Falls from height in Shipbuilding
Falls from height remain a significant risk in shipbuilding environments, where complex vessel structures and shifting work surfaces create constant hazards for your crew. Implementing proactive safety measures is essential to protecting your workers and maintaining a secure, efficient operation on the shipyard floor.
About 94% of related real accidents concentrate in these types.
Key prevention
- Ensure all elevated work platforms, scaffolding, and ladders are inspected daily for structural integrity and stability before use.
- Mandate the use of appropriate personal fall arrest systems, such as full-body harnesses and shock-absorbing lanyards, whenever workers are operating near unprotected edges.
- Install robust guardrails and toe boards around deck openings and staging areas to prevent both accidental falls and the dropping of tools or materials.
- Maintain clear, well-lit, and unobstructed walkways to prevent trips that can lead to secondary falls from elevated surfaces.
- Conduct regular, site-specific safety briefings that focus on the unique vertical hazards associated with the current stage of vessel construction or repair.
Related accident cases
An employee fell from a dock while performing loading and unloading operations and subsequently drowned.
An employee died while performing maintenance work inside a vessel.
An employee died while performing maintenance work inside a vessel.
An employee fell from a barge and drowned while performing transport, loading/unloading, and operation tasks. The incident occurred in a land, marine, atmospheric, and cultivation area for which detailed information was lacking.
An employee fell from a vessel and drowned while working inside the ship. This incident occurred in the interior area of a vessel.
An employee slipped and fell into a confined space while working, resulting in a fatality. This incident highlights significant hazards that threaten worker safety.