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

October 2012

Legislative Framework

OH&S Act

OH&S Regulations

Codes of practice

Australian StandardsAS 1657 – 1992AS 1891 1 to 4

AS 4360

31 October 2012 2

Michael Tooma, Norton RoseWhat is “practicable”? Cost considerations.

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

Roof access

• Preference for internal access• Brittle surfaces/skylights

31 October 2012 5�

Equipment testing and engineering

• Guardrail, ladders• Labelling

31 October 2012 6

Research overview, Prof David Caple

• Ergonomics• Design specifications

31 October 2012 7

• Types of ladders

Professor David CapleOverview (A)

Research overview

31 October 2012 9

Professor David CapleWhich ladder to use (B)

Ladder types – step and rung

31 October 2012 11

Morwell, Vic

Selection of means of access

*38°

75°

Are

a to

be a

void

ed

Pre

ferre

d ra

ng

e

45°

60°

70°

90°

Sta

irw

ays

Rung-type

laddersStep-type

ladders

Less Prefe rab le

31 October 2012 12

For twin-sty le rung-type ladders*

*

Preferred range

10°

30°

38°

Preferred range

Are

a to

be a

void

ed

Pre

ferre

d ra

ng

e

0°

20°

Wa

lkw

ay

s

Sta

irw

ays

Mo

re p

refe

rab

le

Old New

Professor David CapleTransition to the top (D)

Top landing – Hand grip options

31 October 2012 14

� � �

Rung/tread shapes

31 October 2012 15

� �

Professor David CapleRung and tread design (G)

Bottom tread

31 October 2012 17

� �

Inter tread distances

31 October 2012 18

Carlton North, Vic� �

Professor David CapleInter rung distances (F)

Lowest rung to landing

�

31 October 2012 20

Carlton North, Vic

�

�

�

Landings

31 October 2012 21� �

Professor David CapleLadder landings and fatigue (J)

Landings

31 October 2012 23

� �

Harness/PPE and ladder lines

31 October 2012 24

Professor David CapleLadder lines (K)

Ladder lines/PPE vs platforms

31 October 2012 26��

Michael Tooma, Norton Rose Compliance and meeting standards

An action plan

• Risk based audit• Compliance based audit

31 October 2012 28

• Risk rate• Labelling• Register• Upgrade and replace

A national approach to fall prevention

1300 552 984

VIC ．．．． QLD ．．．． NSW ．．．． SA . WA

fallpreventionsolutionsMake your workplace safe andcompliant with specialist fallprevention advice and solutionsfrom Workplace Access & Safety.

As your fallpreventionconsultant,equipmentsupplier andinstaller,WorkplaceAccess &Safety makessafe work atheights a reality,painlessly.

The fall prevention specialists

Melbourne9-11 Shearson CrescentMentone VIC 3194

SydneyUnit 5, 57a Rhodes StreetHillsdale NSW 2036

T 1300 552 984 F 1300 551 612 sales@workplaceaccess.com.au www.workplaceaccess.com.au

Queensland36 Matheson StreetVirginia, QLD 4014

South Australia84e Stanbel RoadSalisbury 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 Australia2-92 Forsyth StreetO’Conner, WA 6163

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 » Certified 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 » Certified to Australian Standards » Safe, secure internal and external installations

Fall restraint and arrest systems » Extensively tested and certified » Durable, high quality » Solutions matched to your site » Suits all roof types » Installed by specialists

Practical fall preventionWorkplace Access & Safety designs, manufacturesand installs your height safety equipment using its ownteam of fall prevention specialists. The result is:

» Guaranteed compliance with Australian Standards » Rapid installation » Preservation of roof surfaces and waterproofing » 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 treasuresits independence and stocks all the major brands, you can be confident the equipment we recommend is the very best choice for your site.

Walkways and guardrails » Fix easily to many roof profiles » 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 preventiontakes the risk out of working at heights in six steps.

Your site assessment by Workplace Access & Safetyfall prevention specialists includes a comprehensivereport, 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 willdesign, 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

Imagine for a moment you havecarefully identified the hazards,assessed the risk, put control measures

in place, consulted with employees anddocumented every step. Are you safe?

When it comes to safe work at heights,maybe not. Legislation surroundingworking at heights in Victoria and NSWis quite prescriptive by today’s standardsand the standard risk assessment processis simply not enough.

Mandatory EquipmentSafety professionals are familiar with thehierarchy of controls that sets out theorder of control measures, running fromelimination to substitution, followed byengineering, administration, and finally,personal protective equipment.

In the field of working at heightshowever, the law takes the hierarchy ofcontrol mechanisms beyond those looseterms and lays out the equipment andsystems to match.

WorkCover NSW’s Safe Working atHeights Guide 2004 clearly spells out theimportance of the hierarchy on page 7,“Unlike other areas of the OHSRegulation, the appropriate risk controlmeasures are not solely determined byconducting a risk assessment. Instead,clause 56 specifies a mandatory hierarchyof controls, which relate solely to the risksassociated with people falling fromheights.”

