Fall protection – necessity or needless luxury?
Falls from heights, unfortunately, are still not uncommon in Poland, although in recent years there has been a significant rise in consciousness. The development of fall protection systems has also accelerated, many companies dealing with this have been established in Poland, thanks to which the fall protection systems are more easily available. According to statistics, over 70% of fatal accidents at work in construction are caused by accidents from heights. Last year, over 6,000 people were injured because of this, more than 1/5 of this was construction. In addition, it is worth mentioning that about 30% of fatal accidents at work are caused by falls from a height.
The statistics are clear
The above data shows the importance of appropriate safeguards when working at height, such as fall protection systems and collective protection systems. Most of these accidents would not have happened if employees were properly secured in a manner appropriate to the work performed. This shows how important the safety and awareness of the employee are. Fall protection systems at heights and training greatly increase safety. In workplaces where we have conducted training and introduced systems of protection against falls from a height, the number of accidents caused by falls has significantly decreased. Unfortunately, many companies do not choose such solutions due to the seemingly high costs. The risk of falling from a height is relatively low, but you need to take into account the enormous costs that the company will incur when such an accident occurs, and they are serious.
Plan fall protection
In 99% of cases, falls from a height can be prevented by applying appropriate standards and safety measures. Employers and owners are obliged to secure the place of work. They must provide a safe workplace, in the event of the danger of falls from a height, do they have to provide appropriate measures- collective protection systems (e.g. guardrails) or fall protection systems (e.g. rope system). To find out what security and what system to implement, more and more employers decide to use the services of companies specializing in this area. A safety audit examines the processes in the company, finds potential places at higher risk of an accident, analyzes the possibilities of reducing the risk and presents possible options. Thanks to this, it is possible to create a safety plan where procedures and standards as well as equipment will be taken into account.
Audit scope:
- Verification of the technical requirements of the construction infrastructure
- Observation and analysis of processes performed in risk zones
- Analysis of work areas and determination of the existing level of risk
- Specification of particularly dangerous works performed at height and in confined spaces
- Review of collective protection systems and permanent fall protection systems
- Overview of ladders and vertical fall protection systems
- Review of personal protection equipment
- In-house transport
Summary
Appropriate protection against falls from a height can minimize the risk of an accident and save the company a lot of costs due to an inadequately secured workplace, but most of all it saves lives. A company with risks of falling from a height should identify them, analyze available options and implement safety systems (collective protection systems or fall protection systems).
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