Fall Protection
Your guide to protecting those working at height.
What is fall protection?
Fall protection refers to the whole range of actions necessary to protect workers from falling when working at height. This includes equipment such as guardrails, safety platforms, fall arrest systems, anchor points, roof safety lines and other height safety products that prevent falls and minimise the risk of injury or death in the event of a fall.
This involves:
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Assessment
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Planning
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Selection of Equipment
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Training
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 Protection
Fall protection 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 protection equipment and training workers on its proper use to ensure a safe working environment.
Fall protection equipment falls into two main categories:
Collective or Passive: Collective fall protection equipment or measures are designed to protect 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 protection systems include guardrails or handrails, work platforms like RhinoDeck and Fall Arrest Bags like AirDeck.
Personal or Active: Personal fall protection equipment or measures, as the name suggests, are designed to protect 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 Protection Products
Following the hierarchy and the guidelines for collective and personal fall arrest systems, selecting the right fall protection 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 protection when working at height. View our full range of products from fall arrest systems to fall restraint and prevention.​ Our range includes: