The Fujian Refining and Ethylene Project (FREP) is now at the peak of construction with a workforce of about 16 – 18 k persons at site. As of the beginning of the construction we have been putting a lot of emphasis on fall protection. The number and quality of scaffolds at Chinese construction sites is not comparable to any Western site. Therefore we have been focusing strongly on the 100% tie off rule.
We have not always been successful, but over time we have made considerable progress. We have eradicated the three point harness (in favor of the five point harness) and have almost eradicated application of small hooks. Even more importantly, continuous attention and enforcement efforts have significantly stepped up compliance of the workforce to the 100% tie off rule. Life lines for connecting the harnesses have become common now.
We have had a number of cases were proper tie off saved the workers life. Three of those cases have been documented; from two of them we even have pictures. We widely share these pictures at the jobsite in our efforts to boost compliance to a next higher level.
At July 9 2008, proper tie off saved the life of one of the construction workers at the Paraxylene construction site. The workers involved were installing a trust beam as part of the roof of the PX Compressor building. There was no proper work platform and the metal was slippery due to recent rainfall. One of the workers slipped and fell down. His harness was properly tied to the life line and his fall was arrested safely. It just took his colleagues two minutes to get the frightened worker back to safety. Had this worker not been tied off, this fall from a 25 meter height would very likely have resulted in a fatality.
ExxonMobil staff happened to witness this fall and the action of the co-workers to rescue their colleague from his awkward position. See the attached pictures.
Feel free to share these pictures as a proof to workers at your sites: IT PAYS TO BE 100% TIED OFF.
J.J.H.Bos
July 30, 2008
