WORKING AT HEIGHT


Inspector Gadget


John Boyle, Director at Eurosafe Solutions, looks at why keeping a building’s fall protection systems fully tested and inspected with the latest technology is an essential part of minimising risk.


T he regular testing and inspection of fall protection systems is an essential part of safe work at height, and is especially important for workers inv olv ed with the cleaning and maintenance of roofs and facades


T he Work at H eight Regulations 2 0 0 5 hav e gone a long way to reinforcing the importance of protection of orkers, but gures from the S show that there are still around 4 , 0 0 0 serious inj uries each year from work at height alls from height are still the


b iggest reportab le cause of fatalities in the workplace, as reported in RI D D O R, and the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter A ct in 2 0 0 8 has further emphasised the need for


b usinesses to minimise their risks and provide greater protection to orkers


S hould an accident occur, it could mean that not only will the company suffer huge nancial penalties, but also individual directors could be liable


S o, what can b e done to minimise the risks he regular testing and inspection of fall protection systems needs to b e an integral part of facilities management companies and b uilding owners’ planned maintenance programmes or multi- site facilities managers, it is important to plan a dedicated inspection


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regime and ho this should ork Working with specialists, like E urosafe


S olutions, prov ides peace of mind, as a schedule of planned testing and inspection is put together to ensure compliance ith the regulations


Safe Working Order


I t is important to rememb er that safety dev ices installed to protect workers at height need their own maintenance programme, to ensure that they remain safe and in good orking order  legislation states that cab le-b ased fall protection systems should b e tested at least ev ery 1 2 months, as should


P P E associated with work at height and eyebolts on roofs urthermore, ab seil anchors should b e tested ev ery six months as part of meeting Work at H eight legislation, including BS 3 N 3 6 5 , BS E N 7 9 5 and BS E N  hese are set rules for testing and inspection, b ut the frequency of inspection v aries from product to product, so it is worth checking this ith the manufacturer lso, the location of the b uilding and the nature of the env ironment may necessitate that checks b e carried out more regularly – for ex ample, if the b uilding is in an area of high wind speeds or where it ex periences heav y snowfall and regular freez e/ thaw action that could damage such systems


T he H ierarchy of Risk Management


b reaks fall protection systems down into three categories:


• E liminate the risk of a fall • Collectiv e protection • I ndiv idual protection


T he safest method of fall protection is to eliminate the risk, which means remov ing the need to work at height  although this is often unavoidable


I t is surprising how many times a year workers may need to access the roof – often, the roof and cladding hav e to b e inspected for weather damage following high winds or severe inters oever, the number one reason that such systems need to b e tested regularly is b ecause of misuse due to lack of knowledge or human error, which can lead to the damage of systems – which is why the effectiv e training for facilities management staff is all-important


I f the b uilding is older or the roof is nearing the end of its life, facilities management staff may regularly need to inspect the roof to ensure that it is watertight or if any b uilding materials are coming loose f the roof has lights or a glaz ed atria, then they may need to


b e cleaned or maintained, which again leads to regular trips up to the roof


www.tomorrowscleaning.com


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