Work at height

Most of the activities on site involved working at heights. This activity also may be the biggest cause of workplace fatalities and serious injuries which are often because of a fall from a ladder, scaffold or falling through a fragile roof. Fall from height is defined as a fall from one level to another. We can conduct working at height activity safely by safe planning method and management.

Working at heights can be found in all industries, and you may think that nothing is going to happen during replacement of the light bulb without the proper practice of working at a height just because you are familiar with the job. As often or not this activity is undertaken using a step ladder, the risk management still needs to be managed.

Fall from Height | The Risks
An employer should have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety & health and welfare of the employees as far as reasonably practicable under the law of working at height. The-work-at-height regulation stated that the duty of an employer or those in charge of any work-at-height activity is to minimize the risk of death or injury caused by fall from height. Although there is a legal duty placed upon the employer or those in control of any work at height, the employees also have a legal duty to take responsibility for themselves and others who may be affected by their actions and must cooperate with their employer so that they can fully discharge their duties under Act OSHA.

Starting with, every employer must conduct a risk assessment for working at height under the OSHA act. As a step of the risk assessment, we must prepare the hierarchy of controls. Firstly, is it possible to eliminate the working at heights in the task? Can work at height be proceeded from the ground?
Nowadays, housekeeping workers use long adjustable poles rather than using a ladder, they have eliminated the work at heights from the task. So, we can complete a lot of tasks at ground level rather than working at height.

If working at height cannot be eliminated, the next step is to avoid a fall from occurring. The main places where falls occur:
– Ladders
– Vehicles
– Machinery
– Platforms
– StairsRoof/false ceiling
– Scaffold

One of the main purposes why a fall has occurred is because faulty access equipment has been used. Moreover, falls from stairs occurred mostly because of the liquid spills, poor cable management, slippery footwear & etc.

The conclusion, working at height is a high-risk category, and site-specific risk assessments must be carried out to minimize the likelihood of a fall occurring. Most of the incidents and accidents involving a fall from height can be easily prevented if the correct method and correct piece of equipment selected is appropriate for the task, the condition of the equipment is maintained well and the person working at height is competent to do so. Thank you.