WORKING AT HEIGHTS

WORKING AT HEIGHTS INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

A fall is the cause of almost 50% of all fatalities in the construction sector.

If the person had been using the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), had gotten training in its usage, and as a consequence, utilized it appropriately, many of these fatalities would have been prevented.

Personnel who do not wear PPE or who attempt to do so without proper training put themselves, their co-worker, and others in danger.

Legislation in South Africa mandates that employees who use PPE have received the necessary training. The Occupational Health & Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHSA) now mandates that employers must offer this training.

FATAL INJURIES:

These wounds are typically caused by falls of 2 meters or greater. Primarily involve mining shafts, rooftops, ladders, scaffolds, high platforms, and other constructions.

MAIN CAUSES OF THESE ACCIDENTS:

1. Failure to use any fall protection equipment

2. Usage of incorrect equipment

3. Usage of equipment incorrectly used due to lack of training.

4. Failure to do proper job planning and risk assessments.

5. Inefficient rescue equipment and training.

6. Unstable set-up of work platforms.

7. Lack of knowledge of safe methods of specialist access and egress.

8. Failure of poor-quality products.

9. Failure to Perform scheduled inspections and maintenance.

WHEN WORKING AT HEIGHTS:

The following should be followed whenever someone is performing work at a location from which they might fall more than 2 meters, or if they are using a means of egress or access from a location where they could fall more than 2 meters:

a. Hierarchy of measures.

b. Requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE).

c. Requirements for means of arresting falls.

d. Fall protection plan.

a. The hierarchy of measures means:

1) Firstly, prevent all fall hazards “so far as is reasonably practicable,”

2) Then, if this is not possible, install guard rails, toe-boards, barriers, etc. on working platforms.

3) Then, if this is not ‘reasonably practicable’, fall arrest equipment should be provided.

b. Requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE):

1) PPE shall be suitable and sufficient strength for the purpose or purposes for which it is being used having regard to the work being carried out and the load, including any person, it is intended to bear.

2) PPE shall be securely attached to a structure or to a plant and the structure or plant and the means of attachment thereto shall be suitable and the load including any person, it is intended to bear.

c. Requirements for means of arresting falls:

1) In this context ‘equipment” means any equipment provided for the purpose of arresting the fall of any person at work and includes any net or harness provided for that purpose.

2) The equipment shall be suitable and of sufficient strength to safely arrest the fall of any person who is liable to fall.

3) The equipment shall be securely attached to a structure or plant and the means of attachment thereto shall be suitable and of sufficient strength and stability for the purpose of safety supporting the equipment and any person who is liable to fall.

4) Suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to ensure, so far as practicable, that in the event of a fall by any person the equipment does not itself cause injury to the person.

d. Fall protection plan:

1) A fall Protection Plan brings all the information about a work site and safety together.

2) The Occupational Health and safety Act 85 of 1993 and the Construction Regulations state certain requirements by law, with regard to Work at Height. These can be categorized in the following basic framework:

3) Designations; roles and responsibilities of people involved at the work site. The team-leader is required to document the risk assessment and implement the fall protection plan.

4) Work-site information; where, when, how, etc.

5) Risk Assessment; what the risks are and how they are managed? Medium and High risk (following Mitigation) must be reported.

6) Training and certification; Workers must be competent to perform certain tasks where risks are involved.

7) Equipment inspection records; is the equipment used on site safe for use.

8) Standard Operating Procedures; reference to training information and site requirements according to the risk assessment.

9) Rescue Procedures; is all work at height situations as such to allow a rescue to be initiated as soon as possible.

10) Incident Reporting; is there a system to record any unforeseen circumstances, in order to avoid it in future.

11) Review schedule; to ensure up to date applicable safety on the work site.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED SAFE WORKING HEIGHT?

There is no minimum height requirement, and it generally applies to job activities when it is necessary to reduce the risk of falling a distance that might result in bodily damage. Fall-related head injuries are also included in this.

Some Examples:

a) Working on a Mobile Elevated Work Platform

b) Working on the back of a lorry, e.g., sheeting a load.

c) Container top working in docks, on a ship or in a freight yard.

d) Arboriculture and forestry work performed in trees.

e) Using cradles or ropes to gain access to parts of a building, or a ship under repair in a dry dock.

f) Climbing permanent structures, such as gantries or telegraph poles.

g) Working close to an excavation area or a cellar opening, where someone could fall into it and injure themselves or others

h) Work on staging or trestles, for example at concert or for filming

i) Using a ladder / step ladder or kick stool for shelf filling, window cleaning, shop fitting or other maintenance tasks (e.g., changing a light bulb).9

j) Using man riding harnesses on offshore installations

Painting, posting or erecting bill posters at height.

k) Working in a mine shaft

ESTABLISH A DROP ZONE:

A drop zone must be constructed below the elevated position if work at height is required when there is a chance that tools, materials, or equipment might fall from the raised position. The person doing the activity is responsible for ensuring that the rules outlined above are followed. The location of the overhead work shall be assessed and an estimate of the extent of the drop zone below is to be determined with respect to:

1) The height of the work above the lower level.

2) The potential for nearby buildings, pipelines, or equipment to deflect falling items.

Static equipment that has to be protected from falling things.

