Worker fell from Formwork

Incident

In a recent accident, a worker fell to his death when he was using a chain block to lift a wall formwork into position.
During the lifting, he was standing on top of the formwork to operate the chain block. At the time of the accident, one of the wire sling ropes used for rigging gave way, causing both the formwork and worker to fall.
He fell 3m onto the floor slab below and succumbed to his injuries.



Recommendations
1. Prior to starting work, conduct an adequate risk assessment to identify all potential hazards and the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established and implemented.
2. All persons involved in the work must be adequately trained to be competent for the job, as well as be aware of the risks and the safety precautions required.
3. For any lifting operations, only lifting appliance / machine / gear that have been tested and certified by an authorised examiner should be used. There should not be any unauthorised improvisation or usage of unsuitable or improper appliance / machine / gear.
4. Whenever reasonably practicable, provide engineering control measures such as proper working platforms.
5. Every worker working at height with a risk of falling must be provided with suitable and individual fall arresting device such as a safety harness with lanyard attached to a shock absorbing device. The safety harness must be worn correctly and secured to an anchor point or an independent lifeline at all times.
6. All personal protective equipment (PPE) provided to the workers, including safety harnesses, must be in good condition and with no indication of wear and tear.
7. Provide constant and adequate supervision of the workers to ensure that works are being carried out in a safe manner.
8. The Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations states that:
a. No person is to ride on the loads, buckets, skips, cars, slings or hooks of the machinery during work operations where hoisting machinery is used. (R138)
b. All works involving the erection or dismantling of formwork must be carried out only under the immediate supervision of a formwork supervisor. (R60)

(Extracted from WSH Alert dated 13 Feb 2009)