Catwalk Slips and Trips: Housekeeping, Lighting and Drainage on the Pipe Rack

The catwalk looks simple: a narrow walkway next to the pipe racks. In practice it is where pipe dope, water, oil, mud and debris meet boots that need traction. Slips and trips on the catwalk cause falls that can drop a worker onto the rig floor or into the mouse hole. The hazards are easy to overlook because the catwalk is treated as a transit point instead of a work area. It is both. Cleaning schedules and drainage keep the surface from turning into a slick. Catwalks should slope enough to drain water and mud rather than let it pool. Pressure washing after a rain or after a circulation round removes the thin film that looks harmless until someone steps on it with hard-soled boots. Grit, sand or non-slip coating adds traction where drainage alone is not enough. A catwalk that is painted for visibility but left smooth is still a slip hazard. Inspectors should look for accumulated debris, missing grating, damaged handrails and oil stains during the daily rounds. Lighting and handrails complete the control. A catwalk used at night needs enough light to see a loose stand of pipe, a coiled air hose or a missing section of grating. Handrails should be continuous and high enough to stop a fall without becoming a trip line themselves. Some rigs replace chain railings with pipe railings after a near miss. That change costs little and removes the most common snag point. A worker who catches a boot on a loose chain and falls onto the pipe rack below is a worker whose injury was preventable. Tool staging and pipe placement should not block the catwalk. When the crew sets pipe dope buckets, tongs and slips on the walkway, they create an obstacle course that grows worse with every round. Supervisors should designate a staging area away from the walking path and enforce it. When catwalk housekeeping becomes part of the pre-task checklist, the hazards shrink before the shift starts. A worker who does not have to step around a coiled hose is a worker who is less likely to step on one. Weather changes the catwalk risk faster than any other area. Rain, ice, snow and pipe dope all turn a dry walkway into a slide in minutes. Anti-icing materials, extra lighting and slower foot traffic keep the risk lower. When the rig experiences a weather shift, the supervisor should inspect the catwalk before releasing the crew to full speed. A trip-and-fall investigation that cites the catwalk is an investigation that never should have happened if the walkway had been drained, lit and kept clear. Review the related controls in 5S and rig housekeeping. Review the related controls in rig floorhand hazards. ← Back to rigs.work