With preparation to disassemble and remove a 475-foot piece of piping atop the Agent Processing Building currently underway, Pueblo plant workers continue their essential focus on safety while working at heights.
“Elevated work environments cause potential hazards to increase exponentially due to multiple factors, including rigging, scaffolding, and the dangers of falling and dropped tools or equipment,” said Randy Garver, mechanical engineer, Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (PCAPP), who has more than 30 years of experience in the mining and demilitarization industries.
Garver said because working at heights introduces additional risks of accidents and injuries, identifying hazards and implementing appropriate control measures are mandatory. To minimize threats, PCAPP workers must be certified in rigging, scaffolding and fall protection. In addition, a walkdown must be held prior to any work being done, which includes a job hazard analysis, work-order risk assessment and signoffs both by workers and supervisors.
“What makes this type of work dangerous is the mixing of difficult tasks at the same time,” Garver said. “All of these procedures are high-hazard work with significant potential for human errors.”
The potential for falling objects poses a significant risk to those working at height and people working or passing below, Garver said. These objects range from small hand tools to larger items like building materials. When an object falls from a height, it can gain considerable speed and force, leading to severe injuries or fatalities upon impact.
PCAPP follows stringent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and has maintained its longstanding Star Status designation in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program due to the plant’s safety culture and record.