Prevention of Falls
Falls in the workplace cause a large number of occupational injuries in the building and construction industry and sometimes result in permanent disabling injuries or death.
 |
|
Many falls in the workplace involve young employees aged less than 25 years. |
A fall can cause injury to your arms, legs, back, neck or head. Neck and head injuries can cause damage to the spinal cord and nervous system.
Falls can be grouped into the following three categories:
falls from height (a fall from one level to another);
falls into a depth (falling into a hole); and
slips, trips and falls (falls on the same level).
Factors that may cause you to fall include when:
movement suddenly starts or stops;
moving from one surface to another;
the surface is not capable of supporting a load;
openings or holes are not identified or protected;
open edges are not protected;
levels change;
hand grip is lost;
surfaces are slippery (e.g. surfaces are wet, polished or oily);
footwear is unsuitable;
equipment, tools, rubbish are causing obstructions in work areas;
ladders are used incorrectly;
clothing is caught;
surfaces move;
lighting is unsatisfactory;
weather conditions are bad (e.g. heavy rain or wind is present);
struck by a moving or falling object; or
fall arrest systems and devices are not provided or are used incorrectly.
Other factors such as exposure to chemicals or electricity may have a harmful effect on your behaviour or performance and may increase the risk of a fall.
1. Falls from height
Accident reports show that you are more likely to fall from a height when you are working on:
roofs and support beams;
climbing equipment that is incorrectly set up or erected (e.g. ladders, stairs);
supporting equipment that is incorrectly set up or erected (e.g. scaffolds, ramps); and
trucks and cherry pickers.
Your employer should have safe systems of work in place to reduce the risk of falls from height. This may include:
safe use of building maintenance units;
correctly erected scaffolding or other types of safe working platforms;
a safe means of entering and leaving the area where you are required to work;
guard rails, covers, fender boards or other forms of safeguarding;
correctly erected and secured ladders; and
anti-fall equipment (such as a safety harness), which complies with Australian Standards.
Roof work
Many falls from and through roofs occur during maintenance, renovation and cleaning work.
|
|
Your employer should make sure roof edges are guarded to prevent fails due to over-balancing. |
Some materials used on roofs can become fragile or brittle after exposure to weather. Serious injuries and fatalities have occurred when employees have fallen through roofs made of brittle materials such as asbestos cement sheets, translucent plastic sheets and glass skylights.
|
|
You should not stand on or walk across a roof made of fragile materials. |
Work on fragile material should be carried out from a scaffold or other working platform. This must be done even if mesh has been installed.
To make sure people are aware of the hazard the following notice should be displayed:
DANGER
FRAGILE ROOFING
USE WORKING PLATFORM
The use of protective wire mesh for roofs made of brittle materials is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996 and it is also recommended during the construction of metal roofs. It protects employees against falls during roof construction and provides protection for future work activities on the roof. Before starting the work on brittle roofs, the condition of the wire mesh and sheeting needs to be examined.
|
|
Steel mesh, harnesses, nets and guardrails will restrain a fall. |
The dangers of working at heights can be found in the following case studies Fall From Ceiling Joist and Fall From Height on Residential Construction Site.
Scaffolding
Erectors and installers of scaffolds have legal responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and Regulations to make sure the scaffolding is correctly erected and therefore not a risk if safety instructions for its use are followed.
Mobile scaffolds are often hired and used by finishing trades people such as painters and plasterers who may have limited knowledge of scaffolds. Mobile scaffolds are easy to erect, use and dismantle, but are safe only if erected by a competent person. Instructions on the safe assembly of a mobile scaffold are available from the supplier. These instructions are also displayed on most mobile scaffolds as a sticker. Your employer should make sure these instructions are followed.
Adequate supervision should be provided on any site to make sure that stable scaffolding is erected with proper guardrails. Guardrails can prevent falls from a working platform.
Common problems occur with mobile scaffolding when:
there is a lack of training or supervision and safety instructions in erecting or using a scaffold;
riding on a mobile scaffold while it is being moved;
wheels are not locked when the scaffold is stationary; or
access ladders are not placed on the inside of the scaffold.
|
|
Mobile scaffolds can be easily overturned because they are so light. Do not climb on the outside of a mobile scaffold as it can cause it to overturn. |
Ladder safety
Ladders can be hazardous if they are not correctly maintained and used. Your employer should make sure they are properly stored and inspected regularly and only used for light work of short duration or for access.
Your employer or supervisor should give you instructions and show you how to use a ladder safely and what safety checks to make before using a ladder. This includes checking the ladder:
has no damaged, loose or missing parts;
is properly erected and secured;
projects at least 1 metre above the landing place;
is set at the correct angle of 75 degrees; and
is set on firm and level ground.
2. Falls into a depth
Construction and excavation sites often have trenches or holes, which are hazards if left unprotected. Falls into lift shafts, sewers, wells, tanks and stairwells are examples of falls into a depth.
Wire mesh and covers protect people from falling down holes or shafts at work sites and guardrails are used on open edges such as stairwells.
Your employer or supervisor should make sure signs are used to warn anyone on the site that there is a hole underneath, and that the cover should not be removed.
Covers should be securely fixed and marked in clear lettering:
DO NOT REMOVE - HOLE UNDERNEATH
3. Slips, trips and falls
Slippery and uneven floors or surfaces are a serious hazard in workplaces and can result in far more serious accidents than simply tripping or falling over.
You face an increased risk of slips and trips in the building and construction industry as the ground surface, floors or other building surfaces may be slippery, uneven, sloping or cluttered with objects.
Objects such as building materials, power tools and equipment, bags of cement or any building products left where you or other people are moving around can be hazardous. You could trip, stumble or bump into something, resulting in an injury, or objects could fall on you or others when you are near them.
|
|
Safe work procedures for preventing slips, trips and falls will vary between workplaces and should be provided by the employer. |
