What is work at height?
by Admin
Posted on 14-04-2023 06:38 AM
Working at height means working in a place where you could get injured by falling from a height. This applies where your workplace is at, above or below, ground level. It does not
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a staircase in a permanent workplace. Activities covered by working at height include:
using a kick stool or stepladder to access overhead shelving
hanging curtains in bays
changing lamps or ceiling tiles
using trestles and ladders to paint or clean
order picking using a fork-lift truck with an integrated platform
working on a ladder or scaffold
your manager must carry out a risk assessment for working at height and put in place control measures for risks identified.
According to the health and safetyauthority (hsa) ” working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. ‘work at height’ means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (for example a fall through a fragile roof). ”the working at height regulations 2007 requires all ‘working at height’ tasks to be properly planned. Those carrying out the work need to be competent. All risks have to be assessed, and appropriate work equipment selected, used, inspected and maintained.
You must make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job. You must use the right type of equipment for working at height. Take a sensible approach when considering precautions. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to planning and there may be some low-risk situations where common sense tells you no particular precautions are necessary.
Working at height is incredibly dangerous if not planned properly. This is why it is important to understand what is actually considered as being work at height, what should be taken into consideration before starting such work, as well as what your responsibilities are. A thorough knowledge of the current regulations is also required. We put together a brief guide covering all the above as well as some of the current existing safety equipment on the market.
Working at Height in Agriculture - Info Sheet
Ladders, incomplete scaffolds, falling off a truck, a roof edge or falling through fragile roof sheeting are the major causes of injuries. These incidents largely happen in the construction, manufacturing, transport, postal and warehousing and agriculture industries. Safework nsw inspectors regularly blitz construction sites to check compliance and talk with employers and workers about how to work safely at heights.
Use this checklist to find out if your construction site is working at heights safely.
Call: 0818 289 389
Our working at heights and harness inspection course is designed for those employees who work at heights. It aims to give them an awareness of the hazards & risks of working at height & the legislation/regulation specifically applicable to working at height. Click here for course schedule.