Risk Assessment and Permit-To-Work for Lifting Operations

Under the CoP 34.0 of OSHAD and CHAPTER 21 & 22 of DM Code , it is mandatory to conduct a risk assessment on the safety and health risks posed to any person who may be affected by the lifting operation in the workplace. The contractor involved is also responsible to take all reasonably practicable steps to eliminate any foreseeable risk to any person. In addition, there are legislative requirements for lifting operations involving tower, mobile or crawler crane in any workplaces to implement a Permit-To-Work system in order to effectively control lifting operations.

*Risk Assessments and Permit-To-Work*

*Risk Assessment* 

By definition, Risk Assessment (RA) is the process of evaluating the probability and consequences of an injury or illness from exposure to an identified hazard and determining the appropriate measures for risk control. As such, there are three basic steps to RA.

*Step 1 - Hazard Identification*

Identifying the hazards associated with each work activity and the type of potential accidents/ incidents that can result from the hazards is the first step to RA.

*Step 2 - Risk Evaluation*

Risk evaluation is the process of estimating the severity of an injury or damage and the likelihood of the occurrence. For example, the risk level of workers working underneath a suspended pre-cast component shall be assessed as a high risk hazard as the consequences of the load dropping can result in killing the workers underneath.

*Step 3 - Risk Control*

This is a critical last step as it identifies appropriate risk control measures to reduce the risk level to an acceptable level. Following from the previous example of a suspended pre-cast component, an appropriate risk control measure will be to prohibit workers from working directly underneath a suspended load. The lifting zone shall also be demarcated to prevent any unauthorised entry.

*Permit-To-Work*

A Permit-To-Work System (PTW) is a formalised system of controlling certain types of hazardous work (lifting operations included). A proper PTW involves the contractor applying for permission to carry out a certain work activity. In the application, he is required to state the scope and conditions in which the work will be carried out. An independent inspection is then conducted on-site to verify that appropriate control measures have been taken to mitigate any foreseeable risks. After confirming that the measures have been taken, the application will be approved by an authorised person (i.e., the project manager). The authorised person shall have an oversight on the entire work process so as to avoid any conflicting or incompatible work that is carried out at the same time. The work can commence only after the permit has been approved.