Working at Heights or Outboard
It’s easy to identify falling risks, but it can be harder to identify the correct selection of a suitable method to prevent the fall.
- Always tell the Skipper / helmsman before going aloft for any reason.
- Always use the correct PPE and equipment – a bosun's chair or safety harness and line.
- When carrying tools or parts aloft, tie them with a lanyard so they won't fall and injure someone.
- Make sure that all electrical equipment is de-energised before going aloft. Check that there is no equipment / machinery in the immediate vicinity that could cause problems (rotating radar scanners, loose blocks, etc).
- Because of the radiation and strike hazards posed by the rotating scanners, always alert the skipper or man on watch before you do such work and remove fuses or break the circuits to render the equipment inoperable. Post a "Man Aloft" sign on the equipment.
- When working over the side of the vessel, make sure that there is someone on standby in case of emergency. Wear a lifejacket at all times.
- Safety harnesses, fall arrestors and retractable lifelines can be used while working at heights or outboard.
