Basically Safety: Episode 1 - Working at Heights

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What's this podcast episode about?

Key takeaways:

3-point contact on a ladder at all times

Stop, think and consider how to prevent falls

Consider doing a Risk Assessment before undertaking a task

Welcome to our first episode of Basically Safety!

Meet our two super-hosts Hannah Reeks from Safe Ag Systems and Gulliver Hedley from Strutt and Parker Rural.

In this episode, we dive right into Work At Height. What it is, what's the problem and what we need to do about it.

The bottom line is working at height is the leading cause of fatalities in the agricultural industry. And it's not the height that kills you, it's the landing.

We understand no one wakes up and decides to be unsafe when working at height. It often happens under time pressures to get a task done. This causes shortcuts, the use of incorrect equipment and working in dangerous conditions.

So, what is Work At Height?

Work At Height is anywhere where falling would cause significant injury or fatality. An example of this could be standing on a desk to change a lightbulb. The height you're falling from still has the potential to still hurt you.

One suggestion is to group your tasks. If there are several jobs you need to do at height, save them up and hire a piece of equipment to do all at once. You'll get the job done quicker, easier and safer.

Planning your task and selecting the right equipment is crucial. Working at height should only be done on a suitable working platform like a non-integrated working platform or a mobile tower. However, man-riders/non-integrated platforms should be operated diligently.

But what makes a platform non-integrated? They're typically seen as steel boxes or baskets on the end of a forklift. However, it means the person at height isn't the one operating the movement which increases the risk level. The HSE only recommend them for non-planned or emergency work.

Risk Assessments

What's to stop you falling from this height and what are you landing on? If the answer to that is "not much" then that's when you need to stop, think again and do better safety precautions.

Also consider environmental factors there and then on the day. How are your weather conditions? Is it windy, raining or icy surfaces? Working in those conditions is twice as much a bad decision.

Doing a risk assessment will allow you to think through the task, consider what equipment you need and what risks you can eliminate.

Are ladders the best thing for the job?

They're super useful purposeful and functional, but theres ladders and ladders. When Gulliver visits farms he often finds 'ladder museums'. These are ladders from Granddad's old timber one to today's British safety standard steel ladders.

It's super important to get the right ladder and only use it for short-duration and light work. This should only be for half an hour and by maintaining 3 points of contact at all times.

Informative Links