Barricading:

To prevent individuals from falling into a higher level, all exposed holes and sides of structures must be made secure by being boarded up or barricaded, accordingly.

All minor and excavations must be barricaded by means of solid barricading.

Note:

Barrier/ Chevron tape will be allowed, only as a means of demarcation only.

FITNESS TO WORK AT HEIGHTS:

Persons that Work at Heights must be in good health and have a valid medical certificate stating they are free from any conditions that might endanger their ability to do their job safely.

In other words, free from any impairment that would make it impossible for them to do their jobs safely. Heart disease, High blood pressure, Epilepsy, Fits; Blackouts, Vertigo (Fear of Heights), Giddiness or balance issues, reduced limb function, alcohol or drug use, psychological illness, and Diabetes are some examples.

WORK CATEGORIES:

Careful consideration should be given before beginning to Work at Height to guarantee that the safest option is selected. It is unacceptable to choose a working approach without first taking the alternative into account. To help with this process, a hierarchy of measures is in place. Users should ensure that they select an option as high in the hierarchy as possible; by doing so the potential risk to the user will be minimized.

At the top of the hierarchy and the safest option is AVOIDANCE, wherever possible avoid unnecessary Work at Height or try bringing the job down to the ground.

This is followed by WORK RESTRAINT (1) then.

WORK POSITIONING (2) and finally.

FALL ARREST (3).

(1) WORK RESTRAINT:

The use of guard rails closes to the edge of a platform or down the side of a set of steps is one of the most popular types of work restriction. A fall from a height is physically prevented by the guard rail.

An additional type of labor constraint is a restraining lanyard. A lanyard that is shorter than the distance to the area where a fall from height is possible can be used to secure a worker to the structure.

Note. Work restraint systems may be utilized with fall arrest equipment; however, fall arrest equipment in any form must never be used with specialized work restraint equipment.

(2) WORK POSITIONING:

Techniques in this category suspend the person in their "work position" using equipment. In order to provide a successful solution, careful equipment selection and proper training are required because the user is then suspended at a height.

Techniques for work placement typically call for an extra safety or backup mechanism. Although fall arrest techniques are frequently chosen, this must also be done using the hierarchy.

(3) FALL ARREST:

The only category that truly permits a fall is fall arrest. The fall arrest mechanism then responds by carefully stopping the fall. Making ensuring the system is appropriate for usage in the desired orientation and that there is enough clearance height below the user to prevent collision with objects below during a fall requires careful attention.

NOTE:

The South African (SANS EN) and European (EN) standard for a fall arrest system is SANS EN 363.

When working at or above 2 meters in height (feet to ground level), or when working within 2 meters of an unprotected edge where a fall could potentially occur, you are required to effectively use the correct PPE.

This equipment and correct training in the care, maintenance and use of such, should be made available to you by your company. Where it is considered that other measures of eliminating the hazards of controlling the risks of a person falling are not reasonably practicable, a Fall Arrest System may be chosen.

HARNESSES:

A full body harness is described as a body support for fall arrest purposes, i.e., a component of a fall arrest system’ (SANS EN 363).

Additionally, ISP recommends a full body harness as the most suitable type of harness for use in work restraint systems.

The South African (SANS EN) and European (EN) standards for a fall arrest harness is SANS EN 361.

In the case of a fall, a full body harness offers complete body support and security. In addition to providing maximum security against the possibility of an operative "falling out," the harness's design ensures that any shock caused by a fall is distributed throughout the user's body, especially in the area of the upper thigh, minimizing any injuries that may result. Fall Arrest Equipment should be fastened to these attachment points, which are always located high up in the front or at the rear of the harness.

High attachment points guarantee that the operative is maintained in an upright position following a fall. A low attachment point, such as at the waist,

CHOOSING A HARNESS:

Choose the right type of fall protection for each of fall hazards. Never use a body belt, seat- only harness or chest-only harness for fall protection. Use a full-body harness instead.

A registered professional engineer should design a fall protection system. A qualified person must supervise the setting up.

Work at height equipment is typically tested to European standards (EN) or the South African National Standards (SANS) which are mostly adopted from the European standards. More recent developments in the implementation of standards in South Africa has seen a movement towards adopting the international standards (ISO) as well.

Equipment that complies with SANS are marked SANS, followed by a number related to the adopted EN standard number.

Certification also ensures that equipment is identified according to the specific purpose of use.

Equipment that does not comply with quality standards, and that has not been identified according to intended purpose of use, may lead to an accident.

CORRECTLY FIT A FULL BODY HARNESS:

A Safety Harness must be worn correctly to ensure that, in the event of a fall; it works to its design potential and does not cause additional injuries.

If the harness is worn incorrectly (loose, undone, etc.) the user may find that they can injure themselves.

1) Ensure that the right harness is used for the job at hand

2) Ensure that the harness is in Test/Inspected

3) Ensure that all Clips/Connections are tightened/adjusted/attached.

4) Ensure that the webbing is adjusted to suit your body size

5) If a lanyard is attached to the harness, wrap it around the body and attach to the chest or shoulders strap – a dangling lanyard constitutes a serious trip hazard.

6) Safe working load (SWL): 150kg

STEP 1

Hold harnesses up by shoulder straps and ensure leg straps hang free.