What happened: NMOPENING IN DECK WITHOUT PROPER BARRIERS' Employee was assigned task of cleaning the

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Shell EPW Wells HSE Learning Bulletin
Fountain No 149995 Location GOM Date
01/04/2008 Risk Ranking Actual - Level 0
Potential - C4 People
What happened NM-OPENING IN DECK WITHOUT PROPER
BARRIERS. Employee was assigned task of cleaning
the process pits from the top, which involved
standing on the grating above the pit and washing
it down with water from a hose. A removable
piece of grating (3-ft x 3-ft) was removed for
the task and no barricade was erected. While
washing the pit, the employee noticed that the
pits overboard drain was not draining. The
employee left the work area (and pit opening
unattended) to verify that the necessary valves
were open. He subsequently found the line
plugged with barite and frac-sand and began
working to clear the line. The deck opening was
discovered when another employee entered the door
to the process pit area, who immediately
contacted the Drilling Foreman and resulted in
the grating being replaced and the job suspended
until proper controls were re-established.

• Preliminary Learning Points
• Policy of erecting barricades prior to creating a
  deck opening was not adhered to. Policy is being
  reviewed with all crews.
• Existing generic pit cleaning JSA has been
  revised to include specific hazards associated
  with cleaning of the pits from the top
  (removing the deck grating).
• A JSA for removing grating (as part of any task)
  has been developed and approved referencing the
  requirement for hard barricades guarding open
  holes and personal fall protection when working
  inside of barricades.
• Hard barricades for the process pits have been
  built and stored in the area to be readily
  available as needed. Barricades for active pits
  are in the process of being engineered for the
  same reason.

Stairway
Door fwd side to process pit area
3x3 grating was removed
 This Learning Bulletin provides preliminary
learnings. A detailed investigation is pending.