Work on height definition
When you work more than 6 feet or 1.8 meters from the ground level and you need to climb with a helping tool to perform the work, it is called work at height.
Work at height permit
Working at height hazards and their remedies
Common Hazards
- Falling From height
- A full-body harness is the best PPE to protect against falls from height.
- Falling Objects
- Safety Helmet is the best PPE to protect the head from falling objects
- Insufficient PPEs
- Always wear complete personal protective equipment to protect yourself from any type of hazard related to your body attachments.
- Ladder collapse
- Before starting work, always check the ladder’s condition, installation position, and angle with the wall or any other object where the ladder is attached.
- Unstable working surface
- Make sure your work surface is stable and easy to work on.
- Equipment failure
- If the equipment you use while working fails, you should have an alternative piece of equipment that you can use in an emergency.
- Inadequate edges
- Safety gloves and your tight working dress can protect you from inadequate edges.
- Scaffolding collapse
- There are many reasons for the collapse of scaffolding. So each safety point should be checked before using scaffolding.
- Improper ladder positioning
- Always install a leader under the working point so you can work with your comfortable body position.
- Overconfidence
- Overconfidence can cause mistakes that are not acceptable while you work at height.
Other Hazards
- Weather and wind speed
- Fragile roofing
- Overload Ladders
- Lack of training
- Improper body position
- Work experience
- Height phobia
- Work Duration
Working at height safety tips
Wind Speed
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), if the wind speed is above 23 MPH (10.3 ms or Beaufort scale 5), it’s likely that a worker could lose his balance.
Personal Safety
Safety is very important when you work at a height. Because there are so many risks and hazards associated with working at height.
The physical condition of the worker
- Workers should not be the patients of height phobia.
- The workers should be happy and in a good mood.
What PPE is required to work at height?
- Safety helmet
- All parts of the safety helmets like the shell, harness, harness fixing, headband, sweatband, peak, and chin strip should be in good condition.
- Safety shoes
- Safety shoes should be in good condition and there should be no chance of slipping.
- Full body harness
- (Full body harness is a very necessary PPE while working at height)
- All the parts and belts of the safety harness should be in good condition.
- Safety gloves
Safety Harness
Here are some safety harnesses according to work conditions.
Fall Arrest
Ascending/Descending
Rescue/Confined space
Climbing
positioning
D rings are in a full-body harness
- 1. Dorsal D-Ring for Fall Arrest.
- 1. Sternal D-Ring for Fall Arrest.
- 1 Ventral D-Ring at waist level for Rope Access work
- 2 Lateral D-Rings for Work Positioning.
At what height is fall protection required?
According to OSHA Standard
- (4)Four feet in general industry workplaces
- (5)Five feet in shipyards
- (6)Six feet in the construction industry
- (8)Eight feet long shoring operations
What height is scaffolding required?
Scaffolding is necessary for work that is performed at over 4 meters height.
Scaffolding Safety
- When you work at height use a scaffold or other safe source.
- Scaffolding pipes and clamps should be in good condition and not over-rusted or damaged.
- The base plate of the scaffold should be a hard surface. The surface should be able to carry the weight.
- The scaffold links should be in good condition and the nuts and bolts should be tightened properly.
- Fit the scaffold with the proper height-to-base ratio, the ratio is 4:1.
- Fit cross pipes with the proper shape of clamps to control the angular movement of the scaffold.
- The scaffold climbing frame should be in good condition and the gap between pipes should be proper for safe climbing.
- The sliding bar should be installed at 8 feet from the working platform of the scaffold. Other than 2 feet higher than a worker’s height.
- If the scaffold links are not properly tight or the clamps slip then make some welding spots on pipes under the clamps to prevent them from slipping.
Wooden Planks Safety
- A wooden piece fit for support should be at the end edge of wooden planks to prevent slipping of wooden planks.
- The thickness of wooden planks should be according to the wood’s strength.
- The width of the wooden planks should be no less than 1 foot.
- There should not be knots and cracks on wooden planks and no paint. Because paint covers the knots and cracks that are not safe.
- There should be no bending or misalignment on wooden planks.
- There should be no gap of more than 1 to 2 inches between wooden planks. The planks should be parallel.
- The planks should be parallel.
- Try not to use seasoned wood planks. Because the seasoning process decreases the strength of the wood.