AS1657 changes to Australias biggest fall prevention standard. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

▶
as1657 changes to australia s biggest fall prevention
SMART_READER_LITE
LIVE PREVIEW

AS1657 changes to Australias biggest fall prevention standard. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Apr 10, 2024 270 likes •618 views

AS1657 changes to Australias biggest fall prevention standard. October 2012 Legislative OH&S Act Framework OH&S Regulations Codes of practice Australian Standards AS 1657 1992 AS 1891 1 to 4 AS 4360 31 October 2012 2

slide-1
SLIDE 1

AS1657 – changes to Australia’s biggest fall prevention standard.

October 2012

slide-2
SLIDE 2

Legislative Framework

OH&S Act OH&S Regulations

Codes of practice Australian Standards AS 1657 – 1992 AS 1891 1 to 4 AS 4360

31 October 2012 2

slide-3
SLIDE 3

Michael Tooma, Norton Rose

What is “practicable”? Cost considerations.

slide-4
SLIDE 4

Major changes to AS1657

  • Selection of means of access
  • Roof access
  • Brittle surfaces
  • Platforms - landings
  • Equipment testing and engineering
  • Ladder fall protection

31 October 2012 4

slide-5
SLIDE 5

Roof access

  • Preference for internal access
  • Brittle surfaces/skylights

31 October 2012 5

slide-6
SLIDE 6

Equipment testing and engineering

  • Guardrail, ladders
  • Labelling

31 October 2012 6

slide-7
SLIDE 7

Research overview, Prof David Caple

  • Ergonomics
  • Design specifications

31 October 2012 7

  • Types of ladders
slide-8
SLIDE 8

Professor David Caple

Overview (A)

slide-9
SLIDE 9

Research overview

31 October 2012 9

slide-10
SLIDE 10

Professor David Caple

Which ladder to use (B)

slide-11
SLIDE 11

Ladder types – step and rung

31 October 2012 11 Morwell, Vic

slide-12
SLIDE 12

Selection of means of access

* 38° 75° A r e a t
  • b
e Preferred range 45° 60° 70° 90° ays Rung-type ladders S t e p
  • t
y p e l a d d e r s

L e s s P r e f e r a b l e

31 October 2012 12

For twin-style rung-type ladders * * P r e f e r r e d r a n g e 10° 30° 38° Preferred range b e a v
  • i
d e d e 0° 20° Walkways Stairways M
  • r
e p r e f e r a b l e

Old New

slide-13
SLIDE 13

Professor David Caple

Transition to the top (D)

slide-14
SLIDE 14

Top landing – Hand grip options

31 October 2012 14

slide-15
SLIDE 15

Rung/tread shapes

31 October 2012 15

slide-16
SLIDE 16

Professor David Caple

Rung and tread design (G)

slide-17
SLIDE 17

Bottom tread

31 October 2012 17

slide-18
SLIDE 18

Inter tread distances

31 October 2012 18 Carlton North, Vic

slide-19
SLIDE 19

Professor David Caple

Inter rung distances (F)

slide-20
SLIDE 20

Lowest rung to landing

31 October 2012 20 Carlton North, Vic

slide-21
SLIDE 21

Landings

31 October 2012 21

slide-22
SLIDE 22

Professor David Caple

Ladder landings and fatigue (J)

slide-23
SLIDE 23

Landings

31 October 2012 23

slide-24
SLIDE 24

Harness/PPE and ladder lines

31 October 2012 24

slide-25
SLIDE 25

Professor David Caple

Ladder lines (K)

slide-26
SLIDE 26

Ladder lines/PPE vs platforms

31 October 2012 26

slide-27
SLIDE 27

Michael Tooma, Norton Rose

Compliance and meeting standards

slide-28
SLIDE 28

An action plan

  • Risk based audit
  • Compliance based audit

31 October 2012 28

  • Risk rate
  • Labelling
  • Register
  • Upgrade and replace
slide-29
SLIDE 29

A national approach to fall prevention 1300 552 984 VIC ． ． ． ． QLD ． ． ． ． NSW ． ． ． ． SA . WA

slide-30
SLIDE 30

fall prevention solutions

Make your workplace safe and compliant with specialist fall prevention advice and solutions from Workplace Access & Safety.

As your fall prevention consultant, equipment supplier and installer, Workplace Access & Safety makes safe work at heights a reality, painlessly.

The fall prevention specialists

Melbourne 9-11 Shearson Crescent Mentone VIC 3194 Sydney Unit 5, 57a Rhodes Street Hillsdale NSW 2036 T 1300 552 984 F 1300 551 612 sales@workplaceaccess.com.au www.workplaceaccess.com.au Queensland 36 Matheson Street Virginia, QLD 4014 South Australia 84e Stanbel Road Salisbury Plains, SA 5109

“Workplace Access & Safety are very professional and their workmanship is

  • good. I’d use them again without a
  • doubt. Their product is good, they were

great, I couldn’t fault them. When I’ve asked for service they were prompt, professional and flexible. They met our demands and needs absolutely. The whole company is good to deal with. Their PR was great and everyone was helpful. Workplace Access & Safety is well worth using.”

K Andrews, Project Co-ordinator, H.J. Heinz Co. Australia Ltd.

Like to know more about fall prevention? Call 1300 552 984 or visit www.workplaceaccess.com.au

Western Australia 2-92 Forsyth Street O’Conner, WA 6163
slide-31
SLIDE 31

The fall prevention specialists

Platforms

» Maintenance-free » Comply with AS1657-1992 » Corrosion resistant aluminium and galvanised steel » Tailored designs installed fast » Specialist platforms for asbestos roofs » Ideal for access to cooling towers

Roof access hatch and surrounds

» Sliding lids for ergonomic safety and stability » Certifjed for cyclonic conditions » Ideal for all roof types » Eliminate open hatch hazard » Safe, permanent support for access and egress

Access ladders

» Step type and Rung type » Quick installation » Lightweight, durable, non-corrosive » Certifjed to Australian Standards » Safe, secure internal and external installations

Fall restraint and arrest systems

» Extensively tested and certifjed » Durable, high quality » Solutions matched to your site » Suits all roof types » Installed by specialists

Practical fall prevention

Workplace Access & Safety designs, manufactures and installs your height safety equipment using its own team of fall prevention specialists. The result is: » Guaranteed compliance with Australian Standards » Rapid installation » Preservation of roof surfaces and waterproofjng » Project management of your works for full visibility and minimal disruption » Consistent height safety standards across all sites, Australia-wide Best of all, because Workplace Access & Safety treasures its independence and stocks all the major brands, you can be confjdent the equipment we recommend is the very best choice for your site.

Walkways and guardrails

» Fix easily to many roof profjles » Disruption-free installation » Safe and stable working surface » Corrosion resistant, waterproof installation » Comply with AS1657-1992

Planned fall prevention

Systematic, simple and safe. Workplace Access & Safety’s professional approach to fall prevention takes the risk out of working at heights in six steps. Your site assessment by Workplace Access & Safety fall prevention specialists includes a comprehensive report, detailing: » How the regulations, codes of practice and Australian Standards apply to each site » Recommended priorities for your fall prevention program » Practical plans that include accurate costings to help you budget Based on the report, Workplace Access & Safety will design, engineer and install a cost-effective height safety solution that minimises your liability and protects your

  • people. And, to keep your workplaces safe and compliant

– wherever they are – we deliver Australia-wide maintenance and training. risk assess plan & budget install equipment train document certify

www.workplaceaccess.com.au

slide-32
SLIDE 32

I

magine for a moment you have carefully identifjed the hazards, assessed the risk, put control measures in place, consulted with employees and documented every step. Are you safe? When it comes to safe work at heights, maybe not. Legislation surrounding working at heights in Victoria and NSW is quite prescriptive by today’s standards and the standard risk assessment process is simply not enough.

Mandatory Equipment

Safety professionals are familiar with the hierarchy of controls that sets out the
  • rder of control measures, running from
elimination to substitution, followed by engineering, administration, and fjnally, personal protective equipment. In the fjeld of working at heights however, the law takes the hierarchy of control mechanisms beyond those loose terms and lays out the equipment and systems to match. WorkCover NSW’s Safe Working at Heights Guide 2004 clearly spells out the importance of the hierarchy on page 7, “Unlike other areas of the OHS Regulation, the appropriate risk control measures are not solely determined by conducting a risk assessment. Instead, clause 56 specifjes a mandatory hierarchy
  • f controls, which relate solely to the risks
associated with people falling from heights.” There is little room for manoeuvre 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 neatly that “Practicable” does not just mean the cost in dollar terms, and lists four factors to be taken 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; and

Height safety: when risk assessment is not enough

Both Victoria and NSW have developed an hierarchy of controls specifjcally for people working at heights. Here Carl Sachs* outlines what safety professionals need to know.

  • the estimated cost of removing or
mitigating the hazard or risk. Move from one level to the next, and both state regulations stipulate that you document the reasons why a higher level
  • f protection was not practicable.

Hierarchy Demystifjed

The hierarchy of control is similar in both Victoria and NSW but organised a little differently. Victoria’s hierarchy of control specifjes fjve levels of control, while NSW groups them into three. For the sake of clarity, this article will
  • utline the fjve-level Victorian hierarchy,
which includes the following: Level 1: Undertake the work on the ground or on a solid construction - This fjrst level aims to eliminate the hazard altogether, in line with the more general hierarchy of controls used in
  • ther safety fjelds.
It suggests a host of measures from using extendable handles on paint rollers to tilt-slab concrete wall construction as alternatives to working at height. The defjnition of a “solid construction” is a little more complex. It must have enough structural strength to support people and materials; have a non-slip surface free from trip hazards and at a readily negotiable gradient; edge and void protection and; fjnally, a safe means of access and egress. Level 2: Undertake the work using a passive fall protection device - The phrase “passive fall protection device” is vague because it covers quite a range of height safety products with one common element: once they are installed, there is no need for alteration. Examples include fjxed or mobile scaffolds, guard rails, scissor lifts, cherry pickers and roof safety mesh. Level 3: Undertake the work using a work positioning system - If eliminating the risk is not practicable and neither are the level 2 controls, consider the category of safeguards referred to as “work positioning systems”. These typically include industrial rope access systems and travel restraint
  • systems. Simply put, these systems prevent
workers falling over an unprotected edge and are harnesses attached by lanyards to roof anchors or static lines, or harnesses with ropes and friction devices. The effectiveness of these safeguards depends entirely on the skills of their users and how well the equipment is continued on page 20 Walkways and guardrails are typical level 2 controls.

