Whether it is atop a Ship to Shore Gantry Crane, a Rubber Tyred Gantry Crane or working on an Overhead Crane we are used to working at height. In fact CIT, the certification, inspection and training division of Pasico Ghana is well known for running a popular Working At Height seminar to highlight the risks and explore the methods to mitigate them.
Increasingly we are now being asked to work at the other end of the spectrum: below ground. Pictured here, our inspector Ibrahim Issifu is at level 24 (1100m below ground) on the Golden Star Prestea minesite in Ghana, completing an annual certification examination on a Morris Overhead Crane working in an underground maintenance area for maintaining mining locomotives.
It is hot work, especially with the need to wear full underground PPE and currently, a face mask. Even with a lift to transport you from the surface it is still a 30 minute walk from the shaft to the workshop area. Ibrahim is a trained professional and not the complaining type – behind that mask he is smiling!