Open HSME menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Preventing the Fall

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSME menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Preventing the Fall

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Safety Signage
  • Heat and Flame
  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Air Pollution
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Offshore Platform Safety
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

Article

Preventing the Fall

Preventing the Fall

By Akshaya Dileep, LRQA

| Read Bio

Published: August 05th, 2022

Share this article

Working at height is one of the leading causes of work-related injuries and fatalities worldwide. Standing on unstable surfaces, climbing ladders, and working at height are particularly common causes of falls, and there’s also the risk of equipment and materials being accidentally or negligently dropped. Safe to say that there’s a lot that can go wrong.

The Middle Eastern market is growing fast as the region continues to take advantage of globalisation. To survive in the competitive global marketplace, Middle Eastern firms must proactively manage a wide range of business risks, and occupational health and safety (OHS) is no exception.

The consequences of OHS failures can be devastating for firms, particularly in sectors such as construction and general industry where additional risks exist—working at height, heavy machinery, hazardous materials, and dangerous substances are just a few examples. In fact, working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries in the workplace.

Preventing the Fall

In this article, we’re going to explore how employers can take ownership of and safeguard against the risks of working at height. We’ll also look at the useful role that OHS training and assurance can play in helping employers manage and maintain health and safety standards, such as through implementation of LRQA’s Health, Safety and Environment Services (HSES) management framework and an ISO 45001 (the international standard for health and safety) OHS management system.

What do we mean by working at height?

‘Working at height’ describes work that takes place where, if suitable precautions are not taken, workers could fall and potentially cause injury to themselves or others. Employees are working at height if they:

  • Work above ground level, from as little as one metre high
  • Could fall from an edge, through an opening, or through a fragile surface
  • Could fall from ground level into an opening, such as a hole in the ground
  • Could drop objects and cause injury to others

This might sound like we’re pointing out the obvious, but it’s crucial that employers are aware of what working at height means so that suitable risk assessment efforts and accident prevention controls can be implemented as per the international standard, ISO 45001.

“ISO 45001 training should be the foundation for all HSES managers in the Middle East”

What is ISO 45001?

ISO 45001 is the first international standard designed to provide a framework for OHS management systems by building on the principles of its predecessor, OHSAS 18001.

ISO 45001 is designed to place a proactive emphasis on OHS risk control factors through identifying and addressing the likelihood of workplace hazards. It also uses a high-level structure so that it has a common framework with other management systems, such as ISO 9001 for quality management, and can be integrated with any existing management systems you might have.

Preventing the Fall

Various clauses within the standard define requirements that must be met to achieve ISO 45001 certification, such as understanding the needs and expectations of workers, identifying hazards, risks, and opportunities, and retaining evidence of workers’ competence in relation to OHS.

Due to its global reach and exhaustive coverage of OHS, ISO 45001 training should be the foundation for all HSES managers in the Middle East.

Your role as an employer

Taking ownership of the risks of working from height begins with assessment. Factors to account for include the height at which work is taking place, the duration and frequency of this work, and the condition of the surface that employees are working on.

When managing the risk of working from height, always consider collective measures that protect all employees involved, before considering personal measures that only provide protection on an individual basis. As you’ll see below, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be considered the last line of defence and should only be used where all other alternatives have been exhausted. This is because the use of PPE means employees are being exposed to the risk, whereas OHS best practice is to eliminate or minimise this exposure. 

As an employer, it’s your duty to ensure that sufficient plans and processes are in place for the management of OHS risks identified during assessment. This is particularly important when employees are working at height. You must also ensure that employees are using the right safety equipment. Under ISO 45001, these plans, processes, and other safety procedures are governed by a hierarchy of controls.

“the approach to OHS in the workplace is changing rapidly”

This hierarchy begins with eliminating working at height entirely. If it cannot be eliminated, then it should be substituted with less hazardous processes (i.e. completing most of a task on the ground) and engineering controls (i.e. use of guard rails and scaffolds). Where neither of these are possible then administrative controls (i.e. suitable training) and PPE (i.e. harnesses, fall arrest systems) can be used as options of last resort.

Preventing the Fall

When implementing this hierarchy of controls, ask questions such as:

  • Can we bring some of the work to ground level and move it to height later?
  • Could machinery be used at height and operated by an employee at ground level?
  • What controls can we implement to make working at height safer?
  • Who are our most experienced employees, and would they benefit from height training?
  • What PPE can we access?

H&S training and assurance

The approach to OHS in the workplace is changing rapidly as new processes and opportunities shape global markets. Trends are being driven by the rising cost of failure, changing social norms that place more emphasis on management’s responsibility to implement a safety culture, and the relentless pace of change in the world of work as organisations become more agile and apply more pressure on workers.

As such, more of an emphasis is being placed on OHS training and assurance by employers. When implemented properly, international standards such as ISO 45001 have the potential to be transformative for firms operating in areas where OHS is a critical concern–construction being a prime example.

