Page 1542 - Xmo Strata - Bulletin Archive

Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 575

06 July 2017

Waste Left In/On Canopies

As part of our potential incident / near miss investigation reports, we categorise each incident by
activity / object involved in the incident.

Over the past two years we have received 19 incidents where we found waste inside the canopy
structure, as well as another 15 incidents where waste was found on top of roofs.

Often this waste is gutters that have been removed / replaced by contractors on site. The waste is left
suspended on the purlins inside the canopy, causing them additional stress for which there were not
designed. All these incidents are reported to the client, and where reasonably practicable we remove the
waste at the time of discovery.

At a recent site, when removing canopy sheeting, we found waste boards had been left directly on top of
the canopy sheets, causing it to fall when removing the sheet. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and the
waste fell into the MEWP.

When removing sheeting, it is important to stay out of the line of fire in case anything is loose in the
canopy, or dust settled on the sheet is disturbed. Remember that the area around the MEWP must be
barriered to prevent people entering the safety buffer zone around the MEWP. This barriered buffer
zone is still needed, even on a closed site – you need to ensure other contractors keep out of the line of
fire should something fall.

If you find waste on site, remove it if it is safe and simple to do so. Waste inside canopies (where it is
often not a simple job to remove) should be reported as a PI so the client can be notified.

Waste Gutter inside canopy