Height safety view — from construction to maintenance

From initial construction through to maintenance, this article takes a view on the working-at-height issues related to the life cycle of a building.

SafeWork Australia data shows that the percentage of workplace fatalities attributed to the construction industry remains stubbornly high. The construction industry remains the third highest on the industry fatality list, only surpassed by the transport/warehousing segment and the agricultural/fisheries segment. This positioning could be attributed to the significant increase in construction activity itself over the last several years.

Percentage of fatalities recorded by construction industry.

In contrast, the number of fatalities resulting from falls from height (not just in construction) may — at long last — be showing some signs of decline, according to SafeWork Australia data. This is pleasing, especially with the increase in construction industry activity and its larger share of the market.

Number of fatalities from fall from height. *Provisional data.

Building vs maintenance

There are also two distinct sections of the construction industry related to working at height — building and maintenance.

So what is the current status of building versus maintenance when it comes to height safety and what can be done to improve both?

View on building

The management control over safety in the construction industry (new buildings — both domestic and commercial) has improved and is the result of a number of factors.

Of course legislation and codes of practice have helped — especially as these are policed by the various state and territory regulators.

However, it is believed that site management controls have been more fully enforced by the construction companies themselves — particularly the overall training and certification of staff working on-site — with particular emphasis on training for high-risk activities such as working at height (among other critical training requirements).

The WAHA is pleased to acknowledge those efforts by the construction industry — and the association will continue to work with that industry to ensure that the training provided to their workforce is to industry standards and that refresher training and recertification continues to be implemented.

The construction industry — by the nature of the tasks — has to work with a variety of temporary safe working at height systems during the construction process. These systems are erected, removed and relocated as the building grows and are specific to the tasks to be undertaken.

It is the efficiency of these safety systems, the enforcement of the use of appropriate safety equipment and the certified training of system users that contribute to the downward trend in fatalities resulting from falls from height.

However, before the building is handed over to the owner, it will have to be fitted with height safety systems designed to adequately support the lifetime of ongoing service and maintenance requirements of the building. These will be appropriate height safety systems specifically designed and installed for each part of that work.

View on maintenance

The handover process of the completed building from the construction contractor to the building owner is complex. Therefore, this article is focused purely on the safe working at height systems installed by the contractor.

These systems will have been designed for the undertaking of specific maintenance and/or service tasks — in a specific manner. These design details should remain with the system file.

The method of undertaking each task should be documented in the safe work method statement (SWMS) and the systems should have been designed to provide adequate worker protection when undertaking each of those tasks — including the use of any required personal protective equipment.

The SWMS will include the method of safe access to — and egress from — the safety system and those details will also be included in the system file.

In 2013, WAHA members recorded data from the inspection of height safety systems on existing buildings with the disturbing results as shown below:

Parts of the safety system will be required to be inspected and recertified at designated periods and that required inspection and recertification data should also be retained in the system file.

The inspection and recertification process should be undertaken by a company certified by the height safety equipment manufacturer as competent to do so. The recertification process also requires the updating of all system labelling as well as the system file itself.

The building owner — or its nominated facility manager — must retain the updated system file and make it available to users and appointed inspectors/recertifiers as required.

Those entitled to authorise access to the height safety systems must ensure that all users have been trained are certified to carry out working at height activities.

Since the release of this data, the WAHA has been pursuing increased attention to the installation, certification and recertification of height safety systems on existing buildings.

It has developed and is about to release (May 2018) an Industry Code for Permanent Anchor Systems, Lifeline and Rail Systems for Working at Height.

While new, current performance data has not yet been collected on the conformance of height safety systems, it is believed that the high-profile activity generated in the height safety system market by the association has significantly reduced the percentage of non-compliant systems in service.

View on maintenance contractors

It is normal to check the professional qualifications of skilled tradesmen before contracting their services.

This should also apply to building maintenance tasks but, where there is a requirement to use the working at height safety systems, the tradesperson must be able to demonstrate adequate training for working at height by providing a current certificate covering safe working at height that has been issued by an accredited registered training organisation (RTO).

Many safe working at height certificates do not show a validity period and only show the date of issue. It is the view of the WAHA that such certification should be no more than 2 years old as refresher training and familiarisation with new equipment and techniques is essential for this high-risk activity.

Maintenance contractors should review the SWMS and confirm its suitability before undertaking the task. Should they not be able to conform to the SWMS, or consider that the safety system does not meet their requirements, they may decline to undertake the task. Such an action should be recorded in the system file and the system installer or recertifier contacted for appropriate remedial action.

Having tradespersons that are fully trained for safe working at heights, utilising safety systems that carry current certification, operating to a clear, documented SWMS all contribute to the aims of the WAHA — and the regulators — reducing accidents and resulting fatalities from activities undertaken at height.

View on height safety training

While much work by the WAHA has gone into raising the awareness on the correct installation, maintenance and recertification of height safety systems on buildings, the association has, at the same time, been addressing the training requirements for those required to use those systems.

Building managers are again reminded that tradespersons using any height safety system must carry current certification in height safety issued by an RTO.

WAHA Training Category Members have agreed and documented the specification of course content for height safety user training, the delivery and the practical testing to be undertaken in training courses, the minimum expected course duration and the maximum number of trainees per instructor on any course.

Reducing the potential failure level in height safety systems and increasing the focus on operator training will, no doubt, have had a positive effect in reducing the number of accidents resulting from incorrectly installed and maintained systems.

The WAHA continues its work to further reduce the fatalities in the working at height market through advocating the sole use of highly trained and skilled height safety operators working from properly installed, tested and certified height safety systems.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Nestor