The 2024 IPLOCA Health and Safety Award

Sponsored by SNAM

The award recognises members’ initiatives aimed at improving health and safety in the pipeline industry.

The Adjudication Committee nominated SICIM S.p.A. as the winner of this year’s award for its Safe Prompter Trapdoor for Welding Tents. The committee gave the following reasons for its decision: it streamlines the process by which top management observations directly impact operational safety; it introduces a simple approach to mitigating the risks associated with working at height; it addresses a hazard related to typical underrated ancillary activities that are not always well supervised and assessed; it demonstrates a clear and measurable reduction in accidents, near misses, and incidents related to working at height; it has a practical design, making it easy to implement and integrate into existing systems.

The runners-up were:

MAX STREICHER GmbH, for its Vacuum Crawler VC70. The VC70 stands for maximum safety, health protection, ergonomically friendly and efficient in removing various soil materials, mud and water, leading to benefit both people and the environment. It is utilised for exposing tree roots, plants, and underground supply line conduits without causing damage, cleaning sewer systems and industrial facilities. In terms of automation and controllability, the VC70 stands out with its remote control and integrated tilt sensor with a warning function, significantly enhancing workplace safety. Since its introduction three years ago, there have been no accidents or incidents whenever it was deployed.

Caterpillar, for its seat belt reminder system. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 150,000 injuries per year are the result of construction site accidents. 2017 OSHA Safety Data concluded that one in five work-related deaths occur in construction. A recent OSHA study focused on machine rollovers. To prevent fatalities during a rollover incident, not only must the machine be equipped with a Roll-Over Protection System, but the operator must also be wearing a seat belt. Wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay safe while operating equipment. However, human error always remains a real possibility. Sometimes busy operators forget to buckle up when attention is focused elsewhere. Failure to wear a seat belt not only presents a safety risk, it also may violate local regulations. Caterpillar has developed a Seat Belt Reminder System that gets both operators and site personnel’s attention through audible or visual warnings. It also provides real-time alert system monitoring that notifies the operators and site personnel or managers when the seat belt is not latched. One major pipeline construction contractor in the US has installed the Cat Seat Belt Reminder System in more than 1,600 machines. It saw the seat belt usage improved from below 70% to above 85% after the first year.

Submissions for 2025

Thank you to all those who participated in the 2024 awards.

We encourage all members to prepare and submit entries for 2025, which, in addition to the IPLOCA Health & Safety Award sponsored by Snam, will include the IPLOCA Corporate Social Responsibility Award sponsored by TotalEnergies, the IPLOCA New Technologies Award sponsored by BP, and the recently introduced IPLOCA Quality Award.

Submissions are required by May 2025 and further information will be available on www.iploca.com