[Name of Organization] 

The Risk of Falls at Workplaces 

  1. Introduction 

Falls are a major cause of death and serious health injuries in workplaces. Fall hazards are found in diverse workplaces where work is carried out at height, like stacking shelves, unloading a large truck, working on a roof, or accessing silos. Falls can also occur at ground levels into holes, for instance, trenches or service pits.  

  1. Purpose/Objective  

The following outlines [YOUR COMPANY NAME]’s policy and procedures to manage fall at the workplace. It also consists of the methods to identify the hazards, assess the risks, and control it, and the training programs provided to the employees for this.   

  1. Scope and application  

This code is applicable to all workplaces covered by the WHS Act and WHS Regulation where there is a risk of a fall by a person from one level to another, which is reasonably likely to cause injury. This code offers practical guidance to persons conducting a business or undertaking, along with those persons who design, conduct, import, supply or install plant or structures, on how to manage health and safety risks arising from falls. It also includes information on a range of control measures to minimise or eliminate the risks.  

  1. Identifying the Hazard 

You should try to identify the locations and tasks, which can cause injury due to fall. It includes access to the areas to the areas where work is to be carried out. Tasks which need special attention are those carried out:  

  1. On any plant or structure being installed or constructed, dismantled or demolished, inspected, tested, repaired or cleaned 

  1. On a fragile surface (for instance, cement sheeting roofs, rusty metal roofs, fibreglass sheeting roofs, and skylights) 

  1. On potentially unstable surfaces like areas where there is potential for ground collapse 

  1. Near an unprotected open edge like near incomplete stairwells  

  1. near a shaft, hole or pit into which a worker could fall (for instance, lift shafts, service pits, or trenches) 

Inspect the workplace  

Walk around the workplace and talk to your workers to find out where work is carried out that can result is falls. The key things to look for include: 

  1. the stability, fragility or brittleness  

  1. the potential to slip, like where surfaces are wet, glazed or polished  

  1. the safe movement of workers where surface change  

  1. the capability or strength to support loads 

  1. the slope of work surfaces, like where they exceed 7 degrees 

 

  1. Assessing the risk  

A risk assessment helps you to determine: 

  1. what could happen if a fall did occur as well as how likely it is to happen 

  1. how severe a risk is 

  1. what action should you take in order to control the risk 

  1. how urgently the action needs to be taken 

A risk assessment is not necessary if you are familiar with the risk and how to control it. When assessing the risks arising from each fall hazard, the followings need to be considered: 

  • the design and layout of the work areas along with the distance of a potential fall  

  • the number as well as movement of all people at the workplace  

  • the need of lighting for clear vision 

  • weather conditions like the presence of rain, wind, extreme heat or cold can cause slippery or unstable conditions  

  • the suitability of footwear and clothing for the conditions  

  • the suitability and condition of ladders, along with where and how they are being used 

  • the sufficiency of procedures for all potential emergency situations  

Generic risk assessment  

If you are responsible for a number of different work areas, as well as workplaces, and the fall hazards are the same, you may perform a single risk assessment. But you should carry out a risk assessment on individual fall hazards if there is any kind likelihood that a person may be exposed to greater, additional or different risks.   

  1. Controlling the risk  

There are different ways to control the risks of falls. Some of the control measures are more effective than others. Such measures can be ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest. The ranking is familiar as the hierarchy of control. The WHS Regulations need duty holders to work through this hierarchy in order to choose the control that minimizes or eliminates the risk in the circumstances. It may involve a single control measure or a combination of two or more different controls.  

To manage the risks of falls, Regulation 79 of the Work Health and Safety Regulations 2012 (SA) needs some specific control measures to be implemented. Where it is reasonably practicable to do so, these need to be done in the following order: 

  1. Provide a fall prevention device (e.g. installing guard nails) if it is reasonably practicable to do so 

  1. Provide a work positioning system (e.g. an industrial rope access system) in case it is not reasonably practicable to offer a fall prevention device  

  1. Provide a fall-arrest system (e.g. a catch platform or safety net) if it is not reasonably practicable to offer a work positioning system or fall prevention device  

 

  1. Information, Instruction, & Training  

Where a particular work is performed from a scaffold, you should make sure that the workers involved in the task should understand: 

  • what loads the scaffold can safely take  

  • not to make any illegal alterations to the scaffold-like removing guard rails, ties, planks, braces, and the boards  

  • the working platforms should be kept clear of debris, as well as obstructions along their length, and  

  • that defective or incomplete scaffolds should never be accessed  

Where will be performed by using mobile scaffolds, workers should be trained to ensure the scaffolds: 

  • remains level and plumb at all times  

  • is kept clear of powerlines, open floor edges, as well as penetrations  

  • is not accessed until the castors are locked to prevent movement  

  • is never moved when anyone is on it 

  • is only accessed by using the internal ladders  

  1. Emergency Procedures for Falls  

Whenever there are risks from working at height, proper emergency procedures, as well as facilities, along with first aid, should be established and provided. In developing emergency procedures, diverse types of emergency and rescue scenarios, which might arise, should be considered. According to Regulation 42, you should make sure that workers have access to first aid equipment and facilities for the administration of first aid. You should make sure that the workers are trained to administer first aid or that workers have access to persons who are trained in first aid.  

  1. Implementation   

[YOUR COMPANY NAME] will review and can make changes to this policy and procedures as needed at a regular interval. 

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