Working at heights: Managing compliance, safety and liability

You've identified the hazards, assessed the risk, put control measures in place, consulted with employees and documented every step. But when it comes to working at heights laws, the standard risk assessment process is simply not enough.

The laws take the hierarchy of control mechanisms beyond such loose terms and lay out the equipment and systems to match. WorkCover NSW’s Safe Working at Heights Guide 2004 spells out the importance of the control hierarchy:

“Unlike other areas of the OHS Regulation, the appropriate risk control measures are not solely determined by conducting a risk assessment. Instead, clause 56 specifies a mandatory hierarchy of controls, which relate solely to the risks associated with people falling from heights.”

Under the two states’ laws, you must apply the controls in the listed order and can only move down to a lower level where it is “not practicable” to use a higher order control.

The Victorian Code of Practice (No 28) – Prevention of Falls in General Construction explains “’Practicable’ does not just mean the cost in dollar terms”, and lists four factors to take into account: 
the severity of the hazard or risk
the state of knowledge
the availability and suitability of ways to remove or mitigate the hazard or risk
the cost of removing or mitigating the hazard or risk  
Move from one level to the next and you must document why a higher level of protection was not practicable.

The hierarchy of controls is where the two states differ. Victoria’s hierarchy of control specifies five levels of control, while NSW's Safe Work on Roofs Code of Practice and those of most other states group them into three. The five-level Victorian hierarchy includes:
Level 1: Undertake the work on the ground or on a solid construction
Level 2: Undertake the work using a passive fall protection device
Level 3: Undertake the work using a work positioning system
Level 4: Undertake the work using a fall injury prevention system
Level 5: Undertake the work from ladders, or implement administrative controls

Division 6 of NSW's OH&S Regulations 2001 omits elimination (the equivalent to Victoria's Level 1 controls) and combines levels 3 and 4, leaving employers with just three levels. This sounds like a a simpler and therefore easier to manage system but the reality is quite different.

The five-level hierarchy is clear, logical, no more onerous than NSW's approach and creates a safer working environment cost-effectively. Adopting Victoria's model is more likely to avoid injuries and to stack up in court – whether your workplace is in NSW, Victoria, the ACT or any other state. This is great news for organisations with Australia-wide operations because a uniform approach is both possible and desirable.

Level 1: Undertake the work on the ground or on a solid construction
This first level aims to eliminate the hazard. The Victorian code of practice suggests a host of measures, from using extendable handles on window cleaning equipment and paint rollers to tilt-slab concrete wall construction, as alternatives to working at height. The definition of a “solid construction” is a little more complex but in practice, this is a stable platform with guardrails and appropriate access.

Level 2: Undertake the work using a passive fall protection device
“Passive fall protection device” covers a range of height safety products  that once installed, need no alteration. Examples include fixed or mobile scaffolds, guard rails, scissor lifts and cherry pickers.

Level 3: Undertake the work using a work positioning system
If niether eliminating the risk or level 2 controls is practicable, consider “work positioning” or "fall restraint" systems. They prevent workers falling over an unprotected edge and are typically harnesses attached by lanyards to roof anchors or static lines, or harnesses with ropes and friction devices.
Because their effectiveness depends entirely on the skills of their users and how well the equipment is maintained, both users and their supervisors should undertake competency-based training before implementing level 3 safeguards.

Level 4: Undertake the work using a fall injury prevention system
While work positioning systems prevent the fall from occurring at all, level 4 controls merely minimise the distance of the fall. Examples include safety nets, wire mesh, catch platforms and individual fall arrest systems (IFAS). All must be installed by people with specialist technical skills and workers using IFAS must also be highly trained.
Both the authorities and safety professionals acknowledge that a fall arrest system requires considerable skill to use safely, and in the event of an arrested fall, is likely to cause some physical injury to the user. Workers using IFAS should never work alone and an emergency plan needs to be put in place to allow a speedy rescue.   

Level 5: Undertake the work from ladders or implement administrative controls
The last resort for working safely at height encompasses ladders and procedures, or “administrative controls”.

The bottom line
It makes sense to follow the five-level safe work at heights hierarchy of controls. Aside from meeting your moral and legal obligations, it is good business to install the higher level controls like guardrails and walkways wherever possible rather than relying on fall prevention and fall arrest systems.

Level 1 and 2 controls focus on making the environment (usually a rooftop or building) safe. The remaining levels place the emphasis on safe behaviour or restraining the worker with technical equipment.

In practice, this means that simple, low maintenance systems like guardrails are less costly over their lifetimes, require little training to use and allow a broader spectrum of workers to do the job safely. Better height safety really does equal a better bottom line.