Top Safety Tips for Working at Height

Changing a broken electrical circuit or a high-power lightbulb is a simple enough procedure for a trained individual.

But how about if you need to fix a failed electrical circuit at the top of one of those electricity-generating wind turbines.

Not so simple anymore, is it?

The thing is, performing even the simplest of tasks can be a matter of life and death if you need to do it at a high altitude – just ask an Everest explorer about the complexities of taking a wee while freezing winds roar around you.

In this article, we’re going to talk about working at heights. In particular, we’ll give you a couple of safety tips on how you can minimize the risk of serious injury or death while working at a height of an apartment building or taller.

Here’s the deal.

Take Time to Figure Our Fall Distance

When it comes to computing how long the safety lanyard needs to be for a particular work engagement at height, figuring out the fall distance is a critical part of the equation.

It can mean the difference between life and death.

The thing is, even if you are covered from head to toe in protective gear and you’ve set up all the anchors and wrapped yourself with the safety rope, if you’ve miscalculated the fall distance, all of it won’t mean much if you end up hitting the ground at free fall speed.

So, before you do anything else, take your time to calculate carefully what this distance is and only then proceed with taking other steps to protect yourself.

Use Proper Protective Equipment

There is a massively diverse array of protective equipment related to working at height.

The type of task you’re going to be performing while up high plays a major role in what sort of protective equipment you’ll be needing.

For example, if your work assignment involves high temperatures or potentially flammable materials, your protective equipment needs to be designed both for eliminating the risk of falling off of whatever structure you’re working on, and ensuring you don’t catch fire while you’re there.

It’s not much solace knowing you didn’t fall to your death off of a building if you suffered 3rd-degree wounds due to a massive fire that erupted out of nowhere.

Inspect Your Protective Equipment Regularly

Once you acquired the necessary protective equipment for your type of job, it is essential you check what state it’s in every time before you set off to work.

The thing is, even though safety gear is designed to last for years and to be sufficiently tough to withstand all sorts of rough weather and other abuse, minor ‘chinks in the armor’ can easily turn into life-threatening problems.

This is why you should always keep your protective gear clean and inspect it thoroughly every time you put it on.

Set up Railings

While not every work environment will allow you to set up railings at a height, whenever you can do this – you should.

The thing is, safety railings may come across as redundant considering the fact that you’ve already anchored yourself and donned the aforementioned safety equipment, but the little bit of extra effort of setting some railings up on the spot will give you that extra layer of protection while working.

The more different levels of protection you have on the job, the less the likelihood of experiencing an accident.

Pick a Sturdy Anchor Point

If measuring the fall distance is one of the most important preparatory steps for avoiding accidents while working at height, choosing a sound anchor point for your lanyard and the supplementary gear would be just as important.

What you need to take into consideration here is that this anchor point should be not only strong enough to hold your weight, but also strong enough to withstand the force with which this point will be stressed in case you fall off the building or platform you’re on.

The thing is, the force with which the anchor point will be stressed in case you start falling down can easily multiple your weight manifold, so the fact that the anchor can support your weight won’t mean anything when some fall distance gets involved.

Train Yourself

Last but certainly not least, working at height is something that requires long and arduous training.

This training should help you become both physically stronger, but more importantly, it should acquaint you with all the safety procedures and considerations linked to performing the job at height.

As we said before, different types of tasks require different forms of preparation and it is essential you receive in-depth training for the particular job you will be doing. Attending a working at heights course or similar training sessions provided for by your employer would be an example of the type of preparation you should be looking at.

All in all, working at height is no joke and should be approached with utmost seriousness. After all, the only thing you can rely on in an emergency event is your training and your equipment, so make sure you equip yourself with both proper knowledge and gear before you head out to do any type of job at height.