HSE-SAF-STD-00-0003

SAFETY

Rev. 3
08-Nov-2015

WALKING AND WORKING SURFACES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................... 2

2.

SCOPE & PURPOSE ................................................................................................... 2

3.

DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................... 2

4.

REQUIREMENTS ......................................................................................................... 3

5.

RESPONSIBILTIES ...................................................................................................... 6

6.

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 6

7.

ATTACHMENTS ........................................................................................................... 6

8.

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 6

9.

REVISION HISTORY .................................................................................................... 7

Rev.

Issue Date

Amendment Description

Prepared By

Reviewed By

Approved By

08-Nov-15

Change Category: Type-1 - Refer Section. 9

Chintan Dalal

Refer Sec.9

Refer Sec.9

Next Scheduled Periodic Review: November/2018

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1. INTRODUCTION
Managing the safety of walking and working surfaces is an essential part of any job. A properly
safeguarded work environment contributes toward safe execution of work.
This standard describes the minimum requirements for managing the walking and working
surfaces within Q-Chem facilities.

2. SCOPE & PURPOSE

This standard is applicable to all walking and working surfaces inside all Q-Chem operated
facilities. The standard is applicable to:
i. Floor and Wall openings
ii. Fixed stairs
iii. Fixed platforms
iv. Scaffolding

3. DEFINITIONS
Floor Hole - An opening measuring less than 12 inches but more than 1 inch in its least
dimension, in any floor, platform, pavement, or yard, through which materials but not persons
may fall; such as a belt hole, pipe opening, or slot opening.
Floor Opening - An opening measuring 12 inches or more in its least dimension, in any floor,
platform, pavement, or yard through which persons may fall; such as a hatchway, stair or
ladder opening, pit, or large manhole. Floor openings occupied by elevators, dumb waiters,
conveyors, machinery, or containers are excluded from this subpart.
Handrail - A single bar or pipe supported on brackets from a wall or partition to provide a
continuous handhold for persons using a stair.
Ladders - A ladder is an appliance usually consisting of two side rails joined at regular intervals
by cross-pieces called steps, rungs, or cleats, on which a person may step in ascending or
descending.
Pitch - Pitch is the included angle between the horizontal and the ladder, measured on the
opposite side of the ladder from the climbing side.
Platform - A working space for persons, elevated above the surrounding floor or ground; such
as a balcony or platform for the operation of machinery and equipment.
Stair Railing - A vertical barrier erected along exposed sides of a stairway to prevent falls of
persons.
Stairs - A series of steps leading from one level or floor to another, or leading to platforms,
pits, boiler rooms, crossovers, or around machinery, tanks, and other equipment that are used
more or less continuously or routinely by employees, or only occasionally by specific
individuals. A series of steps and landings having three or more risers constitutes stairs or
stairway.
Standard Railing - A vertical barrier erected along exposed edges of a floor opening, wall
opening, ramp, platform, or runway to prevent falls of persons.

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Standard - means a standard which requires conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more
practices, means, methods, operations, or processes, reasonably necessary or appropriate to
provide safe or healthful employment and places of employment.
Wall Hole - An opening less than 30 inches but more than 1 inch high, of unrestricted width,
in any wall or partition; such as a ventilation hole or drainage scupper.
Wall Opening - An opening at least 30 inches high and 18 inches wide, in any wall or partition,
through which persons may fall; such as a yard-arm doorway or chute opening.
Scaffold - Any temporary elevated platform and its supporting structure used for supporting
workmen or materials or both to perform temporary jobs.
Skid - A platform or divider for stacking goods and materials.
Stair Railing - A hand-hold similar to a standard stair railing that is installed in parallel with the
rise of a set of stairs. Stair railings must be fixed at a height of between 30 and 34 inches above
the stair tread.
Toeboard - A vertical barrier at floor level that is erected along exposed openings, such as a
floor opening, platform, or runway. Toeboards prevent objects such as tools and materials from
falling from one level to the next.
Trapdoor - A floor or ceiling opening that leads to the level above or below.

