Owners and window cleaning employers bear a significant measure of obligation regarding providing and maintaining sufficient fall protection for workers including independent employees. It is likewise critical to help guarantee trained and properly equipped employees who constantly examine and supervise all fall protection and prevention equipment and systems before use. A qualified safety professional or professional safety engineer is useful to guide management as to proper coordination of structural engineering, window cleaning, and installation/testing management.
Fall protection includes a selection of various rope equipment and arresting systems. The three main factors to consider when dealing with components of an efficient fall protection system and program are comprehensive work area inspections, careful pre-work equipment inspections, and proper fall arrest/restraint systems.
Prior to working at locations that involve great heights, it is vital that qualified staff complete a systematic inspection of all fall protection equipment that will be in use. There are several regulations that ought to be looked at while developing pre-use inspection procedures for personal fall protection arrest equipment. The fall protection equipment should be inspected at the start of each 8-hour shift and inspections for deterioration, mildew, and other defects that might affect significant functionality should be included in each inspection of fall protection equipment and reported to management in writing.
Untoward consequences might arise as a result of failure to inspect fall protection equipment appropriately. For most workers, proper personal fall arrest systems are the last line of defense in avoiding lethal falls. Before an employee begins work at elevation, all defects must be recognized and fixed. In addition to inspecting the fall prevention equipment itself, a detailed pre-work inspection must also involve a reflection of the environment in which the work is carried out on. The ANSI/ASSP/Z359.15 committee dictates how a rope fall arrest system should be constructed with two locks to avoid panic grab failure.
In the event there’s a fall, total free fall distance will determine if the employee working at heights might hit an obstruction or the ground. When a high risk for a fall is involved, fall arrest equipment should be utilized. Fall arrest equipment functions to slow the worker during a fall, reducing the impact sustained on the body. This equipment includes ropes with terminations plus hardware plus harness safety systems, retractable lanyards and shock-absorbing lanyards. After a fall, an immediate inspection should be done to find out if fall forces affected its reliability.
Equipment like lanyards with shock-absorbing packs may turn out to be unreliable after a fall. The next step to take is to withdraw from service and destroy it. It should be discarded to prevent future use. A contractor worker must ask a supervisor for a copy of the company’s fall protection written program and stay current on the most recent information available as regards avoiding falls. from buildings.
Ellis Fall Safety is highly knowledgeable on all aspects of high rise window cleaning and OSHA regulations and safety inspections and training and can coordinate the handling of a Team of Four Professionals on your behalf.
