Working In, On, or Near Water

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this procedure is to ensure the health and safety of people who:

• Carry out work over or adjacent to water or other liquids where there is a risk of drowning
• Undertake occupational diving operations

This procedure applies to all HY projects where work in, over or adjacent to water or other liquids is required.

Responsibilities

HY Project Team:

• Ensure fall prevention systems are in place, inspected, and verified as safe for use prior to work commencing near water
• Ensure safe Diving documentation developed by competent persons has been obtained
• Ensure Divers are fit for work prior to diving
• Ensure Plant and Equipment, including emergency equipment has been inspected and verified as safe for use prior to use on site
• Ensure applicable Work Permits are implemented prior to commencing work
• Ensure only trained and competent persons perform work on site
• Ensure worker competencies and qualifications are verified prior to commencing work
• Ensure that SWMS are provided for any work that is in, over or adjacent to water or other liquids where there is a risk of drowning
• Ensure that SWMS are provided for any work that involved diving work

Hazard Identification Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC)

All risks associated with work in, on or adjacent to water must be included in the project risk register.  This includes risks associated with:

• Working off barges and other vessels
• Working near bodies of water or other liquids (e.g. tanks)
• Occupational diving operations

Working Adjacent to or on Water

A SWMS must be developed for work that is carried out over or adjacent to water (or other liquids) where there is a risk of drowning.  The following controls need to be included but not limited to when developing SWMS:

• Installation of temporary barriers or edge protection
• Installation of exclusion zones
• Use of a fall restraint system
• Maintaining visual sight (i.e. spotter)
• Supervisory measures
• Methods of positive communication suitable for the work being undertaken
• Use of life jackets or other suitable personal floatation devices
• Training and competency of workers
• Monitoring associated hazards (i.e. water conditions, tides and weather) during the works and communicating this information to workers working on or near water
• Easily accessible floatation devices for rescue e.g. life floats, life ring or throw bag with retriever rope
• Emergency recovery procedures (including where necessary a boat for retrieval)

No workers are to be alone at any time while working near any body of water.

A fit for purpose vessel or other means of transport or floatation equipment must be used where any work activities require working on a water body.

Open bodies of water (e.g. dams, retention ponds and creeks) must be fenced off where there is a risk of children, wildlife and livestock from entering and becoming stuck or drowning.

Risks of Falls

Appropriate edge protection e.g. handrails and/or guardrails or temporary edge protection and barriers must be installed where practicable to prevent a worker from falling into water.   Where temporary edge protection is not practicable, a fall restraint system and fall arrest system e.g. anchor points, ropes and harness must be implemented.  Systems must comply with the Work at Heights procedure.

Good ground conditions and housekeeping must be maintained where reasonably practicable to minimise the risk of falling into water.

Life Jackets

A life jacket must be worn at all times when working on or near water where there is a risk of drowning.  Life jackets must be selected, used, cared for, maintained, and serviced in accordance with AS 4758.1:2015.

The type of life jacket worn must be appropriate for the conditions and location in which the life jacket will be used and the type of clothing that will be worn (refer to following table).

All workers must be trained in the correct use of the life jacket i.e. inspection, use and care.  Life jackets must be stored, cared for and used as per the manufacturer’s instruction.  Maintenance checks must be completed and recorded.

Diving Operations

All diving work must be carried out in accordance with AS/NZS 2299.1:2015 Occupational diving operations Part 1: Standard operational practice.

Dive Personnel

Dive Supervisor

A dive supervisor must be appointed by the diving subcontractor.  The dive supervisor must:

• Ensure the safe conduct of the diving operation
• Be present at all times while a diver is in the water or under pressure in a compression chamber

A dive supervisor must be qualified and trained as follows:

• Trained as a diver or have been a diver
• Trained in accordance with AS/NZS 2815.5 for supervision of the type of diving operation being conducted (with certificate issued by relevant regulatory authority or RTO)
• Experienced in the diving techniques which may be used, and in the equipment and procedures used in the diving operations to be performed
• Appointed in writing by the diver’s employer to supervise diving operations (letter is only valid for 12 months)
• Trained in the recognition and management of diving emergencies
• Trained in first aid (to level required for dive supervisor)
• Where the diving involves EAN, trained in accordance with the EAN unit of competence within AS/NZS 2815.5

