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Falling Drill Pipe Causes Fatality
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Published on October 01, 2007
On September 26, 2007 the MMS issued Safety Alert No. 254 regarding a rig fatality caused by a
600-pound joint of pipe slipping from a nylon sling and falling onto the victim. The MMS
investigation concluded that the causes of the accident, in part, were: an improperly placed
strap cinch, lack of training and inexperience on the part of the person responsible for
cinching the strap, improper supervisory assignment of duties, the designated operator's
over-reliance on the drilling contractor's safety plan, a lack of specific safety
responsibilities of the designated operator's representative on the rig, and the
drilling contractor's ineffective safety program and HSE department.
The MMS made the following recommendations to all lessees and operators. Please note that these
are not new regulations or an NTL, however, they are MMS recommendations included in an MMS
Safety Alert.
- Lessees and operators should review the adequacy of their policies from a safety perspective
regarding both the selection of contractors and the monitoring of the selected contractor's
onsite performance. Policies should include a complete review and approval of the contractor's
safety plan prior to the selection of the contractor.
- Lessees and designated operators should communicate to their onsite representatives in
writing the safety expectations of the operator and the representative's detailed safety-related
responsibilities. Those responsibilities should include the monitoring of all aspects of the
contractor's onsite performance. Further, the onsite representative should have the authority
to enforce the designated operator's safety expectations as communicated to him.
- Lessees and designated operators should insist that all personnel participating in
rigging/lifting operations on their lease have formal rigger training prior to such
participation.
The investigating panel also recommended that MMS modify 30 CFR 250.108 to include all lifting operations associated with oil and gas operations.
For more information on these issues, please contact Ken Smith at (281) 578-3388
or e-mail at kenneth.smith@jccteam.com.
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