Safety Measures When Working at Heights

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Safety Measures When Working at Heights
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People involved in the construction industry are
very familiar with the phrase working at
heights. Many tasks require workers to work at
an elevation invariably increasing their exposure
to falls and other height-related hazards.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), in the last few years, falls from working
at heights are recognized as a leading cause of
death for construction workers. OSHA also strives
to inform employers and employers of the dangers
lurking when construction work and other
maintenance is done at higher elevations which
can be harmful to human health and safety. Many
occupations require people to work at heights,
and employers must ensure the safety of their
workers when they carry out such work tasks as
part of their occupational health and safety
plans.
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Working at Heights Explained

• Working at heights usually means that a job task
  is being carried out at a vertical or horizontal
  working or walking surface. A common example of a
  vertical surface on which work is done at heights
  is a ladder, while scaffolding is an example of a
  horizontal working surface. Due to work being
  carried out at a higher level than the ground,
  workers are at greater risk of falls which may
  result in a severe injury or even fatality. A
  person working on a roof, on electrical poles, on
  overhead bridges/walkways, or even on rigs would
  be considered to be working at heights.
• This is the reason OSHA has identified
  regulations for fall protection for people who
  undertake work tasks at heights. According to
  OSHAs regulatory standards, workers must wear
  appropriate fall protection equipment when they
  work at heights, while whenever possible work
  areas should put in place engineering and
  administrative controls to safeguard workers from
  falls or falling objects. For instance, OSHAs
  scaffolding standard recommends workers using a
  suspended scaffold, an aerial lift, or a bucket
  truck raised at a height of more than 10 feet
  above the surface to utilize personal fall arrest
  systems such as wearing a full-body harness.
  Furthermore, OSHA also guides and directs on a
  range of measures to be used for fall protection
  and other hazards related to working at heights
  utilizing the Hierarchy of Controls as developed
  and presented by NIOSH.

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OSHAs Fall Protection Regulations

• To protect workers from falls, OSHA has developed
  fall protection regulations for
• the construction industry in 29 CFR 1926 Subpart
  M,
• the general industry (29 CFR 1910),
• shipyard employment (29 CFR 1915),
• marine terminals (29 CFR 1917), and
• the longshoring industry (29 CFR 1918).
• Furthermore, OHSAs construction industry
  standard (29 CFR 1926) also considers fall
  protection when regulating other areas such as
  Steel Erection (29 CFR 1926 Subpart R). OSHAs
  scaffolding regulations (29 CFR 1926 Subpart L)
  also contribute to the safety of people working
  at heights as its regulations are geared to
  safeguard workers who erect, dismantle, and use
  scaffolding to complete their work tasks.

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Safety Suggestions when Working at Heights
Whenever possible, employers should minimize the
requirement for working at heights or reduce the
need for workers to work at heights. However,
when it comes to construction work it is quite
inevitable that workers will have to work at
heights as it is the nature of work! In this
case, all necessary precautions, including
engineering, administrative, and work practice
controls as well as the use of necessary personal
protective equipment (PPE) such as fall arrest
systems and safety harnesses should be used to
lessen the risks of working at heights.
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Installing guardrails and railings
When working on scaffolding or other open
surfaces or platforms, ensure that guardrails and
midrails are installed and used as recommended by
OSHA. This will safeguard employees by reducing
fall hazards. Furthermore, ensuring supported
scaffolds are built and used as per standard
regulations will further reduce the risks of
scaffolds tilting or collapsing thereby
minimizing risks to employees.
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Ensure ropes and other equipment are in good
working order
When using suspended scaffolding to undertake
work at heights, employers should ensure that the
ropes and non-rigid, overhead supports are all in
good working order. As required, these must be
checked by a competent person before workers use
a scaffold to carry out their work.
Wearing the appropriate PPE
When working at heights, employers must ensure
workers are given the appropriate personal fall
arrest systems. Equipment such as the full-body
harness, an integral part of the personal fall
arrest system, must fit correctly to ensure
effectiveness. As such, workers must be
fit-tested before they wear such equipment when
carrying out job tasks.
Ensure worker protection from falling objects
When people work at several elevations, there is
the risk of tools and other objects falling from
a higher level to a lower level or even to the
ground. Thus, employers must put in place warning
signs and other mechanisms such as safety nets to
reduce accidents caused by a falling object.
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Regularly inspecting PPE and the worksite
A good practice to adopt, and one recommended by
OSHA, is to regularly inspect protective
equipment used by workers. In addition, equipment
such as ladders should be checked for damage,
while scaffolding must also be checked to ensure
they are safe for use before the start of a work
shift. If engineering controls such as safety
nets and safety canopies are used, these must
also be checked for tearing and other damage.
Training for employees
Last, but never least, is training! Employers
should provide training to their employees when
they work at heights. Annual training helps
people understand the need for safety at the
workplace and provides pertinent information for
individuals to practice safety while at work.
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One such training is the OSHA fall protection
training, and another is scaffolding safety
training. We offer these courses at very
reasonable prices. Our courses are
mobile-friendly with the flexibility to jump from
one device to another in the midst of your online
training.
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