Fall Prevention
Your guide to preventing falls when working at height.
What is fall prevention?
Fall prevention refers to preventing falls that may occur while working at elevated levels, such as on roofs, scaffolding, ladders, and elevated platforms. Fall prevention measures are crucial for the safety of workers engaged in such activities, as falls from heights can result in serious injuries or even fatalities. Fall prevention requires equipment such as guardrails, safety platforms, anchor points, roof safety lines and other height safety products that prevent falls from height
If you are a building owner, contractor commissioned to carry out work at height or control work at height on a project or building you become a ‘duty-holder’ according to the ‘Work at Height Regulations – 2005’. Duty Holders are responsible for ensuring all work at height complies to the regulations. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to all workplaces in the United Kingdom, including construction sites, factories, and offices. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in prosecution and fines.
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Avoid working from height where possible
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Use equipment and measures to prevent a fall
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Use equipment to minimise the consequences of fall
Types of Fall Prevention
Fall prevention is essential in many industries, including construction, manufacturing, and maintenance, where workers may be required to work at elevated heights. Employers are responsible for providing fall prevention equipment and training workers on its proper use to ensure a safe working environment.
Fall prevention equipment falls into two main categories:
Collective or Passive: Collective fall prevention equipment is designed to prevent multiple workers from falling. These measures also normally don't require action from the individual and provide protection around an area rather than each individual. Examples of collective fall prevention systems include guardrails or handrails and work platforms like RhinoDeck.
Personal or Active: Personal fall prevention equipment, as the name suggests, are designed to prevent individual workers from falling. The user would be wearing a harness which is then connected to the system. Personal systems are used where Collective system are not feasible or additional protection is required. Examples of Personal fall protection systems include lifelines or safety lines, anchor points, including both temporary and permanent anchor points.
Fall Prevention Products
Following the hierarchy and the guidelines for collective and personal types, selecting the right fall prevention system seems straight forward - in reality it is much more complicated and dependent on a number of other factors and considerations such as:
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The nature of the work and the duration.
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Impact on other aspects of site safety.
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Weather conditions.
Sayfa Group have a wide range of products that help provide fall prevention when working at height. View our full range of products for fall restraint and fall prevention. Our range includes: