Commercial Building Height Safety: Ensuring Compliance and Risk Prevention at Scale
Commercial buildings come in all shapes and sizes and are used for different purposes. Many are of considerable height, but all have a roof that has to be accessed at certain times.
Many commercial buildings have equipment on the roof that requires to be inspected and maintained at intervals. This equipment includes HVAC systems, advertising signs and possibly solar panels while the building’s windows need to be cleaned periodically. All these tasks involve working at height and require that commercial building height safety is considered seriously and action taken.
Devices and Equipment that Need to be Provided to Reduce Risk
The Workplace Health and Safety Act requires that the owner or manager of a commercial building has to provide a safe workplace. This particularly applies to working at height where there are specific requirements regarding the risk of falls.
Whenever possible, work should be undertaken on the ground or a stable base; otherwise, protection against falls has to be available. To achieve this, the following must be provided:
- Fall protection devices, such as work platforms, scaffolding or barriers. These should be installed so that subsequent adjustment is not needed.
- Otherwise, a work positioning system that can include rope access or any structure that positions or supports someone.
- Otherwise, a fall arrest system, such as a safety net, that protects workers if they fall.
A combination of these may be installed to ensure minimum risk. Some form of protection is necessary for any activity where a worker can fall two metres or more. A Safe Work Method Statement must be prepared for anything that fits into this category.
Standards and Responsibilities for Safe Working at Height
Falls from height contribute to one-third of injuries and fatalities in the workplace in Australia. Consequently, employers have a duty to keep their workers safe and prevent accidents from occurring. This duty is backed up by legislation, the main standard for working at height being AS/NZ 1891 that deals with fall arrest systems. The standard is divided into several parts, covering fall arrest harnesses, horizontal lifelines and rail systems, fall arrest devices and their selection, use and maintenance.
To be compliant, all systems and equipment must conform to this standard. Standard AS 1657 covers the design, construction and installation of fixed platforms, walkways, stairways and ladders. It therefore relates to access systems that are of a more permanent nature and are inside a building or part of a fall protection system.
These standards are developed by Standards Australia, with those labelled AS/NZ being created in conjunction with Standards New Zealand. Standards Australia also works with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), so its standards complement international ones.
All fall protection systems that are installed are required to conform to Australian standards, and a certificate should be issued to confirm that this is so. Annual inspections are needed for these systems to ensure they are still operating correctly.
Since fall protection systems are on the roofs of commercial buildings and may not be used every day, it is easy to forget they exist and overlook the need for regular inspections and maintenance. This must not happen because it will result in non-compliance and, more importantly, will put workers at risk.
At Workplace Access & Safety, we can design, fabricate and install the systems you need. We can also inspect existing systems to ensure they perform correctly and can undertake maintenance when needed. Don’t take risks with the safety of your workforce, and don’t risk legal problems and damage to your company’s reputation. Instead, contact us and we will keep everything as it should be.