Preventing the Fall

At LRQA, our mission is one of ‘zero harm’; we focus on the significant risks and seek to understand and address underlying behavioural triggers and harness technology to mitigate risk by implementing key controls for safety-critical activities.

At the heart of our HSES management framework, for example, are our ‘LifeSavers’ controls for working at height and fall prevention. These are four simple best practice tasks that set the foundation for better working practices:

  1. Define basic global requirements to establish local safety practices
  2. Provide a platform to discuss working methods for high-risk activities
  3. Establish a simple set of behaviours that will help to control significant risks
  4. Share knowledge of best practices across the organisation

Our LifeSavers controls were designed in response to repetitive incidents being reported within certain areas of industry. These controls are defined by dos and don’ts—best practice guidance that tells employers what ‘rules’ they need to follow to help prevent employees from falling when they’re working at height.

Preventing the Fall

These rules are categorised into different areas, such as general principles for working at height and safe systems of work for working at height. They can easily be implemented alongside an OHS management system under ISO 45001, too. Let’s look at these in more detail.

General principles for working at height

General LifeSavers principles for working at height cover much of what we’ve already discussed. For example, working at height can only occur where other options are deemed unsuitable and therefore it cannot be avoided. Working at height can also only be performed by trained and competent employees.

Other principles include: Fall arrest and restraint systems must be used above five feet; employees must always be accompanied when working at height; portable access equipment such as lifts and platforms should be used for access; ladders must only be used where this equipment is not available; high-risk activities, such as working on platforms, operating mobile platforms, and using suspended access must only be carried out by employees who have been trained and certified to do so.

“full-body harnesses must be worn when using suspended work platforms”

Implementing a safety system

In addition to the above general principles, employees should look to implement an organisation-wide system that ensures safe working at height.

This system should include key requirements such as: Employees must comply with LifeSavers critical safety behaviours and best practices; personnel must visually inspect permanent structures and access equipment before use; scaffolding must be used where a permanent means of access is not available; scaffolding should be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure safety; full-body harnesses must be worn when using suspended work platforms or Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs); and employees must not ride MEWPs while the boom is extended.

Preventing the Fall

When creating a safety system for working at height, employers must ensure the following:

  • Hazards of working at height are identified, assessed, and documented in the HSES risk register, along with local requirements, processes, and control measures
  • Task risk assessments are conducted by personnel before conducting work at height, and environmental conditions are considered
  • A register of fall arrest equipment must be established, with any defective equipment taken out of service after a fall, or where there’s excessive wear or defects
  • A competent person must assess fall arrest equipment at least annually, or more frequently where local compliance requirements mandate it

Guidance for employees

Employees should: Maintain three points of contact when climbing or working from a ladder and always hold on; plan their work and agree on appropriate safety measures with co-workers; raise concerns and intervene if others are working unsafely; check if a permit is required before commencing a task and always follow any requirements; and maintain situational awareness of other work being conducted around you as this could impact your safety.

Employees shouldn’t: Begin working without a risk assessment to identify risks and appropriate controls; begin working if it’s believed that conditions are unsafe; begin working if safety or emergency procedures are unclear; rely solely on PPE as this should be considered a final line of defence.

Preventing the Fall

Employees should also be aware of hazards and developing risks by: Maintaining a safe distance from hazards, ensuring they’re outside the ‘line of fire’ and understanding the consequences of equipment failure; keeping away from suspended loads, unprotected equipment, and moving vehicles; being alert to blasting, welding, grinding, electrical work, and the risk of falling objects; and maintaining a safe distance from lines and loads under tension.

“stage 1 and stage 2 training must be refreshed every three years”

Training and competency

Prior to being authorised to work at height, personnel must successfully complete a two-stage training course:

  • Stage 1: LRQA LifeSavers work at height training
  • Stage 2: Practical work at height training as directed by the HSES Manager

Personnel can be exempt from the stage 2 training if they can demonstrate appropriate valid training and have recent experience of working at height. That said, stage 1 and stage 2 training must be refreshed every three years, or where there is either a significant change in a process or where there is evidence of deficiencies in an individual’s knowledge.

VIEW FALL PROTECTION PRODUCTS

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Akshaya Dileep, LRQA

POPULAR POSTS BY Akshaya Dileep, LRQA

Preventing the Fall

Article

Preventing the Fall

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSME newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region's only industrial health and safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSMEMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Twitter

hsmemagazine HSME Magazine @hsmemagazine ·
25 Jan

DFB is designed for use in high-end manufacturing environments, including food and pharmaceutical manufacturing but can also be applied in wider industry settings.

Read the latest exciting news from @airbench today!
https://www.hsmemagazine.com/press-release/new-downflow-booth-from-airbench-ltd/

#hsmemagazine #AirBench #DownFlowBooth

Reply on Twitter 1618277902268915719 Retweet on Twitter 1618277902268915719 Like on Twitter 1618277902268915719 Twitter 1618277902268915719

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region’s only industrial health and safety magazine – delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO HSME MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of HSME, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSME
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSME

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT