Jan De Nul wins IADC Safety Award 2017

The IADC Board has given the IADC Safety Award 2017 to the Jan De Nul Group for its Tranpsort of Pipelines Optimisation project.

The transport of dredging pipes with trucks is an industry wide task and common activity on reclamation sites and logistics yards. Jan De Nul Group optimised and enhanced the handling and transport of dredge pipes by means of three techniques: the collective use of Dhatec cradles, modular spreaders and C-pipe hooks in combination with soft slings. The combination of all three improves the efficiency of the job, safety during the handling and transport, and both the safety and ergonomics for riggers.

In the optimised process, Dhatec cradles are mounted on the truck platform, adjustable to the pipeline diameter. Lashing straps secure the load on the truck. The C-pipe hooks are attached to a soft sling, which makes it safer and ergonomically easier for the rigger to handle. Thanks to the use of the spreader beam, the soft slings with attached C-pipe hooks are positioned optimally by using taglines so that the riggers can easily attach the load from the ground. The revised method is being implemented across Jan De Nul’s global activities as it has proven to be beneficial to all parties associated with pipeline transport.

The IADC board concludes the winning nomination addresses one of the industry’s major safety issues, successfully combining a series of proven strategies. Through the combined use of flexible blocks on the lorry, a spreader and flexible slings as well as the development of C-pipe hooks, the individual elements come together to form a safety solution which can be used throughout the entire industry.

By Larz Bourne