Why DROP survey is important?
The safety of any work site is very important especially when it’s a such hazardous industry as the drilling industry. One of the top reasons for injuries on oil and gas rigs is the falling of objects or what is also known as dropped objects.
The paramount key to preventing this risky situation from happening is using the DROPS object survey, which is a well-tailored inspection survey dedicated to the workers of this industry to maintain the highest safety standards, and that’s why the DROP object survey is important.
But first, we need to understand what the DROP object survey is before digging deeper and getting to know the benefits of implementing this survey in the work sites.
What is a DROPS survey?
Dropped Object Prevention Scheme or DROPS survey is considered a vital procedure of any condition inspection, it helps the oil and gas industry workers to identify the possible risks of dropped objects on work sites. Also, it helps in carrying out the recommendations and the best maintenance strategy to prevent all hazardous situations.
The survey takes place in different site parts such as ladders, and catwalks. masts, derricks, etc… to locate the possible risks and conducted the needed actions and recommendations.
Keep in mind that the DROPS survey needs to be implemented regularly, professional organizations tend to assign a team within each site to inspect and conduct the DROPS survey.
Why should companies implement a DROPS survey on the work site?
The main purpose of the DROPS survey is to maintain safety on site and also eliminate the risks of falling objects. One should also know that there are two types of falling objects such as the following:
Static dropped object: any object that, as a result of gravitational forces, falls from its original location under its weight, yet without any applied force. Such as a failure brought on by corrosion or bad fixes.
Dynamic dropped object: any object that a force causes to fall from its place. Consider impacts involving moving machinery or cargo, snagging on stacking, moving objects, motion, helicopter downdraft, or extreme weather.
Dropped object prevention on work sites
Almost 30% of dropped object accidents are related to technical or mechanical design problems. Yet, around half can be attributed to human factors. The causes of dropped objects can vary but the most common reasons are related to loosening objects, gravity, wind, lack of awareness, and inadequate inspection or maintenance.
Dropped object recommended practices:
Since the oil and gas industry workers are exposed to a lot of danger whether it’s an onshore or offshore job site, there’s no doubt that they need a DROPS survey, but also, they need to follow a couple of practices to prevent dropped object incidents such as:
- Apply the “Hierarchy of Controls” to eliminate or reduce exposure to dangers.
- Be mindful of “No-entry” and “Restricted Access Zones” where it’s a dangerous areas.
- Try to identify specific places with higher risk by monitoring and measuring performance.
- Practice risk-reduction instruction for workers in dangerous environments.
- Set up rotational DROPS survey checks.
- Take care when securing aid in the development of systematic learning and ongoing improvement.
How did beXel develop the DROPS survey?
beXel successfully managed to develop a DROPS survey on many worksites onshore and offshore to define the errors and risks and put all the necessary recommendations through the pre-defined data set for the objects’ inspection checklists. Additionally, the technical/QA team can manage it through the web control panel.
For Inspection Companies, field inspectors, and our clients, the beXel system is more than user-friendly. The clients can complete their checklist on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, or annual basis and receive reports in a variety of formats.
Benefits of beXel’s DROPS survey:
- Protect the worksite: it allows you to inspect and identify hazardous objects and reduce or prevent dangerous situations.
- Digital assistance: It gives you full reports and checklists digitally smartly and efficiently to use.
- Detailed oriented system: It ensures safety measures are taken in the working site aligned with drops inspection best practices.
Other inspections for site safety:
DROPS survey is one of various modules and software beXel provides, that not only assures the safety of the worksite using a digitalized method but also guarantees operational cost savings, audit-proof & compliance, customer experience, and efficiency. You can read more about our use cases! beXel also provide
- Lifting Inspection
- NDT Inspection
- Tubular Inspection
- Asset Management Software
- Job Order Management
Finally, the key to keeping safety on worksites is doing regular inspections. We at beXel have very long experience in inspection and maintenance systems and we developed our systems to be customized based on our client’s needs. Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly blogs for more information and updates on the inspections systems.