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Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 041

ABB – 27 April 2007

Incident head injury lesson learnt

The following is the report and lessons learnt following the incident that happened at an Esso
site in Germany which was previously reported in bulletin no 39.

LOCATION: Munich, Germany DATE: 11-4-2007

ALERT DATA
During the removal of a ladder from an oil/water interceptor the operator received a cut to the head. The incident
happened on an Esso Service Station Munich, Germany at 17:30 on the 11th of April.

INVESTIGATION RESULTS
The incident was investigated by ExxonMobil, ABB Germany, ABB CT HSSE and the contractor. We reviewed
all relevant details of the incident with the contracting company and their safety advisor. Following initial
discussions the incident was simulated on a site and the original equipment was set up to demonstrate what
occurred.

WHAT HAPPENED?
When repair work on the interceptor was completed by a two man crew one operator started to remove the
equipment used to gain entry to the interceptor, this consisted of a recovery tripod, harness, life lines and ladder.
He pulled the 4m ladder from the manhole chamber but did not remove the tripod. As the tripod was directly
above the manhole it obstructed the exit path for the ladder, he did not request assistance from the other crew
member on site. The operator continued to remove the ladder but because of the tripod had to maneuver the
ladder at an angle, this however resulted in the ladder becoming unstable and falling to one side. The operator
fell to the ground and the ladder struck him on the head as his safety helmet also fell off, this resulted in a cut
above the eye. An ambulance was called as a precaution and he was removed to hospital. He received a
plaster clamp to the wound which avoided any stitching being necessary.