Proforma Safety Blog

Grating Can Pinch Fingers

Posted by proforma on November 21, 2011  |  No Comments

Pinched fingers may not seem life threatening, but represent the kinds of injuries that are completely avoidable if the correct tools are made available. In this instance, an offshore maintenance worker injured his fingers while moving a 3 ft. by 3 ft. floor grating. The after action review found this had become a common practice at this installation.

Lead in Pipe Dope Can Contaminate Workers’ Homes

Posted by proforma on July 24, 2011  |  No Comments

Pipe dope, found at many oilfield sites, is a threading compound that often contains high amounts of lead. Not only is the lead dangerous for oilfield workers; they also transport the lead home where children can be exposed.

Pipe dope is difficult to remove from clothing and can be transferred to the employee’s car or home. According to this article in EHS, using oil-resistant gloves can help avoid contamination, as will washing your hands, showering at the workplace and changing clothes after handling pipe dope. Work clothes should not be washed with the family’s laundry.

Better yet, lead free pipe dope should be substituted.

Whole Lotta Shaking Loosens Equipment on Derrick

Posted by proforma on July 5, 2011  |  No Comments

Everything on the derrick floor should be carefully inspected to ensure it’s properly retained, and all equipment, whether temporary or permanent, should have secondary retention. That’s the learning from this incident, in which a speaker was shaken loose from the back of the monkey board, breaking loose from its mounting post.

NOPSA Reports Increase in Accidents or Dangerous Occurences in 2010

Posted by proforma on September 17, 2010  |  No Comments

Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) has reported the number of accidents or dangerous occurrences increased by 13 precent at offshore Australia oil and gas facilities between January and June 2010. In its Offshore Health and Safety Performance Report for June 2010, NOPSA reported the most common root causes for incidents over the past five years were procedures not followed, preventive maintenance and design specifications. For details, click here.

Floorman Killed on Monkey Board in Avoidable Accident

Posted by proforma on July 1, 2010  |  No Comments

A floorman was struck in the abdomen by either the drill pipe or winch wire and later died of his injuries. In this report, the cause was attributed to a number of factors, including poor communication, lack of competency and inadequate risk assessment.

Life Hangs by a Thread…Or Carabiner

Posted by proforma on April 29, 2010  |  No Comments

Something as small as a carabiner can make the difference between safe and unsafe operations. In this case, a crew member in a man-riding harness was connected by carabiner to the tugger, operated by another crew member. As the crew member began lowering — holding a cement hose with his right arm — the carabiner broke. The worker fell to the rig floor, but used the cement hose to slow his descent and land on his feet. Upon investigation, it was determined that the carabiner failed because the gate was unlocked, and the gate was unlocked because dirt was lodged in the gate mechanism. For details, view this NOPSA report.

The Deepwater Horizon Tragedy

Posted by proforma on April 28, 2010  |  No Comments

From all of us at

Tags:accident, explosion, fatality, offshore GOM, oilfield worker, Workplace Safety

Filed Under: Workplace Safety