Teksal and Dropsafe featured in Oil and Gas Australia magazine

Teksal Safety and Dropsafe featured in the August edition of Oil and Gas Australia, in the article, “Tackling dropped objects in Australian oil & gas”:

Tackling dropped objects (drops) remains a critical concern for firms working in all areas of the oil and gas (O&G) supply chain in Australia.

Across many workplaces, drops have posed a persistent threat to the safety of personnel and the integrity of critical equipment – not to mention the finances, legal standing and reputation of Australian businesses. Statistics from Safe Work Australia show that ‘being hit by falling objects’ accounted for 10% of all fatal workplace injuries in 2018 – up from 8% in 2017. Non-fatal injuries and near-misses are reported daily.

The O&G industry is particularly exposed to drops risks. Working at height is commonplace across the sector, leading to an increased risk of dropped tools, while many facilities – on- and offshore – are subject to vibration and corrosion that weaken the structural integrity of overhead fixtures and fittings, posing a threat to technicians in the vicinity.

Such is the scale of the threat that, in 2017, one global oil company highlighted that 68% of its high potential incidents (HiPos) resulted from drops.

Thankfully, these statistics have not gone unnoticed. O&G businesses, both in Australia and around the world, are taking action to self-regulate in their adoption of best practice drops prevention methods. This concerted action on drops is being taken despite market volatility and is setting O&G businesses apart from their peers in other industries.

An effective drops prevention strategy starts with measures to create a robust safety culture throughout an organisation, incentivise reporting, and establish a hierarchy of controls that minimises exposure of personnel to drops risks. This must be backed up with the deployment of robust, best practice drops prevention equipment to target identified risk areas on site.

To support the rollout of these essential systems to Australian O&G businesses, Dropsafe, the global leader in drops prevention, has partnered with industrial safety equipment supplier, Teksal Safety. This exclusive distributor arrangement will drive industry-wide adoption of Dropsafe’s product range, including:

  • The Dropsafe Barrier – a robust and versatile modular barrier system that attaches to guardrailing, elevated platforms and stairwells, to prevent loose items slipping through the cracks and falling from height.
  • The Dropsafe Net – a widely adopted secondary securing solution that securely encloses and tethers overhead fixtures.
  • The Dropsafe Pouch – a safety device used by technicians to securely enclose and tether tools and other handheld items while working at height.
  • The Dropsafe Barricade – a fully customisable chain barricade system for the safety of employees in high-risk work environments.

Each of these systems provides a cost-effective tool for health and safety managers seeking to create a safe working environment for personnel, reduce the financial cost of equipment damage and site downtime, and ultimately safeguard the reputation of their business.

For the Australian O&G market, they will play an essential role in the ongoing drive to self-regulate and tackle a longstanding threat to safe and sustainable operations.

For more information about any of our Dropsafe solutions, call 1300 TEKSAL or email sales@teksal.com.au.