18 I Safety First I February 2006

As฀seen฀in฀the฀February฀edition฀of฀‘Safety฀First’.

slide-33
SLIDE 33 continued from page 18
  • maintained. Both users and their
supervisors should undertake competency based training before implementing any level 3 safeguards. Level 4: Undertake the work using a fall injury prevention system - Often confused with work positioning systems, fall injury prevention systems are fundamentally different. While work positioning systems prevent the fall from
  • ccurring at all, level 4 controls merely
minimise the distance of the fall. Examples of fall injury prevention systems are safety nets, catch platforms and individual fall arrest systems (IFAS). All of them need to be installed by people with specialist technical skills but workers using IFAS must also be highly trained. Some of the most common hazards associated with IFAS are caused by the “pendulum effect”, where a worker falls
  • ver the edge and swings underneath.
First, the worker risks being smashed against the side of the building. Second, a line that is extended too far across the roof can become too long to prevent the person from hitting the

20 I Safety First I February 2006

ground as the rope swings back towards the anchor point. Even if the fall has been arrested without injuring the worker, there is the risk of suspension trauma, where blood pools in the legs in the minutes after the fall, leading to unconsciousness and eventually, death. For all these reasons, 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 very last resort for working safely at height encompasses ladders and procedures, or “administrative controls”. In its summary of the regulations, WorkCover Victoria has this to say about level 5 controls: “The reason these two are grouped together at the end of the risk control sequence is that they are equally poor ways to control the risk of a fall.” The Victorian Code details the correct use of ladders and outlines the need for stringent documentation of administrative controls.

The Bottom Line

It makes sense to follow the 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 more productive workforce. *Carl Sachs is a director of Workplace Access & Safety, 1300 552 984, and represents the Master Builders Association on the committee for AS 1657 - 1992: Fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders - Design, construction and installation.

HEIGHT SAFETY

Like฀to฀know฀more฀about฀fall฀prevention?

Height safety specialists, Workplace Access & Safety offers training, audits and installs all the equipment needed to make your workplace comply with Australian Standards and state regulations. Fax฀your฀details฀to฀1300฀551฀612฀to฀fjnd฀out฀how฀your฀workplace฀can฀be฀made฀safe

  • Please have a fall prevention professional phone me immediately
  • Please contact me via email
  • Please send me information about fall prevention
Name: Company: Phone number: Address: State: Postcode: Email: Workplace฀Access฀&฀Safety฀–฀the฀fall฀prevention฀specialists Phone:฀1300฀552฀984฀(VIC฀&฀NSW) www.workplaceaccess.com.au
slide-34
SLIDE 34

Client testimonials

Workplace Access and Safety are very professional and their workmanship is very good and I’d use them again without a doubt. Their product is good and they were great. I couldn’t fault

  • them. When I’ve asked for service, they’re prompt, professional and flexible. They meet our

demands and needs absolutely. The whole company is good to deal with. Their PR was great and everyone was helpful. Workplace Access and Safety is well worth using.” Kelvin Andrews, Project Co-ordinator, H.J. Heinz Co. Australia Ltd. “Workplace Access and Safety deliver what they say they’re going to deliver, their workmanship is good and they are responsive to our needs. Their reporting and quotes is far superior to anything else we get.”

  • R. Tini, Maintenance Manager, Coles Supermarkets

“Workplace Access and Safety are prepared to work with me to find a solution. They seem to have many representatives who understand our requirements and can respond accordingly. They have a good understanding of safety requirements for working at heights, have a good product range and are personable.”

  • N. Bright, National Facilities Manager, Office works Superstores Pty Ltd.

“The systems from Workplace Access and Safety have met our needs and based on their reports we’re implementing their recommendations to our nominated buildings.” They are courteous, delivered on budget and within the time frame they nominated. We use Workplace Access and Safety because of their professional approach and their service delivery and I’d recommend them because of our experiences which are positive.” A Thrum, Rural City of Wangaratta, Vic “Workplace Access and Safety is a very professional outfit based on their knowledge of their

  • industry. They are quick to respond, provide thorough product guides that are very clear and
  • precise. Their upfront customer service is exceptional and they provide clear and accurate

advice and answer any questions I have. They’re prepared to go the extra mile for our business.”

  • B. Mc Lelland, Construction Manager, Paynter Dixon Construction, Melbourne