This post was originally written as a newsletter article for ETNZ (June 2017)
Hi all. Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve done an article. Life has thrown a couple of curve balls this year so in the interests of my own health and safety I had to cut back on my ETNZ input for a bit. Back into it now though.
This month I thought I’d touch on one of my pet ranting topics, namely, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and personal protective clothing (PPC) in the overall scheme of risk management. (For some light entertainment feed me a couple of beers at the ETNZ conference dinner, introduce the topic, and watch me go!)
About this time last year I did a short series of articles focusing on risk management (refer to www.hivizevents.co.nz blog articles for the back catalogue). To refresh your memory (and referring to the “hierarchy of control diagram below), when dealing with risks to health and safety, once you’ve identified a risk you need to eliminate it you can (level 1). If it’s not practicable to eliminate it then you need to looks at “level 2” controls and see if there is anything that can be done at this level to reduce exposure to the risk. Once you’ve done what you can at level 2 you need to check to see if there is still any risk remaining and, if there is add level 3 controls to reduce the risk further. And finally once you’ve done all you can at level 3, you add level 4 controls to pick up the remaining risks not captured. Following this order is a legal requirement (refer to the Health and Safety at Work General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016, if you don’t believe me).
So, given the above, hands up who thinks giving workers hard hats to wear and sending them out to work under underneath people rigging on a catwalk above them is effective risk management?
For the sake of argument lets say a 2k Fresnel lighting fixture falls from above, from a 10m height, and hits one of the stage mechs below who is assembling set. Don’t worry just now about who or how, it just happened ok.
From the mech’s perspective will the hard hat save her life? Maybe. As long as it is correctly rated, being worn properly, is not damaged or weakened, and it is a direct blow to the top of the head. Yep it may just stop her head from being slit open and her brains falling out. But would the impact stop severe crushing injuries to the neck, back, shoulders… or whatever other parts of the body get hit? I would suggest no. And what if she is bent over working on something and the impact is off centre, causing the neck to be whipped to the side? I would suggest that the recipient of such an incident would be seriously munted… for a very long time.
From a manager’s, business owner’s or board member’s perspective will that hard hat save your “neck-on-the-chopping-block” in the following Worksafe investigation. Quick question, have you followed the hierarchy of control for risk management?
- Could you have eliminated? Nope… probably not. The lights are definitely was needed for the show.
- Could you have substituted? Nope… the designer definitely needs that particular fixture in that particular location.
- Could you have isolated? Yep… easy. The area beneath the rigging work could have been cordoned off with barriers. The doors to the stage area could have been locked to prevent unauthorised access.
- What about administrative controls for residual risk? Yep… definitely. The schedule could have had overhead rigging occurring at a time when no one else is in the venue. A spotter could be stationed below at the barriers to ensure no one bypasses them. Signage on the doors to the venue could explain why the doors are locked and why there is no access at that time. Communication to all concerned could explain what is happening and why. Training of crew could ensure everyone concerned is competent and the chance of the incident is reduced.
So where does PPE fit in? Maybe there are a couple of essential workers required on the ground during the rigging, people who are working in direct communication with the workers in the grid. People who will step out of the way while the light is being rigged above them, but who could still accidently be hit by a stray washer kicked off the catwalk. The hard hat is there to pick up the very small residue risk remaining after all other controls are in place and working.
The hard hat does not stop exposure to the risk. It doesn’t reduce the likelihood of the incident occurring. What is does is potentially reduce the level of harm when exposure occurs. And given the forces involved in this particular example, possibly not by much.
PPE and PPC definitely does have it’s place in the theatre and on event sites. But only once every other available and practicable precaution has been taken to reduce the likelihood of the incident occurring.
Rant over… see you at conference.
Cathy Knowsley – HiViz Event Management www.hivizevents.co.nz (and ETNZ committee member).
