Faulty Coupling: A Willie and Prince’s Story

Willie had instructed his team to conduct wellhead maintenance on the Xmas tree that was demobilised from the site back to the warehouse at the office. They had set out that morning after their toolbox talk and had gone ahead to begin the pressure-testing of the Xmas tree. Then they discovered that the coupling was not functional and the whip check they had in their caravan was faulty.
The whip check that was in good condition had been taken by another team that had gone offshore to conduct wellhead maintenance. Willie, being experienced in manoeuvring situations such as this, decided to go on with the operation as they were really pressed for time to deliver the Xmas tree to their client.
Prince, the assistant team lead, instructed the team to cautiously use the faulty whip check.
They fixed up the whip check in a way that it would serve its purpose for the time it would be used.
As they pressure-tested the Xmas tree up to 3000 PSI, the whip check could not hold the pressure anymore. The hose forcefully detached from the air compressor.
Unfortunately, it hit two technicians and Willie as well, and they sustained severe injuries that left them fighting for their lives in the hospital. Now, the report has reached the management’s table. What are the loopholes you observed in this operation and in this company?
Share with us.

Use the Right Eye Shade ( Story)

For a while now, the new employee at X-Welding Company, Samson, had been feeling uncomfortable using the eye shade that the HSE officer provided for him. He complained that the eye shade seemed dark, but the HSE officer, Olumide, advised him to keep wearing it to protect his eyes.
One day, he decided to try out the lower eye shade labelled shade 6, and it seemed clear and comfortable for him. He then decided he would be wearing shade 6 instead of shade 11 as was recommended by the HSE officer.
After a week of constantly welding pipelines, his colleagues noticed his eyes had reddened so much.
Samson thought it was just a usual case of eye redness, and he felt it would clear off after a couple of days.
He kept on using the shade labelled 6. the next day, he woke up with swollen eyes. He went to work wearing sunshades to keep people from noticing the state of his eyes. He then sought permission from the HR manager to visit an eye clinic.
When he got to the clinic, Dr Amadi examined his eyes and asked him a couple of questions.
She asked if he was using the right protective gear for his eyes, and he responded affirmatively.
Considering he checked all the boxes in the doctor’s file, the doctor had to ask him if he had changed his eyeshade at some point. He answered affirmatively, stating he had used shade 11 for his welding jobs but felt it was too dark for him. Then he switched to shade 6 which seemed clearer and more comfortable.
Dr Amadi then instructed him to discontinue shade 6 and return to his original eye shade, as it had done a great job protecting his eyes. It was at that point that Samson understood the importance of abiding by the advice of the HSE officer.
He realised that no matter how uncomfortable protective gear is, it is built for one’s safety.
Dr Amadi prescribed some medications and advised him to go home and rest for a week so the eyes could recover.
Are there instances where you have witnessed similar scenarios in your life?
Please, do share with us.

Eye Protection (How to Identify Substandard Safety Goggles)

The eye is a very vital human organ which must be protected with caution.
At the workplace, there are situations that pose hazards to employees.
Such situations include the following:
a. working with a bright monitor or laptop
b. Not wearing safety goggles when hammering, sandblasting, and welding.
To avoid developing an eye problem in the future, it’s important for you to learn how to regulate the light intensity of your monitors and laptops to prevent your retina from being badly affected.
Also endeavour to ensure that suitable safety goggles are provided to personnel who are undertaking hammering, sandblasting or welding tasks.
Finally, it is important to know that there are substandard safety goggles on the market. To avoid purchasing such inferior goggles, check to see that the goggles have ANSI and Z-87 stamp on them. If they do not have such stamps, you will be risking your precious eyesight by using such inferior products.
At Kenyon, we prioritise safety in all our dealings.
We are performance-driven; we are Kenyon.

Kenyon celebrates World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Having a safety and health culture is paramount to our organisation.

In our industry, we promote conversations around safety and health to curb occupational accidents and disease.

Our safety culture has tremendously helped us in gaining our status as one of the most reliable indigenous companies in Africa with a great global positioning.

Today, we join in celebrating Safety and Health at Work globally through raising awareness on how to work safely and maintaining a clean bill of health.

For us at Kenyon, it is Safety every time and always.

Happy World Safety and Health Day