Debunking Fall Protection Myths

Fall arrest protection is something we do not discuss every day, but there are times when it is needed and there are times when your safety may depend on it. How often have you worked using a step ladder on an upper walkway not thinking about the need to use a safety harness? Yes the fall to the walkway may be only four or five feet, but what happens if the fall sends you over the rail to the deck below? In our business the chances of a fall may not be great, but the consequences are real if someone falls from one deck to the next.

First let's review some of the major points of the Higman Fall Arrest Policy, found in the Personal Safety Manual. These rules are clear:

Full Body Harness

Andy tries on a full body harness.

Only an approved full body harness shall be used. Does your boat have a full body harness readily available for crew use? If it is stashed in some remote storage area on the boat, it may not get used when really needed. Keep it easily accessible preferably with other safety gear.

Note 1: A full body harness should be inspected before use. Check for excessive wear, damage, corrosion and defective components. With painting season on the horizon, order a replacement harness now if yours is not up to par.

Required use

Any time a person is exposed to a fall of more than six feet, a full body harness must be used. This rule is clear and does not need explanation. Any time that a harness may appear necessary, even if the fall is less than six feet, use it! Your judgment comes into play here.

If you think a harness may help prevent injury, than use it.

Attachment Points

Selection of attachment points for the harness lanyard is critical. The attachment point should be of sufficient strength. The manual says the attachment point must be capable of supporting a static load of 5,000 pounds. How do you determine that?

Here is where your judgment and common sense comes in. A section of two inch PVC pipe will not carry 2 ½ tons, but a welded two inch angle across a 2 foot span should easily handle 5,000 pounds. Steel piping less than 1 inch in diameter should not be used.

Fall Protection Myths

How many times have you heard excuses on why fall protection is not being used?

 Fall Protection Myth #1

"I am only going to be up there a couple of minutes".

The length of time working above six feet has no bearing on whether a person might fall. Though it takes time to put on the harness and hook up to an appropriate anchor point, the protection from a fall is worth the extra minutes. If you get in the habit of assessing your fall protection requirement and of properly using the gear, the few extra minute it take will become routine.

Fall Protection Myth #2

"The sudden stop with the harness could break my back. I would rather take my chances with the fall"

This myth goes back to the days of the "Safety Belt". Old time safety belts were attached only around the waist. A backwards fall could put a great force on your spine if in the wrong position. Today's safety harnesses are designed to distribute the force of the fall all around the body. When properly worn and adjusted, the force from the fall will be felt at the shoulders, waist and legs.

As an added protection, the lanyard has a built in shock absorber. The shock absorber pack has a specially woven inner core that smoothly expands to absorb fall arrest forces.

Kevin Cole from the M/V ST CHARLES demonstrates putting on a full body harness.

Fall Protection Myth #3

"It takes too much time to put on a harness"

A modern safety harness once adjusted for an individual can be put on in less than a minute. Keep it in a convenient location onboard and you are ready to work aloft safely in no time. Some boats have designated a "safety Locker" onboard where all critical personal protective gear is stowed. With a safety locker you will always know where your harness is located.

Alternatives to working aloft

If a way to keep from working aloft can be determined, what could be better? Here is an example. The M/V PORT NECHES has wheelhouse windows that require a step ladder to reach. With the possibility of falling two decks when not using fall protection, the crew has developed an alternative method of cleaning the windows.

1. They replaced the spray nozzle on a Windex bottle with one from another product that produces a stream.
2. Spray the windows with the Windex and use a soft brush on a long handle to break up the dirt and salt, etc.
3. Use a squeegee on a long handle to remove liquid and dirt.
4. Use a soft cloth attached to a squeegee and long handle to polish off any remaining dirt and to remove streaks.

Cliff McDuffie show off his wheelhouse window cleaning technique on the M/V PORT NECHES.

What other methods is your boat using to keep from working aloft?

Proper stairway techniques prevent injuries.

Stairways on towboats take on many shapes, sizes and angles. Older, small towboats have narrow, steep stairways which function more like a ladder than a stairway. Newer, bigger boats have wider stairs with an angle more in line with what you might find in your house. 

What is the safest way transverse down one of these stairs?

Steep stairways: transverse down as you would a ladder, face the stairway and carefully step down. Grip the handrail for support.

Less Steep Stairways: transverse down facing forward with one hand behind you, gripping the handrail. Here it is critical that the arm griping the handrail is always behind you. 

Rule of the Uphill Thumb....In all cases, when going up or down, the thumb on your griping hand should always be uphill.

Rule of the "UPHILL THUMB"

Nautical Trivia
Wintertime Northern Fronts in the 1800's

The weather during the wintertime along the Gulf Coast is often dominated by Northern Fronts. These weather systems arrive in late November and early December bringing blustery winds, heavy rain and cold conditions (by southern standards).  For Mariners working on the Gulf Intracoastal waterway, they mean a dramatic decrease in water levels. A strong front can easily lower Galveston Bay water levels by three feet in less than 24 hours.

 

The challenge of the Northern front were especially great in the early days of commercial traffic between Houston and Galveston when the channels were ill defined.  Choppers' Bar, near Morgans Point and Redfish Bar, half way down the bay posed significant challenges for steamboat travel in the 1800's when the Northern fronts hit the coast.  From the Maritime Texas blog is a description of steamboat travel during a Northern front between Buffalo Bayou and Galveston:

 

In the winter of 1843-44, an Englishwoman by the name of Matilda Charlotte Houstoun (pronounced "Haweston") visited Galveston twice with her husband, a British cavalry officer. The Houstouns were making a tour of the Gulf of Mexico, with Captain Houstoun trying to drum up interest in an invention of his for preserving beef. During their second visit, the Houstouns made a trip to Houston and back the 111-ton steamer Dayton, Captain D. S. Kelsey.

 

On the trip back, the little steamer was delayed for two nights at Morgan's Point, at the head of Galveston Bay, because a "norther" had blown so much water from the bay that it was impossible for the boat to get over nearby Clopper's Bar, until the water rose again. The passengers went ashore and occupied their time in various ways; Captain Houstoun managed to shoot a possum, which was a novel creature to him. It was an object of brief curiosity until other passengers, more familiar with the fauna of Texas, appropriated it for the cook with the assurance that the animal was "first rate eating."

 

Galveston 1844

Both Clopper's Bar and Red Fish Bar could be crossed regularly by vessels drawing less than four feet, but this depth of water varied with the tide and weather.

 

Was it dumb luck or just plain being dumb and careless?

The answer is dumb and careless. If I had taken the time to plan out my actions and to do the job without trying to hurry it up so much, it would not have happened.

Are you doing all you can to keep yourself everyday onboard?

Have a great and safe week!