Hi all.
Is there anyone here with experience in piers and edge protection. There seems to be little to no guidance on the subject. Our client has a stone/concrete pier which gives access to a gangway and pontoons. We are trying to establish what edge protection he needs on the pier itself. Would a wheel stop (ie, railway sleepers round the edge) be sufficient or does he need full height handrails round the entire structure? Any help or guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Ewan
Pier edge protection
Moderator: Moderators
- bernicarey
- Anorak Extraordinaire
- Posts: 8973
- Joined: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:50 am
- 15
- Twitter: @bernicarey
- Industry Sector: Consultancy/Training
- Occupation: Safety, Health, Environment and Fire Consultant.
- Location: The heart of the East Midlands...
- Has thanked: 76 times
- Been thanked: 300 times
- Contact:
Re: Pier edge protection
Sorry Ewan but you haven't looked in the right places. I say that with a pinch of salt, since you haven't mentioned what sort of Pier it is.... but I'm assuming a working dockyard type pier? You've implied it has vehicles on it, so I'm guessing it's a working environment of some sort rather than something at the seaside for tourists.
HSE website has an ACOP, Safety in Docks, L148. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l148.pdf
Page 25
That's quite a caveat at the start though, "Except for straight and level quaysides"
Is that of any help?
HSE website has an ACOP, Safety in Docks, L148. http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l148.pdf
Page 25
Fencing at dock edges
150Except for straight and level quaysides, fencing should be provided at all dock, wharf, quay or jetty edges from which people may fall into water, and where they must pass within 1 m of the edge, or the configuration of the quay or the arrangement of walkways is such that they are more than ordinarily liable to fall over such an edge.
151Fencing should be provided throughout every open side of narrow access ways, whether the fall would be into water or not.
152These provisions do not apply to areas where there is no work activity being undertaken, subject to any foreseeable risk to members of the public.
That's quite a caveat at the start though, "Except for straight and level quaysides"
Is that of any help?
- kevlarion
- Blue Sky Moderator
- Posts: 1968
- Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:20 pm
- 14
- Occupation: QHSE Manager
- Location: Glasgow
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 34 times
- Contact:
Re: Pier edge protection
I would look at it from a duty of care point of view rather than the "what's minimum I can get away with without breaking a regulation" point of view.
If people are working on the pier, how do you prevent them falling off of it?
If it was a public pier this would be hand rails, but for a private peer there may be other solutions like restraint ropes and lanyards.
If there are people and vehicles (as your question seems to indicate) then you need to look at segregation and think about whether it's OK for vehicles to reverse off the pier and what might make that easier..
If it's a ramp for launching boats then you need to look at whether people can get crushed against a rail by a boat, so maybe falling a foot into water is less hazardous than having a handrail, but you might want a rope along the edge and a ladder for people to grab onto if they fall in.
So if you have a broad pier with vehicle access down the middle and pedestrian access around the sides and at the end, you need to keep the vehicles away from the pedestrians (wheel stops) and the the pedestrians out of the water (so fencing or hand rails) with an opening onto the gangway which should have fencing or handrails on both sides... maybe you also need to provide some protection on pontoons, depending on what they are being used for, or maybe at this point a lifebelt needs to be mandatory so that those falling off float. If they are for diving off of, then you should provide a way of getting back on easily such as ladders into the water.
The most important thing is that no-one gets harmed, after you have ensured that, it's time to look at whether you are also compliant with regulations (which are meant to be the minimum standard of good practice).
If people are working on the pier, how do you prevent them falling off of it?
If it was a public pier this would be hand rails, but for a private peer there may be other solutions like restraint ropes and lanyards.
If there are people and vehicles (as your question seems to indicate) then you need to look at segregation and think about whether it's OK for vehicles to reverse off the pier and what might make that easier..
If it's a ramp for launching boats then you need to look at whether people can get crushed against a rail by a boat, so maybe falling a foot into water is less hazardous than having a handrail, but you might want a rope along the edge and a ladder for people to grab onto if they fall in.
So if you have a broad pier with vehicle access down the middle and pedestrian access around the sides and at the end, you need to keep the vehicles away from the pedestrians (wheel stops) and the the pedestrians out of the water (so fencing or hand rails) with an opening onto the gangway which should have fencing or handrails on both sides... maybe you also need to provide some protection on pontoons, depending on what they are being used for, or maybe at this point a lifebelt needs to be mandatory so that those falling off float. If they are for diving off of, then you should provide a way of getting back on easily such as ladders into the water.
The most important thing is that no-one gets harmed, after you have ensured that, it's time to look at whether you are also compliant with regulations (which are meant to be the minimum standard of good practice).
If it isn't broken, that doesn't mean you can't improve it. (Do three negatives make a positive ?)
-
- Student
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 11:43 am
- 6
- Has thanked: 4 times
- Been thanked: 25 times
Re: Pier edge protection
Sorry i should have elaborated. The pier is at a marina. It is not a working pier as such but gives access to a gangway and pontoons. I still have to find out if boats come along side the pier but i think not. Vehicles would drive onto it to unload and carry items down the gangway to the pontoons but there would only be one vehicle on the pier at a time. I also need to establish when the tide goes out does it expose dry land either side of the pier.
I think from reading that ACOP that fencing or handrails will be required unless boats access the pier in which case a means of self rescue will be required and wheel stops for vehicles?
I think from reading that ACOP that fencing or handrails will be required unless boats access the pier in which case a means of self rescue will be required and wheel stops for vehicles?