Yesterday, BSEE issued investigation reports for 2 of the fatal 2020 incidents. Both of these incidents involved falls, a chronic and preventable cause of offshore worker casualties. Not enough industry and trade association attention is given to such incidents, which have been trivialized in the past by categorizing them as “slips, trips, and falls.” The reports are linked below:
- Fatality at DCOR’s Platform Gilda, Pacific Region: While repairing a section of the galley floor, the victim stepped into the unbarricaded work area and fell 80 feet into the Pacific. .
- Fatality at Fieldwood’s Ewing Bank 826 A Platform, Gulf of Mexico: While the crew was replacing badly corroded grating on the platform. the victim fell through a section landing 50 feet below on the +10 deck.
The reports describe how the incidents occurred and what we can do better to prevent similar events in the future. Despite the advance in safety management programs over the past 30 years, there has been no discernible improvement in preventing these incidents. We need to rethink training programs, planning, and methods. Deadly falls are not inevitable.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 