Answering your H&S questions

The Preventing Falls from Height project is not just about taking enforcement action against unsafe work practices; health and safety inspectors spent many hours engaging with the industry to ensure construction workers and business owners understand the Best Practice Guidelines for Working at Height.

Last year, inspectors conducted 1,700 visits and seminars at workplaces and in partnership with trade suppliers.

These events are the perfect opportunity for participants to ask their local health and safety inspectors about safety guidance and practices – a selection of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) is printed below. The full list is available at www.dol.govt.nz/prevent-falls/information.asp

Q1: Is my three-step ladder still legal to use?

Principals or employers may ban the use of these ladders on some sites as a way of managing the risk of the ladder being used incorrectly. The HSE Actdoes not ban the use of three-step ladders, but does require that they are used in the way the manufacturer had designed them. Ladders are access tools – but occasionally, in the right circumstances and with the right care taken, they’re appropriate for short-duration work.

“Generally three-step ladders are designed for internal use, close to a wall and not for the user to be standing on the top rung/ step

The evidence shows that in many accidents involving ladders, they were being used as a work platform, not being used correctly or were improperly maintained.

Further information about safe ladder use can be found in the Best Practice Guidelines and in the factsheet Safe working with ladders and stepladders.

The HSE Act requires the employer to assess the hazards and plan a safe system of work. This should take into account all practicable steps to eliminate or reduce, as low as is reasonably practicable, the risk of a person falling a distance likely to cause personal injury.

This safety plan should be completed before you start work. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that when you work at height, you work safely without risk to yourself or any other person.

Measures you select need to be proportionate to the risk. The use of a three-step ladder is considered appropriate for low-risk, short-duration tasks. Advice on safe use should be sought from the manufacturer/supplier. Generally they are designed for internal use, close to a wall and not for the user to be standing on the top rung/step.

Focusing your attention on work above your head could lead to stepping off the ladder and falling. Alternatives are light and mobile equipment that offers the protection of a guardrail. Podium steps could be one option.

Q 2: What is the maximum height I can use my ladder?

The HSE Act does not specify heights, but the selection of the most appropriate access equipment for a particular task is a requirement of the law.

You also have a duty, where working at height cannot be avoided, to take all practicable steps to prevent any harm that would result from a fall. Work platforms, scaffolding and towers all offer protection from a fall occurring. Ladders and step ladders do not offer fall protection, so should be the last form of work access equipment to be considered.

If you’re using a ladder, your hazard assessment must justify why it is not possible to use safer equipment.

If your hazard assessment determines that a ladder is the right piece of equipment to be used, then the right ladder should be selected and used in the correct manner.

Ladders should be used for low-risk and short-duration tasks, and three points of contact should always be maintained to prevent a person slipping and falling.

The risk of falling onto something below a ladder (eg spiked railings or glass covering) is just as relevant as the height of the potential drop.

The Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1892.1.1996 Portable Ladders sets the following limits for ladder heights:

a) For temporary non-fixed ladders, the maximum length for:

• A single ladder is 9 m.
• An extension ladder is 15 m.
• A step ladder 6.1 m.

b) Where a ladder rises 9 m or more above its base, landing areas or rest platforms should be provided at suitable intervals.

Q 3: From what height do I have to use fall protection?

Where the potential of a fall exists, the following simple hierarchy of controls shall be considered by duty holders:

1. Eliminate. Can the job be done without exposing persons to the hazard? This can often be achieved at the design, construction planning and tendering stages.

2. Isolate. If elimination is not practicable, steps should be taken to isolate people from the hazard. This can be achieved using safe working platforms, guardrail systems, edge protection, scaffolding, elevated work platforms, mobile scaffolds and barriers to restrict access.

3. Minimise. If neither elimination nor isolation is practicable, steps should be taken to minimise the likelihood of any harm resulting. This means considering the use of work positioning systems or travel restraint systems, safety harnesses, industrial rope access systems and soft landing systems.

The HSE Act requires that if there is a potential for a person at work to fall from any height, reasonable and practicable steps must be taken to prevent harm from resulting.

Remember – doing nothing is not an option!

Other FAQs include:

• Can ceiling battens be used as a method of fall protection?
• What training is required to erect my own scaffolding and to what height can I go?
• Do I need a rescue plan when working at height?
• How often does scaffolding need to be inspected?
• Can I use a safety harness when working alone?

The full list is available at dol.govt.nz/prevent-falls/information.asp or phone the Ministry on 0800 20 90 20.