Diver

A diver must be qualified and trained as follows:

• Trained to a level equal to or exceeding that specified in the appropriate part of the AS(/NZS) 2815 series (with certificate issued by relevant regulatory authority or RTO)
• Assessed and certified as medically fit to dive (within 12 months prior to diving)
• Trained in first aid
• Where the diving involves EAN, trained in accordance with the EAN unit of competence within the relevant part of the AS/NZS 2815 series

Diver’s Attendant

Whenever a diver goes underwater or is subjected to pressure, the diver must be attended by a diver’s attendant who is trained in first aid & CPR and is fit to undertake the required tasks and has a working knowledge of the following:

• The requirements of underwater work.
• Signals in use
• Decompression procedures.
• Diving plant and equipment in use, including ancillary fittings such as pressure gauges, compressors and filters

The diver’s attendant must not be engaged on any task other than that of diver’s attendant while the diver is in the water or under pressure.

Standby Diver

A standby diver must be present whenever a diver is underwater and must be:

• A diver who is currently fit to dive
• Wherever possible, located on the surface; and
• If located on the surface, dressed and equipped to enable immediate entry into the water for the purpose of providing aid or assistance to a diver

Fitness to Dive

A comprehensive health evaluation and diving fitness assessment must be conducted before the diver commences occupational diving.  No more than 12 months must have passed between the most recent medical assessment and any dive that is undertaken.  A medical certificate of fitness must be provided for each person that may undertake diving.

All divers must also ensure that they are fit to participate in diving at the time of the diving operation.

Planning Diving Work

Diving operations manual

The diving operations manual must be available at the dive site.  It must document procedures for the planning and conduct of diving operations, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Responsibilities, duties and competency of persons involved in the diving operation
• Operation of plant used in the diving operation
• Decompression procedures and schedules
• Emergency response plans

All persons involved in a diving operation must be trained in and understand the relevant procedures as detailed in the operations manual.

Dive plan/safe work method statement (swms)

A diving operation must only be carried out after hazards have been identified, risks assessed by a competent person and control measures determined and implemented.

A dive plan (or a SWMS that incorporates a dive plan) must be prepared by the subcontractor and agreed upon by all parties involved in the diving operation prior to the dive.  It must address the following:

• The method of performing the task
• The tasks and duties of each person involved
• The diving equipment, breathing gases and procedures to be used, including intended bottom times and decompression profiles
• Any tools to be used to perform works
• Specific hazards and the methods used to address them
• Monitoring associated hazards (i.e. water conditions, tides and weather) during the works and communicating this information to dive personnel
• Emergency procedures, including the safe extraction of an incapacitated diver from the diving medium

Planning Considerations

The following must be considered as part of planning diving operations:

• Selection of breathing apparatus that is appropriate for the given diving operation
• Surface conditions that will be encountered at the dive site (e.g. state of the water, weather, visibility, tide, currents, water temperature, presence of ships or other craft, etc.)
• In-water conditions likely to be encountered (e.g. visibility, presence of contaminants, obstructions, dangerous marine life, thermoclines, pressure differentials, currents etc.)
• Maximum depth of water and the maximum possible depth to which the diver could be exposed
• The intended duration of any diving activities
• Establishment of an efficient and reliable (preferably voice) communication system
• Between the diver(s) and the dive control position
• From the dive control position to a designated onshore emergency support service
• Plant or equipment required to maintain the diver at a comfortable temperature
• Methods of communication

Diving Equipment

All plant and equipment used in connection with diving operations must comply with the relevant requirements of AS/NZS 2299.1:2015 Occupational diving operations Part 1: Standard operational practice.  All plant and equipment must:

• Be operated, maintained and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions by a competent person
• Not be altered, modified or changed in any way that might impair the safe and efficient use of the equipment
• Not be used if it can be demonstrated that such plant is not in safe working condition

The subcontractor and dive supervisor must ensure that any equipment is of a type and capacity suitable for the job.

