Lifting and Hoisting Safety—Raising the Bar

Abstract One of the major causes of incidents and fatalities associated with E&P activities is in the category of Lifting and Hoisting operations. Within this category are operations as varied as the lifting of loads using forklift trucks, heavy lifts over live facilities, and lifting of topside modules onto offshore facilities. Each type of lift presents a different spectrum of risks that need to be managed if the lift is to be undertaken in a safe and efficient manner. A variety of regulations, standards and guidelines exist related to different aspects of lifting operations; however despite these, incidents continue to occur. Hence, in an effort to bring the E&P industry's focus to this issue, in 2005 the OGP Safety Committee formed a Lifting and Hoisting Safety Task Force. The remit of the Task Force was to develop appropriate tools (guidelines, recommended practices, etc) that will assist E&P companies and their contractors to reduce the number of lifting and hoisting associated incidents. Key areas that the Task Force is addressing include: – Planning of Lifting Operations – Roles and Responsibilities – Personnel Competency and Training – Human Factor issues – Lifting and Hoisting Hardware – Design and Control of Lifting Equipment – Specialized Lifting Operations The paper describes the work of the OGP Lifting and Hoisting Task Force, and its findings, recommendations and proposed strategies with respects to the above issues.