Capital Equipment News September 2015

WORK @ HEIGHT: GOOD PRACTICE

Fall protection planning, shaping work at height Gravity Training cc, founding member of Institute for Work at Height (IWH), was established in 2001 and has had an extensive influence on the fall arrest and rope access industry, nationally and internationally. Gravity Training has experience in various industries such as telecommunications, mining, utilities and construction. The begin- ning of all work at height regulations was mainly due to the basic assess- ment of the inherent all risk associated with fall arrest and rope access work. According to the South African Oc- cupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, Construction Regulation Section 9, “All construction work must have a risk assessment done by a competent person and all risks and hazards iden- tified and mitigated.”

addressed by competent personnel or through consultation with industry experts, one would note that putting a plan in place is the best solution to mitigating fall risks. Construction Reg- ulation Section 10 provides the mini- mum criteria to compile and implement a fall protection plan. These include risk assessment, equipment manage- ment, medical programme, training programme and rescue procedures, which are all related to work at height. The list of registered work at height designations set out by the IWH are: • Rope Access Designations: • Fall Protection Planner • Unit Standard (US) 229998 & US 229994 • Level 1 Rope Access Technician • US 229998 & US 230000 • Level 2 Rope Access Practitioner • Level 1 & US 229996 • Level 3 Rope Access Supervisor • Level 2, US 230000 & US 229997 • Fall Arrest Designations: • Fall Protection Planner • US 229998 & US 229994 • Basic Fall Arrest Technician • US 229998 • Fall Arrest Technician • US 229998 & US 229995 • Fall Arrest Rescue Technician • US 229998, US 229995, US 229994 & US 229999 The overall aim for technicians and the work at height industry is to pro- vide a safe working environment for all technicians working from any position with a risk of falling. The only way to achieve this is to ensure that a com- petent person compiles the correct risk assessment, fall protection plan and procedures for any possible fall risk. These procedures are vital to eliminate the risk of injury or death, and it needs to be ensured that all work at height procedures are practical and fit for the specific purpose.

Construction Regulation Section 10 requires “a competent person to be appointed for the preparation of a fall protection plan and specific steps tak- en to ensure continued adherence to a fall protection plan.” The purpose here is not to compose manuals or short stories about risk as- sessments or fall protection planning, but to highlight the importance of safe work procedures and the responsibility involved for all technicians working at height. Everyone has an equal respon- sibility towards overall safety, both on and off a site. As experts in this field have stated, South Africa is at the forefront of health and safety and several countries in Af- rica have already adopted our regula- tions. In 2014 our local government in- cluded the Construction Regulation Section 18, which addresses rope ac- cess work. This gives a clear indication of the scope of responsibilities when performing rope access work. A typical question now arising would probably be: What does this have to do with me? Or, where do I even begin to com- ply with the construction regulations? The solution invariably involves start- ing with a baseline risk assessment on your work scope, typically asking what the possibilities of injury or death may be. Once these questions have been

[Barry Lottering – Gravity Training cc]

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2015 42

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2015 42