How to do preventive planning for height safety

Each year, workplace injuries cost the economy approximately $60 billion or more in Australia. This not only affects the employees involved in an accident, but incurs major financial burdens for employers as well.

Safe Work Australia reports that workplace falls from heights are a major cause of death and injury across the country.

To understand how to approach preventive safety measures and minimise the risk for you and your employees, it pays to know why and how accidents happen before looking at creating a prevention plan.

What causes workplace accidents?

Accidents can happen quickly and for many different reasons. There are, however, certain causes that are more common than others. We’ve summarised the predominant reasons for injuries or fatalities happening in the workplace below:

Ignoring housekeeping: Not setting and communicating the standards for a safe working environment means that employees don’t know how to stay safe.

Distractions: It’s understandable that private issues can affect work performance. However, losing focus increases the chances of detrimental accidents happening.

Not collecting all information: Starting a job without knowing exactly what is expected and needs to be done can waste a lot of time down the track. Gathering as much information about the site and job requirements before starting work should be a priority.

Lack of preparation: Having a plan in case things go wrong is crucial to mitigate the risks. With no adequate measures in place, even the smallest of mistakes can cause major waves.

Neglecting safety procedures: Neglecting the safety procedures already in place puts everyone in unnecessary danger. Procedures are there for a reason and should be encouraged and followed at all times.

Preventing falls from height

Knowing what leads to accidents is one component of effective prevention. Having an effective prevention plan is the other. Safe Work Australia published a guide for such measures, which we’ve condensed here.

1. Defining accountability — All employees need to know what is expected from them and take responsibility for their actions. This means that defining who is accountable for what from the start ensures the work environment is safer overall.
2. Identifying hazards — Staying up to date with developments in the industry can help continually identify potential hazards accurately and before work begins on a project. To ensure your identification is effective, consider having an external party review your findings.
3. Assessing risk — Questions regarding the nature and duration of a task, in addition to required experience of employees involved, need to be considered when determining the risk factor of a site or job.
4. Setting safety measures — Once hazards and risk factors are identified, clear measures need to specify how potential risk is managed. This is directly connected with personnel accountability and increasing effectiveness of activities.
5. Implementing preventive measures — Safety harnesses or other equipment should further be provided, ensuring adequate response to predetermined risks. At this stage, training all staff and sharing necessary and relevant information should be introduced.
6. Confirm emergency procedures — Comprehensive plans will guarantee first aid is available when an accident happens. This means that emergency procedures should always be confirmed wherever there is risk of accidents.
7. Introducing regular maintenance and feedback — To effectively update preventive measures, regular risk assessment reviews at every affected site should be introduced.

What we can do for you?

Blackwoods offers safety training courses tailored to meet your workplace needs. We use a three-step process to ‘assess, train and equip’ your operation for optimal performance and minimise risk of accidents.

Book one of our training courses today, and make your business a safer environment.