4. REQUIREMENTS
4.1. General
i. All unprotected sides or edges of surfaces, floors, platforms, ladder way openings, roofs,
and holes presenting a fall hazard of four feet (1.2 meters) or greater to a lower level, shall
be protected by appropriate guardrail systems. Every ladder-way floor opening or platform
shall be guarded by a standard railing on all exposed sides (except at the entrance to the
opening) with the passage through the railing either provided with a swing gate or so offset
that a person cannot walk directly through the opening.
ii. Where permanent guarding for floor openings, work platforms, or other structures is not
possible, employees shall use an appropriate fall arrest system.
4.2. Floors and Floor Openings
i. Floors shall be kept clean, dry, and orderly and be maintained in hygienic condition
otherwise known as Good Housekeeping.
ii. Drainage, false floors, platforms or mats shall be provided when dry floors cannot be
maintained.
iii. Floors and passage ways shall be free from protruding hazards, splinters, holes or loose
flooring.
iv. It is prohibited to overload any floor or roof of a building or applicable structure.
v. Any work that requires the opening of a walking or working surface (floor boards, grating,
scaffold boards, etc.) shall be managed in reference to:
a) Work at Heights Procedure (HSE-SAF-PRO-00-0011)
b) OSHA 29 CFR 1910.23 Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes

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vi. An adequate system of fall prevention/fall protection must be put in place and clearly
documented in the JSA.
vii. Barriers, if used, shall be able to withstand a load of at least 200 lbs.
viii. Any manhole floor opening shall be guarded with hard barricades and proper signage, if the
area will be left unattended. Any trench, conduit covers or manhole covers located in Plant
roadways shall be able to withstand a truck rear-axle of 20,000 lbs (9090 Kg).
ix. All covers for floor openings shall not exceed 1 inch above the floor level.
x. Routine heavy duty vehicle access to each unit shall be identified and provided with heavy
duty grating. These identified access routes shall be demarked by Black and White stripes
and stencilled with Vehicle Access wordings as per the following drawing.

xi. Access to the unit apart from the identified Vehicle Access routes must be managed by
careful hazard assessment based on the requirement, access location and applied loads.
4.3. Removal and Reinstatement of Floor Hole/Opening Covers
i. A hazard evaluation shall be completed prior to the removal of a floor hole/opening cover.
a) The supervisor of the affected area shall determine the level of evaluation required (i.e.
informal field review, PTW, formal JSA, etc.) based on the risks associated with the
opening.
ii. Contractors shall not remove floor hole/opening covers unless the activity is addressed in
an approved work permit.
a) Permit issuers shall ensure that covers are put back properly as part of the PTW closure
step. If floor hole/opening covers cannot be put back properly, the area shall be properly
barricaded and appropriate signage shall be installed.
iii. Where a fall hazard exists through the floor opening, hard barricade is mandatory as per
the guidelines provided in Work at Heights Procedure (HSE-SAF-PRO-00-0011).
a) Signage around the floor opening shall indicate the existence of a fall hazard; and,
b) Personnel inside the barricaded zone shall wear fall protection devices.
iv. If floor hole/opening covers cannot be put back properly after task completion, the area shall
be hard barricaded and appropriate signage installed.
a) If this is observed as a pre-existing condition, the observer shall ensure that barricades
and signage are provided immediately.

