Employees Safe When Working At Height Overview: Construction sites are always prone to accidents. When the site is at height, the rate of casualties becomes even higher.
As an employer, you want to do everything possible to ensure your construction workers are safe. While it might not always be possible to eliminate all risks, there are things you can do to minimize your workers’ risk.
Here are some pointers.
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1. Install Guardrails
One way to protect your employees is to install a guardrail system to secure your employees. This is a passive form of protection that will keep your workers safe and help with compliance matters.
This form of protection does not require any additional effort from employees, aside from remaining within the rails’ boundaries. On your end, all that is required is to get an installation company to survey the job site and install the rails along the edges.
2. Scaffolding
Scaffolding is good for supporting workers and ferrying and holding materials on site. Depending on how many projects you get that require working at height, you can invest in scaffolding or lease them when required.
These provide a safe, stable place for workers to stand, walk and work from. They also offer adequate fall protection more so when equipped with rails.
3. Equipment To Hold Employees
Even on a site with scaffolding, having on-body equipment to hold employees adds an extra level of protection.
In case of a fall, full-body harnesses can help keep your employees safe. It helps to invest in good quality, heavy-duty harnesses as these are more durable and safer for workers.
However, these are not a one-size-fits-all. For example, harnesses worn by wielders will be slightly different from those worn by construction workers. Ensure to outline what the roles are and to get harnesses with this information in mind. Remember, getting adequate protection is dependent on the right gear.
4. Safety Training
Ensure to have regular safety training for all workers required to work at height and any of your employees that might visit these sites from time to time.
Ultimately, safety is also an individual responsibility, and each team member needs to be equipped with the knowledge necessary for them to protect themselves.
Carry out these training sessions during induction and onboarding of new employees. Then, follow this up with continuous training every couple of months.
5. Provide Shoes With Grip
A simple slip at height can lead to a casualty. You can avoid this by getting your employees something as simple as shoes with a good grip.
Good quality construction boots not only have high-grade rubber to provide maximum grip, but they also prevent electrocution.
Safety while working at height requires regular training, investing in the right resources, and constant risk assessment. Complacency in this area will lead to injuries, and even worse, deaths.