There is little room for manoeuvreunder the two states’ laws. You mustapply the controls in the listed order andcan only move down to a lower levelwhere it is “not practicable” to use ahigher order control.

The Victorian Code of Practice (No 28)– Prevention of Falls in GeneralConstruction explains neatly that“Practicable” does not just mean the costin dollar terms, and lists four factors to betaken 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 enoughBoth Victoria and NSW have developed an hierarchy of controls specifically 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, andboth state regulations stipulate that youdocument the reasons why a higher levelof protection was not practicable.

Hierarchy DemystifiedThe hierarchy of control is similar inboth Victoria and NSW but organised alittle differently.

Victoria’s hierarchy of control specifiesfive levels of control, while NSW groupsthem into three.

For the sake of clarity, this article willoutline the five-level Victorian hierarchy,which includes the following:Level 1: Undertake the work on theground or on a solid construction -This first level aims to eliminate thehazard altogether, in line with the moregeneral hierarchy of controls used inother safety fields.

It suggests a host of measures fromusing extendable handles on paint rollersto tilt-slab concrete wall construction asalternatives to working at height.

The definition of a “solid construction”is a little more complex. It must haveenough structural strength to supportpeople and materials; have a non-slip

surface free from trip hazards and at areadily negotiable gradient; edge and voidprotection and; finally, a safe means ofaccess and egress.Level 2: Undertake the work using apassive fall protection device - Thephrase “passive fall protection device” isvague because it covers quite a range ofheight safety products with one commonelement: once they are installed, there isno need for alteration. Examples includefixed or mobile scaffolds, guard rails,scissor lifts, cherry pickers and roofsafety mesh.Level 3: Undertake the work using awork positioning system - If eliminatingthe risk is not practicable and neither arethe level 2 controls, consider thecategory of safeguards referred to as“work positioning systems”.

These typically include industrial ropeaccess systems and travel restraintsystems. Simply put, these systems preventworkers falling over an unprotected edgeand are harnesses attached by lanyards toroof anchors or static lines, or harnesseswith ropes and friction devices.

The effectiveness of these safeguardsdepends entirely on the skills of theirusers 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’.

continued from page 18 maintained. Both users and theirsupervisors should undertake competencybased training before implementing anylevel 3 safeguards.Level 4: Undertake the work using a fallinjury prevention system - Oftenconfused with work positioning systems,fall injury prevention systems arefundamentally different. While workpositioning systems prevent the fall fromoccurring at all, level 4 controls merelyminimise the distance of the fall.

Examples of fall injury preventionsystems are safety nets, catch platformsand individual fall arrest systems (IFAS).All of them need to be installed by peoplewith specialist technical skills but workersusing IFAS must also be highly trained.

Some of the most common hazardsassociated with IFAS are caused by the“pendulum effect”, where a worker fallsover the edge and swings underneath.First, the worker risks being smashedagainst the side of the building.

Second, a line that is extended too faracross the roof can become too long toprevent the person from hitting the

20 I Safety First I February 2006

ground as the rope swings back towardsthe anchor point.

Even if the fall has been arrestedwithout injuring the worker, there is therisk of suspension trauma, where bloodpools in the legs in the minutes after thefall, leading to unconsciousness andeventually, death.

For all these reasons, workers usingIFAS should never work alone and anemergency plan needs to be put in placeto allow a speedy rescue.Level 5: Undertake the work fromladders, or implement administrativecontrols - The very last resort forworking safely at height encompassesladders and procedures, or“administrative controls”. In itssummary of the regulations, WorkCoverVictoria has this to say about level 5controls:

“The reason these two are groupedtogether at the end of the risk controlsequence is that they are equally poorways to control the risk of a fall.”

The Victorian Code details the correctuse of ladders and outlines the need forstringent documentation of administrativecontrols.

The Bottom LineIt makes sense to follow the safe work atheights hierarchy of controls. Aside frommeeting your moral and legal obligations,it is good business to install the higherlevel controls like guardrails andwalkways wherever possible rather thanrelying on fall prevention and fall arrestsystems.

Level 1 and 2 controls focus on makingthe environment (usually a rooftop orbuilding) safe. The remaining levels placethe emphasis on safe behaviour orrestraining the worker with technicalequipment.

In practice, this means that simple, lowmaintenance systems like guardrails areless costly over their lifetimes, requirelittle training to use and allow a broaderspectrum of workers to do the job safely.Better height safety really does equal amore productive workforce.*Carl Sachs is a director of WorkplaceAccess & Safety, 1300 552 984, andrepresents the Master BuildersAssociation on the committeefor 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 find 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 specialistsPhone: 1300 552 984 (VIC & NSW)www.workplaceaccess.com.au

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