazard identification and risk analysis, and implementation of safe working practices.
It also appears that documentation capturing, identifying and mitigating the hazards was flawed or absent, and so the hazards and risks associated with the task were not identified in the risk assessment.
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