This project has eliminated the need for life jackets or fall restraints during maintenance or operations activities on berths 1 and 2 at the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance Hay Point Coal Terminal.

Around the world, bulk commodity ports have operational berths with no fall from height edge protection, as handrails cannot withstand the loads imparted by ship lines. At Hay Point’s berths 1 and 2, employees were exposed to an unprotected edge and the potential to fall 10 metres into the water. The risk was previously controlled through use of fall restraint personal protective equipment or life jackets and rescue boats and ladders.

The project resulted in two types of edge protection being fitted: a fixed handrail installed in areas where the structure is sufficient to carry the loads; and, elsewhere, an articulating handrail that lifts up and down as the ship’s lines change angle with tension and tide.

Through collaboration with operations and maintenance, and engagement with local community contractors, Hay Point Engineering solved a global, industry-wide working at heights risk in an innovative and practical way.