Working at Height – Understand the Risks

Without taking proper precautions and identifying the risks pertinent to your specific application, your height safety preparation may be at best, poor and at worst, dangerous.

Height safety and accident prevention isn’t a “one size fits all” solution to whatever it is you’re going to be doing that day. The way you deal with each situation will be different depending on the type of work you’re doing, how high you’ll need to be and the type of obstacles you’re going to face.

Specifically, the actual height you’re going to be working at makes a huge difference to the precautions you’ll need to have in place. It’s likely that you’ll already have the procedures in place to make sure everyone is wearing a safety helmet and harness, but is that enough?

For example, is other work wear required in order to deal with specific hazards you may encounter either on the way up to the work area or when you get there? If you’re going to be working a lifting platform, are there any unprotected zones? Are there any openings in floors or unsafe flooring full stop?

Unguarded excavations can cause huge problems – are these specifically and clearly marked so the operator can avoid them easily?

These and many more questions need to be taken into account and as you can see, it’s not just a matter of turning up on site with a standard check-list. Even the most experienced operator will need to do a full health and safety check before proceeding with any operations on site.