Whether your job takes you up to new heights every day or just every so often, it is important to focus on safety all the time. A simple oversight or misstep, even at moderate heights, can be very dangerous: falls can be quite debilitating—sometimes permanently—and even deadly. As such, you need to be prepared to protect your employees each and every time they might ascend to any risky elevation.
With that in mind, here are some things to remember if you—or your employees—work at any notable height.
Tip #1: USE RAILS
It is easy to overlook handrails—since they line just about every staircase you might use—but this is one of the easiest ways to maximize your safety, particularly in the workplace. Of course, using handrails is probably necessary for safety compliance in any work environment. At the same time handrails are passive form of safety planning, installed as pre-fabricated or permanent options that you have to consciously use in order to remain compliant.
Tip #2: USE PROPER PROTECTION EQUIPMENT
Many Nouvelle Hauteur workplaces opt to use Personal Fall Arrest Systems and if this is your option, it is important to choose the proper equipment. There are lots of options, of course, depending particular safety needs, budget, and more. This could include things like harnesses, fireproofing, ballistics protection, lanyards, etc. In addition, proper equipment adherence also involves having equipment of the right size for your workers.
Tip #3: PROPER UPKEEP of EQUIPMENT
It is not only important to select the right equipment, but you must also make sure to properly maintain this equipment as well. Just as you would perform regular maintenance on your car you need to make sure that the equipment in your work place is working at its best all the time and for as long as possible.
Tip #4: UNDERSTAND FALL DISTANCE
Unfortunately, fall protection gear and equipment cannot protect you from carelessness or ineptitude. Indeed, you also must remember that falling at great distances is still a great risk—and the greater the distance, the greater the risk.
Tip #5: CHOOSE THE PROPER ACHOR POINT
When trying to prevent falls—or minimizing risk, more accurately—it is also important to choose the best place to anchor your rope. A proper anchor point must support up to 5,000 lbs per person attached to the rope; because you have to account not just for weight but for the force of the fall applied by gravity.
