Lowering Tools

We are going down to carry out a task in a confined space, which means then we have got to have tools down there. What we have got to think about is when we are actually taking tools down there is how we get them down there, and we have got to think about the safety of the personnel down there as well. If there was no area of protection for them down there, and we were to drop something by accident down there and it could potentially hit them, then we need to be aware of that. So ideally, what we would try and do is pick a good piece of equipment that will fit into a bag like this, or maybe a little bit bigger, and we can attach this bag to the person's harness. So as when they are going down, they can actually carry the tools and equipment down with them. Now, because that there is just to show you what they call a carbine hook or carabiner, it is only a single phase, I would not be allowed to use that in industry. So, what I would also tend to do is get myself a screw-gate carabiner, feed it through and attach that, rather than just using the carbine hook. Screw the gate up as you can see. What I tend to do is just give it a fraction of a turn back. The reason why I give it a fraction of a turn back is if I was to load that carabiner, that could actually be quite difficult to undo. So that quarter of a turn backstops it from actually friction locking.

So, it is attached to Jim there, now, as you can see, and it allows him to take the tools down with him. If the tools, maybe of quite a size or a little bit heavier, then ideally what we would do is exactly the same as what we have done here, only we would attach them to a rope. Once they are attached to the rope, all we are going to do then is just gently, carefully lower the tools down, prior to anybody going down there. Once the tools have actually hit the grade, what we will do is leave them there and then allow the person to go down un-attach and then he can take the tools to the job front and carry out his task. Now, as you can see, we are looking at carrying tools down in a bag. If it is a case of we need to carry stuff down that is a lot bigger in size and it means that we need now to be able to tie knots and to tie the actual equipment with rope to lower it. If we are not qualified or experienced in tying knots, ideally what we would have to do is get the assistance of somebody known on a lot of sites as a rigger. Riggers are there to actually do the lifting and lowering of loads, fully qualified to do it. They could assist you, while actually making sure that everything is tied safely and lowered down in a controlled manner.