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b) These conditions shall be reported immediately to the area owners. A high priority
notification shall be raised in SAP to perform the necessary repairs.
c) Area Supervisors shall maintain a list of floor hole/opening covers requiring repair in their
respective area and track these to completion.
4.4. Wall Openings
i. Any work that requires the opening of guardrails/handrails, toe board or a wall shall be
managed in reference to:
a) Work at Heights Procedure (HSE-SAF-PRO-00-0011)
b) OSHA 29 CFR 1910.23 Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes
ii. An adequate system of fall prevention/fall protection shall be put in place and clearly
documented in the JSA.
iii. Barriers, if used, shall be able to withstand a load of at least 200 lbs.
4.5. Stairway Railings and Guards (Toeboard, mid-rail, top-rail, hand-rail)
i. All stairway railing and guards shall meet the guidelines specified in:
a) Chevron Engineering Standard/Safety In Design - SID - SU - 5106
ii. Where material is piled to such a height that a standard toeboard does not provide
protection, panelling from the floor to the intermediate rail (mid-rail) or to the top rail shall
be provided.
4.6. Fixed Industrial Stairs
i. All stairway railing and guards shall meet the guidelines specified in:
a) Chevron Engineering Standard/Safety in Design - SID-SU-5106
4.7. Maintenance Walkways and Platforms
i. Walkways and platforms shall be provided with handrails and toe boards complying with:
a) Chevron Engineering Standard/Safety in Design - SIDSU5016
4.8. Scaffolding
i. All fixed and portable scaffolding shall meet the guidelines specified in the Scaffolding
Standard (HSE-SAF-STD-00-0002)
4.9. Housekeeping
i. The floor of every workroom shall be maintained, so far as practicable, in a dry condition.
Where wet processes are used, drainage shall be maintained and false floors, platforms,
mats, or other dry standing places shall be provided.
ii. To facilitate cleaning, every floor, working place, and passageway shall be kept free from
protruding nails, splinters, loose boards, and unnecessary holes and openings.

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iii. All sweepings, solid or liquid wastes, refuse, and garbage shall be removed in such a
manner as to avoid creating a menace to health and as often as necessary or appropriate
to maintain the place of employment in a sanitary condition.
iv. Environmental Engineering group should be contacted for any assistance related to waste
disposal.
4.10. Training
i. No specific training is required for this standard. Basic guidelines related to Floors and
Floors openings are covered in the Defensive Driving Training module (HSE-SAF-CBT00-0004) of Site Vehicle and Traffic Safety Standard.

5. RESPONSIBILTIES
5.1. Area Supervisor
i. Area Supervisor shall maintain a list of floor hole/opening covers requiring repair in their
respective area and track these to completion.
5.2. Safety & Fire Department
i. Safety & Fire Department shall review/update this standard as per the Document Revision,
Update and Tracking procedure (QC-IMT-PRO-00-0001) or whenever a revision/change is
recommended.

6. REFERENCES
6.1. SID-SU-5016 - Chevron Engineering Resource/Technical Standard, Safety In Design
6.2. HSE-SAF-PRO-00-0011

Work at Heights Procedure

6.3. HSE-SAF-STD-00-0002

Scaffolding Standard

6.4. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.23

Guarding Floor and Wall Openings and Holes

6.5. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.141

General Environmental Controls Sanitation

7. ATTACHMENTS
None

8. APPENDICES
None

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SAFETY

Rev. 3
08-Nov-2015

WALKING AND WORKING SURFACES

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9. REVISION HISTORY
Rev.

Issue Date

Amendment Description
Change Category: Type-1
Added the requirements for vehicle
access demarking (4.2. x-xi)
Added the topics on General
requirement (4.1) and Removal and
Reinstatement of Floor Hole/Opening
Covers (4.3)
The topics on Portable Ladder and
Fixed Ladder removed.

Prepared By

Reviewed By

Approved By

Chintan Dalal

Carl Benson
Santosh
Bhanushali
Sanjay Bhatt
Choondassery
Umesh
Syed Rafiullah
Narayanan S
Arif Javed
Ahmad R
Alkalla Yousef
A Ahmed
Abdul W
Sheikh

Carl Poldrack
Roehl
Bartolome
Anthony D
Dugat
Dirk Perrin
Ali Al-Marri
Saleh Abdulla
Abdulla AlKhulaifi
Amer M AlQahtani

08-Nov-15

25-Aug-14

Periodic Revision
Change Category: Type-1
Responsibilities added (Sec .5.1)

Chintan Dalal

Carl Benson

1.1

14Aug-11

Minor Revision

Chintan Dalal

Safety Team

15-May-11

Chintan Dalal

Safety Team

Carl Poldrack

20-Jun-06

Jarvis Olsen

Jarvis Olsen

Jarvis Olsen

Inclusion of element definitions and

housekeeping requirements
First Release

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Carl Poldrack
Roehl
Bartolome
Jeffrey W
Gates