Working at height safety tips: Most accidents involving falls in work from heights can be avoided and for this, there are basic prevention measures that allow the worker to be protected while carrying out their work. In addition, others take care of the impact in case of sudden falls from considerable distances. Next, we will explain some of the control measures to reduce the risk of working at heights.
Any type of work carried out below zero level will also be considered work at height, such as wells, entry into buried tanks, excavations deeper than 1.5 meters, and similar situations.
Risk factors in working at height
Work at height poses a considerable risk to the employees
who perform it. In addition, some factors increase it and can endanger their
lives. Some of them are:
· The height of the work: The higher it is, the greater risk for the employee.
·
Use of ladders: Fixed, manual, among others.
·
Damage platform: It can be openings, holes or
unevenness.
·
Use of lifting equipment: MEWP
·
Lifting or lowering of materials of great weight
or size: Large pipes, chains, etc.
·
Work on inclined or unstable surfaces: For example
some roofs, and scaffolding platforms.
In turn, mistakes can be made that put a worker at the
height at risk. For example: not reviewing safety systems before using them.
That is why you must be very aware of what are the protection measures against
falls from heights.
Hazard working at height
The risks derived from working at heights are essentially
the fall of people at different levels and the fall of materials that can cause
serious or very serious accidents.
Falls of people at different levels.
This type of risk originates mainly due to the absence of
preventive measures against falls from heights. A lack of training in this
regard can cause an inappropriate result. The use of PPE is necessary to be able to carry
out this type of task in complete safety. Therefore, any operation that is
carried out in workplaces that are at a height greater than 1.8 meters from the
ground, will be carried out using fall protection equipment, both individual
and collective. As established by the regulations, the use of collective
protection equipment will prevail over individual protection equipment
Falling objects
These tasks can cause the risk of falling due to poor
housekeeping which is linked to the risk of falling tools, materials and equipment,
which can be generated by their use during the performance of the tasks.
Fall protection
It is a system that involves one or more devices, components,
or methods to prevent or reduce injuries or fatalities due to a fall. Visit: Safety Zone for more health and safety topics
Active protection
Active measures to protect workers from falls when working
at heights are those that directly involve the person. They include equipment
that supports or are in contact with whoever performs the required function at a
distance greater than two meters high. Within the active protection measures we
can find:
- Harness
- Connective element
- Structural anchor point
·
They are designed to stop or capture the worker in the path
of his fall, without allowing impact against structures or elements, they
require little or no intervention from the worker who performs the work. Within
the passive protection measures we can find:
- Guard rail system.
- Safety mesh.
- Fences and Barricades.
- Mobile platforms.
Working at heights safety guidelines
·
Fall protection measures must meet certain
standards for working at heights. In this way, the safety of the worker and the
effectiveness of these systems are guaranteed. Some requirements are:
- Horizontal mobilization, descent and ascent systems can be used.
- A full body protection harness should always be used.
- The protection measures chosen must cushion falls, and be electrically insulating and resistant to various forces and components. Otherwise, they are not considered 100% secure.
- To choose the system to be used, it is necessary to carry out a prior evaluation. This must be done by an expert, who will study various factors that can range from the atmospheric condition to the physical and physiological condition of the worker, and substances present in the construction.
Precautions to be taken while working at height
For the correct prevention of any work at heights, the employer must take into account three following aspects:
- Limit the time of exposure to the risk of falling from a height
- Mandatory correct theoretical and practical training for workers who are responsible for carrying out tasks at height.
- Proper planning of enough anchor points.
- Follow the safe system of work
- Barricade and signage
- Proper supervision
- Proper PPE
- Proper lighting and ventilation
- Proper access
- Valid inspection tag of scaffolding platform
- Inspected and third-party certified MEWP
- Training for work at height
- Rescue plan
