SAFETY ALERT: Open Holes and Hole Guarding 7-12-2012

Gulf of MexicoSAFETY ALERTGuidance on Open Holes and Open Hole GuardingNo. 2012-07-12The following are NOT considered adequate barriers for open hole protection,elimination or correction:• Cables without adequate anchoring or posting. Proper tensioning should not allow cables tobe moved up or down more than six inches.• Light ropes, plastic flagging tape (surveying tape), or similarly weak materials.• Wooden railings using less than 2” by 4” stock.• Construction fencing used without properly anchored or posted restraining cables.• Anything else of insufficient strength to prevent workers from entering the area (again,consider a worker almost forcibly trying to access the area).A WORD ABOUT OPEN HOLE ATTENDANTS . . . . . .Open holes lacking a cover or protective barrier shall be constantly attended to by an Open HoleAttendant (person with a specific duty to keep other workers from accessing the area… also called a holewatch). Open hole attendants should not be assigned additional duties and be present for all jobsinvolving open holes as there will be occasions where the hole will be unguarded by a cover or protectivebarrier (such as during cover removal or construction of barrier). An open hole attendant may be used inlieu of barricading where a job is of very short duration (such as simply removing a hole cover anddropping a piece of equipment to a lower deck and then immediately replacing the cover) and theinstallation of a barrier would introduce more hazards than the short duration of work with an open hole.The open hole attendant shall wear fall protection at all times and as stated before, be immediatelypresent in the area of the open hole at all times while the open hole is uncovered or un-barricaded.3