Hands off rigging

Zoran Bebic - Managing Director's Brief

We are continuously looking for safer ways of working to ensure that we are doing everything we can to eliminate the risk of harm to our people. It’s the very principle the Safe Way is the Only Way was built on.     

Over the years, hands and fingers have been our most prevalent injury category.  This trend has led to a significant focus on hand and finger safety in 2023, with detailed cause analysis, campaigns and innovations.    

 Analysis of the risk factors associated with hand and finger injuries identified rigging (the lifting and placement of loads) as one of the highest exposure activities we perform – it's present in almost every job we work on.      

As a result, I'm pleased to share that we have formalised a new ‘hands-off’ approach to rigging. This means that right across our business, in principle, no hands should be used in rigging once loads are under tension.        

To prepare for this change, we have consulted with people in task execution roles and our leadership teams across the business and we are confident that this methodology is achievable, practical and, importantly, ensures the safety of our teams.      

Training for all dogging, rigging and crane teams has commenced and, if you haven’t already, you should start seeing hands-off rigging aids on your site soon. SWMSs, JHAs and Risk Registers will be updated to reflect the requirements for each site. I encourage teams to get familiar with the specific requirements and education materials and refer to Monocle for additional support resources.      

I thank everyone who has provided input and effort towards this important safety initiative, and I encourage all team members to provide ongoing feedback as we continue through the implementation phase.     

I’m proud to say that it’s innovations and initiatives like this one that mean we can hand-on-heart say that, at Monadelphous, the Safe Way is the Only Way.