Health & Safety Bulletin – Working At Heights – Aug 20

Falls from height can leave employees with permanent and debilitating injuries. Falls often occur from roofs, scaffolds, ladders, trucks and mezzanine floors or into pits or holes.

Where work must be done at height, ensure the work is done from one of the following controls:

• Use of elevated work platform or portable scaffold with secure handrails;
• Use of travel restraint systems;
• Use of fall arrest systems (e.g. safety harness, industrial safety net or catch platform);
• Step platforms, and
• Ladders

It is important to note that travel restraint and fall arrest systems and the associated anchorages must be designed by a competent person. Any person using such systems must be given appropriate training and supervision.

• Ensure mezzanine floors, storage areas and any other areas that are intended to be accessed have safe access with well-maintained stairs and secure handrails and toe boards around the perimeter.
• Any storage area including racking, shelving or the roof space of an office area within a factory must be designed for the intended loads.