Working @ Heights - A common event that kills
Working at heights is one of the most common and potentially deadly activities in the workplace, resulting in an average of 28 work related fatalities per year (Safe work Australia). This accounts for approximately 11% of the workplace fatalities in Australia. In National Safe Work month – we need to ask ourselves – are we doing enough in our own workplaces to prevent our people from falling from height?
The answer is not simply we have training and fall protection equipment- remember these are our last lines of defence. We need to be proactively managing the risk from the project planning stage and ensuring resourcing is adequate.
Project planning
Regardless of the job size, planning is critical to ensuring safety and conducting a risk assessment(s) provides an excellent platform to effectively plan and implement risk mitigation. In the context of working at height, risk assessments should consider:
Construction activities required;
Future maintenance requirements – can you design plant or equipment to eliminate or minimise the risk;
Equipment requirements - have you made provision for elevated work platforms, scaffolds, walkways and handrails? Have you identified your drop zones?
Personnel resourcing requirements – do you have adequate supervision on the job? Have you provided working at heights training?
Systems – have you implemented robust systems to manage the work – permits, JSA’s and audits?
Working at Height activities can be completed safely, but to do so we must:
Plan;
Risk Assess;
Implement controls that do not rely on PPE and Permits alone;
Resource our teams with equipment and people;
Consistently review and improve.
REMEMBER WORK TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO WORK.
