Staying safe and secure when working at height
WorkSafe has concluded their report about a young lady who was left paralysed from the waist down, following a fall from an unsafe platform that was being used to undertake maintenance on a grain conveyor within the Champion Flour Milling factory. After falling 3.7 meters in this life-changing incident, WorkSafe has shown that her fall was the result of unsafe equipment. An unsecured ladder, a platform with no guard rails, and no harness used.
With quality training, teaching this young lady how to keep herself safe in situations like these, this incident could have been prevented. Harness training is critical knowledge to have when working at height, to further expand your knowledge Height Safety Introduction or Height Safety Advanced would be a great step up in training, to ensure your safety when working at height. If you would like to be able to inspect your gear and assist with keeping your workplace safe, you should attend our Height Safety Equipment Inspection course.
We have linked below the article from WorkSafe should you wish to read it in full. Also included below are shortcuts to our training solutions relevant to risks associated with this incident.
Additional resources
- Worksafe: https://worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/christchurch-worker-left-paralysed-after-fall-from-unsafe-platform/
- Legislation ( Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulation 2016) :http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2016/0013/latest/DLM6727386.html?search=sw_096be8ed816cbecc_Clause+9_25_se&p=1&sr=1
- Legislation (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015):
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0070/latest/DLM5976895.html?search=sw_096be8ed81a00d76_Section+36.3f_25_se&p=1
Related training options
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Height Safety Advanced
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the legal requirements and management of proprietary height safety systems and procedures. Unit standards covered: 17600, 23229, 25045 and 15757
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Height Safety Introduction
Understand the legal requirements, systems and procedures to conduct work safely at height. Unit standards covered: 17600, 23229 and 25045
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Harness Safety
Understand how to effectively use a safety harness system and associated equipment when working at heights. Unit standard covered: 23229
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Height Safety Equipment Inspection
Understand the legal requirements, methodology and procedures to inspect height safety equipment. Unit standards covered: 19359
