Capital Equipment News January 2016

WORK @ HEIGHT: GOOD PRACTICE

Net installation ensures safety and efficiency in laboratory Due to the intricate nature of their work, test- ing laboratories at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) can often not be shut down during renovations and maintenance, and temporary supporting structures not only come with a considerable financial burden, but limit daily activities too.

Safety and work platform nets have proven to be the most effective fall protection solu- tion for Enza Construction, which has been contracted to install ducting at an SABS test- ing facility, while ensuring that no disruptions are caused on the laboratory floor. Two 6 m x 4 m safety nets were installed 6 m off the ground by leading rope access specialist Skyriders in early November 2015. Marketing manager Mike Zinn indicates that a four-man rope access team successfully in- stalled the nets over a two-day period. “Using slings, the Skyriders team secured the nets to parallel crawl beams that were already secured to the concrete soffit. In certain areas, chemical anchors were placed onto the concrete to ensure greater anchor- age,” he explains. Chemical anchors are made up of steel studs, bolts and anchorages which are bond- ed into concrete, using a resin-based adhe- sive system. It is ideally-suited for high-load applications. “The chemical anchors were left to cure for 24 hours before installation com-

menced,” adds Zinn. The Enza construction team needed to work on the underside of the concrete ceil- ing to install the ducting. Skyriders therefore installed shatter ply decking on the work plat- form to make it easy for the Enza team to walk across, without compromising on safety. All safety and work platform nets installed by Skyriders are supplied by industrial and commercial netting expert, Industrial Netting (Pty) Ltd., which provides tough and reliable safety nets. Zinn highlights that companies are slowly realising the importance of using safety nets as an alternative for working at heights. “When installed correctly, safety nets hold up under the toughest demands. In this case, the nets not only ensured construction worker of these guidelines under the chairmanship of Mr Dave Bass. The development of the guide- lines was also discussed with the Department of Labour’s Chief Inspector, Mr Tibor Szana, who nominated two persons from his office to also be involved in the development of the guidelines. The draft of these guidelines was shared with them on a continuous basis for their input as well. Other appropriate Industry bodies were also being consulted from time to time as the project developed. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide supervisory staff with the necessary basic knowledge to understand and ensure safety for tasks that are to be carried out at height. The input from several industries experts in their appropriate individual fields assisted in looking at ways of improving current practices and making work at height safer for everyone. The scope did not focus on any one particu- lar industry, but rather at persons who through

safety, but also enabled SABS testing cen- tre activities underneath the work space to continue uninterrupted, thereby eliminating downtime,” he concludes.

CONFERENCE NOTE: GUIDELINES FOR SAFE WORKING AT HEIGHT It is a common fact in the building/construc- tion/maintenance industry that falling from height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from scaffolding, ladders and through fragile surfaces. ‘Working at Height’ means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury or even death. This is not only in South Africa but across the world in both developing and advanced nations.

the course of their work are required to be in an elevated position and be exposed to a risk of falling. As the Guidelines for Safe Working at Height were developed for industry by indus- try, it was decided to launch this document of- ficially at a Conference on the 16th ,17th and 18th of August 2016. The Chief Inspector, Mr Tibor Szana has indicated his willingness to be the keynote speaker at this event. This conference is definitely going to be a fantastic event to attend for all interested par- ties directly and indirectly involved with Work- ing at Height.

The Institute for Work at Height Trade As- sociation and Professional Body, together with many other organisations operating in the construction, mining, occupational health and safety environment embarked on developing a ‘Guidelines for Safe Working at Height’ in the year 2016. Subject matter experts from all in- dustries where people have to work at height were invited to participate in the development

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