Hello all,

Access was required this morning to the TCS TK2 Expansion Tank to open a valve and re-fill the tank.

As the access path to this tank lacked any form of Fall Protection, Fall Arrest was employed.

Worksafe BC Part 11 Section 11.2 requires fall protection to be employed at elevations greater than 3 meters.  The expansion tank is located at an elevation far exceeding this regulation.
http://www2.worksafebc.com/publications/ohsregulation/part11.asp

The worker, Allon Messenberg, was fitted with a harness, personal self-retracting lifeline / lanyard with shock-pack, and carried two steel rope ring-ended slings with him to tie off to the structural beams overhead.  All products used were DBI-Sala safety products, which are kept in the Remote Handling machine shop Fall Protection Equipment lockers.  Several RH group members have keys to this locker, including me.

Three configurations were required to gain access to the tank (photo attached):
Configuration 1: Traversing the section between the 2nd floor offices and the ventilation duct.
Configuration 2: Traversing the section between the ventilation duct and the "cross point" of the structural beams.
Configuration 3: Tied-off to the "cross point" of the structural beams and working within the reach limits of the personal SRL and shock-pack.

Transitions between the three configurations required brief moments of un-clipping from the harnesses.  This will be solved in the future via the use of additional carabiners and lanyards.

Operations has advised me that they have observed either TRIUMF workers or contractors working in this area without wearing Fall Arrest equipment.  My request is for staff and operations to stay vigilant in observing access to this area. 

Any work performed in this area without the usage of fall arrest must be reported in an NCR.

I welcome any comments from those who have ideas for improving the safe method of access to this tank.

The cooling package is described in the TCS operating manual, Document-103881.  Page 8 states clearly that Fall Arrest is required to access this valve.

Regards,

Grant