Cleaning at Height: Key Considerations
Sarah MacGregor, Senior Account Manager at EcoOnline, is a health and safety expert with extensive knowledge on what to keep in mind when working at height.
Statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive estimate that in 2019/20, 6.3m working days were lost due to non-fatal workplace injuries. While the main health risks associated with the cleaning industry are occupational dermatitis and back injuries, falls from height are also an important consideration, particularly as the biggest cause of workplace fatalities.
In an industry which includes window cleaning and regular use of ladders, stepladders and – inadvisably – tables and chairs to access hard to reach areas, what can be done to minimise the risks associated with working at height?
Importantly, the Work at Heights Regulations 2005 sets out a hierarchy for managing work at height, recommending that if the work can’t be avoided the employer must implement measures to prevent falls and if unable to eliminate the risk of a fall, minimise the consequences of potential falls.
There are some other key considerations to be aware of above and beyond what’s on paper, which can help managers in the cleaning industry improve health and safety by decreasing the risks of working at height.
Risk assessments
A company’s top management carries the ultimate responsibility for providing a safe and healthy work environment, and must ensure risk assessments are carried out, suitable, sufficient, reviewed and current. Working at height risks can be minimised by conducting thorough risk assessments, identifying the hazards, the risks, and implementing controls. In performing the assessments, management should consult relevant employees who can offer valuable insight.
Along with identifying requirements for competence, risk assessments should identify what people need to know or do during an emergency, with measures documented in emergency plans.
Achieving competency
The law requires employers to ensure employees’ workplace health and safety, ‘so far as is reasonably practicable. The end goal is competence: workers must be able to perform an activity, in this case working at height, safely and without harm. While training can help achieve competency, it is only one element of an effective learning programme, which follows a cycle of preparation, delivery, transferral and measurement.
Make sure you also support employees in transferring their learning to the workplace, accommodating any necessary changes to decrease risk and providing appropriate equipment to enable safe ways of working. This should be
followed up by an assessment of learning effectiveness. For working at height, this should include not only assessment of skill on completion of training and assessment of application at work, but also monitoring of incident and accident records.
Permits to work
Permits to work set out precautions required to complete work safely, including the provision of emergency arrangements. They can also serve as checklists and training documents, helping ensure that all hazards, protective measures, work instructions, and general requirements have been reviewed and understood by the assigned workers.
A permit to work should be used when additional controls or precautions are required to work in hazardous conditions, industries, or when carrying our high-risk activities. The type of hazard will dictate the kind of permit required. Depending on the nature of the work, you may need to issue a unique permit for working at height.
The role of technology
The right software and technology can help streamline training and data management processes. For training, VR is growing in popularity as a way of delivering safety training, particularly for high-risk industries, including working at height.
For other processes, such as measuring training effectiveness and permit management, software is available which collects relevant data in a central location to minimise time wasted on outdated or manual systems.
www.ecoonline.com 52 | WINDOW CLEANING AND WORKING AT HEIGHT
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