Drowning can happen fast — plan to keep people out, and to get them out
Working on, over or near water is a high-risk activity that WorkSafe takes seriously. The obvious risk is drowning, made worse by cold, currents and changing levels — and mobile plant can unintentionally enter water. The controls run in order: keep people away from the edge with barriers and edge protection, fit lifejackets where a drowning risk remains, and always have a rescue plan and equipment ready, because a person in the water needs help in seconds.
Drowning is the headline risk, but it rarely acts alone — cold water, currents, changing water levels, wind and weather all make a fall into water more dangerous and rescue harder. Mobile plant operating near water-filled excavations can unintentionally enter the water, trapping the operator. WorkSafe's High Hazard Unit has investigated fatal incidents of exactly this kind.
| Control | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Keep people away | Edge protection, barriers, bunds and warning signs around water and water-filled excavations, moved as the work and the hazardous area change. Lighting for night work. |
| Prevent falls | Where there is a fall-into-water risk, prevent the fall first — continuous edge protection removes the drowning hazard. |
| Lifejackets | Where a drowning risk remains, wear a lifejacket meeting NZS 5823. Type 401 open-water lifejackets, which keep an unconscious person face up, are generally most suitable for work. Like seatbelts, they only work when worn. |
| Plant | Consider remote operation of dredges and floating plant, and fit escape features such as push-out windows or window-breaking tools. |
Because a person in the water can drown in moments, a rescue plan and the right rescue equipment must be in place before work starts — an alarm or way to raise help, a throw line or buoyant apparatus, and a rescue craft where the water is rough or swift. The rescue method should match the task and how accessible a fallen worker is, and rescue should start immediately. Don't work alone, and build water into your emergency planning. Cold water also brings hypothermia — see working in the cold.
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Because of drowning, made worse by cold, currents, changing levels and weather. Mobile plant can also unintentionally enter water and trap the operator. WorkSafe treats working near water as a high-risk activity.
Keeping people away from the edge with barriers, edge protection, bunds and signage, and preventing falls into the water. Continuous edge protection removes the drowning hazard.
One meeting the New Zealand standard NZS 5823. Type 401 open-water lifejackets, which keep an unconscious person face up, are generally most suitable for work. Lifejackets only protect people when they are actually worn.
A way to raise the alarm, a throw line or buoyant apparatus, and a rescue craft where the water is rough or swift. The rescue method should match the task, and rescue should begin immediately.
Consider remote operation of dredges and floating plant, keep plant away from unprotected edges, and fit escape features such as push-out windows or window-breaking tools so an operator can get out if the plant enters the water.
