Can your building exterior be accessed safely?

From window cleaning to building painting and signage, facade access is essential for routine building maintenance. But when did you last check your facade access or the equipment required for your routine tasks?

While your height safety system may be compliant, it may not be suitable for all required tasks. Your building design and roof space may also be restricting safe facade access, increasing the level of risk to users and your business. 

By assessing each task that requires facade access, we can provide expert advice on ways to reduce risk as well as improve compliance and safety levels. Our certified team can even provide recommendations to improve task efficiency, helping you decrease costs over the long run.

Why understanding what tasks require facade access is key

If users are having to ‘make a height safety system work’, it isn’t the right system for the task and they are most likely using equipment in an unsafe (and non-compliant) way. It’s also going to take them longer to complete routine tasks.  A fit-for-purpose height safety system will reduce risk and increase user compliance, in turn driving task efficiency up and costs down. 

That’s why we start all our risk assessments identifying each maintenance task that requires facade access. This helps us better access the height safety systems and equipment in place, and provide expert recommendations to decrease risk and increase safety, compliance and efficiency.

facade access

What’s the right height safety system for facade access?

An anchor system, BMU (building maintenance unit) or rigid rail: what’s the best height safety system for facade maintenance? The answer is simple: it comes down to the application and the frequency of the task. For example, if you have lots of windows that need regular cleaning a BMU may be best for your application. Whereas hard to reach areas that you only access on occasion may require an anchor point system.

Knowing which is best for your building and application can be a challenge, and that’s where our height safety experts can help. We can assess your application and other factors such as roof and building design, access and compliance requirements, providing expert recommendations on the right safety system design for your facade maintenance tasks.

Our risk assessment approach

Working alongside our risk specialists, we’ve developed a comprehensive four-step risk assessment and audit process to help you better identify, manage and mitigate risks.

Incorporating our 45 years practical experience and designed in line with the latest Australian standards and industry relations, your risk assessment will provide expert recommendations to increase your level of compliance and decrease business risk. To help you action our recommendations, your report will include budget estimates, a scope of work and layout plans to support internal project risk discussions.

As each business assesses risk in different ways, we assess each task that requires facade access against your internal risk internal risk matrix and the hierarchy of controls. To better align preventative maintenance schedules, we recommend scheduling your facade access risk assessment as part of a full-site risk assessment. This provides you with a more accurate view of your overall site and will result in a more cost effective service.

Identify areas and tasks

Identify hazards and risks

Verify compliance

Reporting & Recommendations 

Our 4-step approach

Conducted by independent risk experts, all our risk assessments use the same comprehensive four-step process. Whether a risk assessment for gutter access or cooling tower maintenance, you can be confident your risk assessment will be provided to the highest standard.

1. Identify areas and tasks

We start by identifying each task that requires facade access, defining 

how, when and where your contracts (or workers) perform the task. This helps us identify the area the task is performed as well as what height safety systems or equipment may be required. It also helps us identify any documentation or training that may be required for the task to be performed safely.

2. Identify hazards and risks

As hazards come in all shapes and sizes, we review each area, height safety system and piece of safety equipment for hazards, assessing the level of risk associated with each. Our experts will not only assess for immediate hazards but also potential hazards, such as if equipment is used by untrained users. We’ll also assess the level of risk according to your risk matrix and against the hierarchy of controls.

3. Verify compliance

Being trained in the latest compliance requirements, our experts assess all identified height safety systems, access and equipment against the latest Australian standards and industry regulations. Our NATA certification also allows our team to perform on-site equipment and height safety system testing as required.

4. Reporting & Recommendations

We bring together all our risk assessment findings into a detailed risk assessment report. This report includes risk assessment summaries for each area and task as well as recommendations to decrease your level of risk and better manage risks associated with facade access tasks. Provided by our risk experts, these recommendations can range from physical height safety system changes to decrease user risk to changes to ensure compliance, or related to height safety and fall prevention.

To help you implement our recommendations, we provide complete action plans, cost outlines, a scope of work, layout plans and concept designs for recommended changes. These can then be added into a business case, funding proposal or provided to construction groups as part of a tender process.

Risk assessment services by maintenance task 

Access to the roof

From ladders to walkways, we’ll assess all ways your workers access your roof.

Access to serviceable plant and equipment

Ensuring safe access to plant equipment and HVAC.

Access to gutter

Reviewing how safe your gutters can be cleaned and accessed for maintenance. 

Access to solar panel cleaning

Solar panels take up so much space. But can they be safely accessed?

man using Defender Cooling Tower Platform conducting maintenance at height

Cooling Tower Maintenance

Are you providing easy and safe access to your cooling towers?

Fragile and Brittle surfaces

How your workers safely interact with surfaces such as skylights or laserlite.

Other areas

Need another area assessed? Our team can provide expert recommendations.

Do you know your current level of risk?

Working at heights can be risky business, not only to workers and contractors but also your business. Take our online height safety tool to assess potential risk to your business.

Use Our Risk Meter

Workplace Access and Safety:

Your height safety and fall prevention experts

Independent height safety experts

  • Independent height safety experts
  • 45 years’ industry experience
  • National certified specialists, inspectors and engineers
  • Height safety advice, risk assessments and consulting

Combining years of practical experience and industry expertise, you can be confident in the compliance and safety of your system. 

From site assessments and system design to testing, inspections and certifications, we’re here to provide expert advice to keep your business protected and workplace safe.

Decrease your level of risk

Expert tips, tricks and advice from our height safety experts, straight to you.

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