The day before yesterday (18th), 1 dead and 3 injured in a confined space work accident occurred at the Siu Ho Wan Sewage Treatment Plant. The Hong Kong Pipeline Professional Association and the Community, Construction and Engineering Professional Development Center believed that the accident was due to insufficient safety awareness and failure to use safety equipment properly. As a result, it is recommended that machinery should be used to replace workers in hazardous work as much as possible, and the current training courses need to be reviewed, emphasizing that the safety of working in confined spaces should not be ignored.
Huang Jing believes that the accident was caused by insufficient safety awareness and failure to properly use safety equipment.
(Photo by Ma Weijie)
The day before yesterday, a confined work accident occurred at the Siu Ho Wan Sewage Treatment Plant. Three male and one female staff were trapped in a sewage well with a depth of 8 meters. In the end, the female staff were seriously injured and the other three were seriously injured.
Huang Jing, the former president of the Hong Kong Pipeline Professional Association and the president of the Community, Construction and Engineering Professional Development Center, believes that the accident was caused by insufficient safety awareness in confined spaces and failure to use safety equipment properly.
Huang Jing believes that sending workers to work in confined spaces should be exempted or exempted. It is recommended that advanced equipment should be used in place of workers in order to commit personal risks.
For example, the use of drones, remote control vehicles and other three tools for detection, or 3D scanning detectors for channel status scanning; when performing any ultra-high 1.5-meter operation, adequate fall prevention measures should be taken, including the use of lifelines or safety harnesses, For manhole work that is too deep, manpower should be deployed to monitor the situation in the well in real time, and to respond immediately when an accident occurs.
Huang Jing also believes that the industry should strengthen safety training in confined spaces, saying that the current theoretical hours and internships are not enough.
The current course requirements for approved workers in confined space operations only require 8 hours, while courses for qualified personnel in confined space operations only require 16 hours. It is difficult to ensure that the constructors fully understand and face up to the correct safety procedures.
Huang Jing believes that approved workers must include a minimum of 16 hours of theory and 8 hours of internship; for qualified persons, a minimum of 24 hours of theory and 16 hours of internship are required to enable workers to understand the importance of working safety in confined spaces.
In addition, the current confined space and related safety and health laws were enacted 20 years ago, and Huang Jing believes that a review is necessary.
He mentioned that employers and contractors have the responsibility to protect the safety and health of workers, and should provide adequate protective equipment for employees to use at work. "Safety is about investment, not cost." He mentioned that employers in the industry will reduce the cost of safety equipment because of cost savings. , I think it is very irresponsible, and also mentioned that employers and even relevant officials and members should participate in approved workers and qualified persons courses, in order to decipher the importance of working safety in the secret space.
Workers at Siu Ho Wan fell into the manhole and caused 1 death and 3 injuries. The Drainage Services Department set up an independent team to thoroughly investigate the Siu Ho Wan Sewage Treatment Plant. 4 Workers fell into manholes, female workers were comatose and died in hospital