Inspection procedures must be in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and must include a list of essential pre-dive checks.  This list must be provided and maintained at each dive location.  Before each dive, divers must check the personal diving equipment they intend to use to ensure its operational integrity and efficiency.

First Aid and Medical Equipment

Appropriate first aid equipment, training or other resources must be made available to cope with any reasonably foreseeable emergency based on the potential hazards.  Equipment should be chosen taking into account the first aid training and experience of dive team members.

A specific compression chamber first aid kit must be available if a chamber is required.

Oxygen resuscitation equipment must be available at the dive site for immediate use if required.  Sufficient oxygen must be provided to supply the resuscitator, taking into account the location of the dive site and access to medical facilities.

Dive Site

Diving operations must be conducted from a safe and suitable site or vessel, which at all times provides:

• Suitable access and exit for divers
• Means to recover an injured diver from the water
• Means of communication to emergency support services

When diving from a vessel the appropriate signals must be displayed during diving operations.  The dive vessel must be maritime registered, have navigation lights in place and buoys or markers (diver in water flags) displayed to delineate the “work area”.

Decompression

All diving and decompression operations must be carried out in accordance with widely recognised and industry approved decompression tables and the associated procedures developed for those tables.

Emergency recompression chamber support must be organised for all diving operations.  This may involve a chamber on-site or at a distance and the chamber may or may not be dedicated to support the diving operation.  If a chamber proposed for hyperbaric support is not dedicated to the diving operation, arrangements must be made to ensure that the chamber will be available if needed.

Breathing Gas

Breathing gases used in diving operations must not present any risk to the diver.  Breathing gases used in diving operations must not contain any contaminants that can cause toxic or harmful effects either acutely or in the long term.  The composition of breathing gases must meet the requirements in AS/NZS 2299.1.

Emergency Procedures

Where work is carried out in, on or near water (or other liquids), the procedures for the response to an emergency must be included in the Emergency Response Plan and in SWMS.  When establishing emergency procedures, the following must be considered:

• Size, type and location of the work/dive site
• Appropriateness of rescue procedures to the work/dive site
• Adequacy of the communication system so that clear messages and information can be relayed to the appropriate personnel, with the minimum of delay
• Location of rescuers and their skills and fitness levels. Rescuers should have knowledge and skills in diving and in the management of diving related incidents, injuries and illness.  They should also have a level of fitness so their own health and safety are not compromised, and be dressed and equipped so they are ready to enter the water quickly.
• Availability, locality and appropriateness of any rescue equipment such as rescue boards, tenders, flotation devices and ropes. Any rescue vessels or equipment should be maintained in a ready condition and positioned so they can be used to reach a worker/diver in distress with the minimum of delay.

Effective and efficient rescue and resuscitation procedures must be developed taking into account any unique risks such as rescue with special equipment, tides, night works etc.

Diving Operations

Emergency procedures for diving operations include but are not limited to:

• Availability of a standby diver
• Emergency breathing gas supply systems
• Alternative means of ascent and exit from the  water
• Management plans for omitted decompression and for decompression illness, including availability of recompression
• Availability of sufficient oxygen to enable oxygen to be used for precautionary purposes

Definitions and Abbreviations

EAN – Enriched Air Nitrox

Life jacket – a garment or device, when correctly worn and used in water, will provide the wearer with a specific amount of buoyancy which will increase the likelihood of survival.  Also known commonly as a ‘personal flotation device’ (PFD) or ‘buoyancy vest’.

References

• Work Health & Safety Regulation 2011 (QLD), 2012 (SA/TAS) and 2017 (NSW) – Part 4.8 Diving work
• Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Victoria)
• AS/NZS 2299.1: Occupational diving operations Part 1: Standard operational practice
• AS 4758.1: Lifejackets Part 1: General requirements
• Federal Safety Commission (FSC) Audit Criteria – H18 Diving
• Federal Safety Commission (FSC) Audit Criteria – H19 Construction Work In, Over or Adjacent to Water / Liquids Where Risk of Drowning

Associated Documents

• HYer Standard – Working In, On or Near Water