Working Near Deep Water
Do people working near water need to wear life jackets? This question, unfortunately, leads us away from the correct analysis of the key risk and preferred controls.
Drowning is the Key Risk
A person could theoretically faint or collapse for whatever reason and fall face down in a small puddle of water and “drown”, but we all know this is a bazaar and extremely unlikely circumstance.
In any event the key issue is not drowning in this case but immediate resuscitation and first aid for any person who collapses eg heart attack, stroke, allergic reaction, epileptic fit.
Clearly, the business needs to focus on the real risks associated with water in the workplace, and that is drowning in deep water.
Definition of Deep Water
So, what constitutes deep water?
The Australian building code requires swimming pools or spas deeper than 300mm to have a pool safety fence, but this rule is designed to accommodate residential situations where we might expect to find unsupervised children and possibly disabled people and fragile elderly.
Workplace safety regulations do not define deep water. Therefore, we propose to define “deep water in the workplace” for the purpose of this article as:
“Water-filled dams, ponds or tanks with steep sides accessible at foot level, which are deeper than 1m.”
This definition also includes “no other local conditions which might increase risk or hamper visibility or rescue eg fast current, thermal extremes, toxic or corrosive liquid or turbidity.” The site risk assessment should also include things like people in wheelchairs.
We believe 1m deep is a realistic criteria for deep water in the workplace because only supervised fit and healthy adults should be at work, and they should be able to stand up and be safe, even if they fall in water 1m deep.
Risk Assessment
Project or site risk assessments should include deep water risks if relevant for the site.
Some of the risk assessment considerations include:
Fencing deep water if possible, to avoid need for life jackets or other cumbersome precautions or PPE.
No working alone near deep water eg beyond safety fence.
Water response plan & kit eg “life ring”, rescue pole/boat/inflatable, and means of quickly raising alarm for assistance.
Processes which create low buoyancy such as aerated water, or other risks such as agitators or pumps which could cause physical harm.
Wear life jackets if working from a boat or over deep water eg work on jetty.
Wearing a life jacket while working on a boat
