Planning and pre-operational procedures

How should the operation be planned?

Regarding health and safety and risk management, it is extremely important to plan in detail, and in advance, all the operations that the water jetting work will require.

To begin this planning, it is required to have a meeting with the client to define the nature of the operation (equipment involved, location, configuration, nature of the waste product(s), general plan­ning as part of its duty as coordinator of co-activities, etc.) and to share all the important information concerning health and safety aspects (presence of hazardous substances in the site, etc.).

A job or site inspection by the contractor, together with a representative of the asset owner, to collect valuable information about the working area and conditions are necessary.

This should help the contractor to identify, discuss and establish the following points:

• Potential risks existing in the working area, including interference between activities
• Control measures to be implemented to manage the identified risks
• Potential environmental problems, waste disposal
• Safety standards to adopt
• Emergency procedures to follow

Having collected all this information, the job and all the operations involved can start to be planned. Depending on the nature of the work, the work environment and the risks, the contracting company will define the procedure based on the risks involved, e.g., using a decision tree, as well as on the human and material resources required and available.

Generally, the planning of these procedures should include determining the following aspects:

• The number of workers and any special skills, qualifications or training required
• The need for communication on site, Ex-mobiles, Ex-Walkie-talkies, inbuilt paging devices, etc.
• Equipment required:
• • Water jetting equipment
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • Collective protective equipment
  • Other types of equipment (for example, access equipment)

• Isolation and securing the working area
• Notifying other working companies nearby
• Providing safe work instructions for workers

Which requirements should the working area meet and how should it be defined?

The working area, where the water jetting operations will take place must be clearly defined by using a physical barrier. This way the area will be considered a safety zone.

The establishment of physical barriers have various purposes, the most important of them being:

• Clearly defining the working area, so that all the people who enter it meet the safety require­ments.
• Preventing the entrance of outsiders to the working area.
• Stop people nearby coming into contact with other hazards associated with the jetting opera­tion like aerosol, flying scale or debris falling from above.

Where water jetting operations are not shielded by physical barriers, for example inside a vessel, the perimeter of the defined area should be outside the effective range of the jet of high-pressure water.

The entry point to the working area should be established by the water jetting team before starting the job and should be identified by a sign with words such as: “no unauthorised entry”, “no entry”, “entry prohibi­ted” etc. This entry point should be located where it can be monitored by the operator of the pump assigned to securing the working area or another individual assigned by the contractor or contracting company.

Also, in relation to signalling, when water jetting equipment is being operated, signs indicating some­thing such as “Danger – Water jetting equipment in use” should be displayed where they are clearly visible to people approaching the area and those near the area where the equipment is being used. Signs should also be used to warn people they are approaching a hazardous area. Water jetting opera­tions are generally easy to identify as they are almost always very loud.

Furthermore, the floor, washing bay or the platform where the equipment and operators are carrying out operations must comply to various requirements.

The width of the working floor must be such as the jetter has sufficient freedom of movement to allow themselves to adopt a stable working posture. Moreover, the work floor must permit water to drain away and must be sufficiently clean and non-slip. Surfaces contaminated with slippery waste need to be cleaned frequently to avoid the risk of injury. Working areas must have a stable construction and should not move or be caused to move while the water jetting job is carried out.

When and where should the equipment be placed?

The correct placement or positioning of the water jetting equipment in the working area is very impor­tant for health and safety to avoid risk of tripping/falling or damage to the high-pressure equipment.

In this regard, it should be noted that, if possible, all water jetting equipment, including the water jetting unit should be located within the working area. If a high-pressure pump is set up outside of the working area it needs to be secured against any unauthorised use.

Inside this working area, the water jetting unit must be positioned taking into account a number of cri­teria related to the work to be performed and to the considered environment (explosive atmosphere, soil stability, passers-by etc.). Its position is defined as part of the risk analysis and risk prevention plan.

Furthermore, it must be checked that plant equipment and water jetting equipment placement does not become a hazard and critical access ways, emergency exits, are left unobstructed, and hoses should be arranged to effectively minimize potential tripping hazards.

Which pre-start checks should be done?

Pre-start checks should be done before every water jetting operation to ensure the job will be performed safely. The aspects needed to be check will vary depending on the type of work, the equipment use the and the onsite conditions, etc. However, usually, the following points will always need to be inspected:

• High pressure pump, including mechanical and safety devices
• Cleaning areas need to be secured against unauthorised entry, e.g., with chains or barricade tape, and signs put in place warning of the high-pressure work.
• Hoses, visual inspection of the general condition of the hoses which will be used.
• Vehicles need to be grounded correctly to reduce the risk of a static electrical discharge.
• Special equipment, e.g., automated hands-free systems.
• Special work permits, e.g., Fire permit, entry permit or permit to position a vehicle within a production plant.

These checks can be done in the form of a checklist, which should be completed in consultation with all operators involved in the job. In the following section you will find an example of a checklist for water jetting operations.

Example of a checklist for water jetting operations

Links

• Table of contents of health and safety in water jetting

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