Anybody who works at heights is familiar with the tools of the trade - a hammer, a screwdriver or a drill, and of course, your trusty harness and lanyard. Your harness and lanyard are the most important tools to use while working bar none - there's nothing that kills productivity like a broken neck. Are you getting your gear inspected regularly?
What is Height Safety Equipment?
Height Safety is a broad category, and can include anything from harnesses and lanyards to ropes and rappels. Every workplace is different, but anywhere with a risk of falls is likely to have their fair share of equipment.
What is Height Safety Equipment Inspection?
Equipment inspection can refer to one of two things - the operator's inspection of gear before (and after!) every use, or the six-monthly inspection by a certified inspector to ensure the equipment is in good condition. This article refers to the latter, but you should always be doing the former on-site, as per manufacturer guidelines.
How often does equipment need to be inspected?
Queensland's Workplace Health and Safety Regulations state that all parts of a height safety system must be inspected six-monthly, and that records are to be maintained for at least four years. However, any item under significant stress, or used in harsh conditions, should be inspected much more frequently - often two or three times the frequency, as required. Some equipment also requires additional inspection or maintenance, but seek guidance from the manufacturer on these details.
Do I need Height Safety Equipment?
The standard definition of a risk that constitutes a need for equipment is anywhere that could have a fall of 2 metres or greater, or within 2 metres of a fall edge. However, any workplace that has a risk of an unprotected fall needs to make a proper risk assessment and determine whether or not protective measures are required. As we all know, just tripping over your own feet can hurt like hell - you don't have to fall 2m to seriously injure yourself. Everyone is entitled to a safe working environment.
Do I really need it, though?
There are significant consequences for businesses and business owners whose premises are non-compliant. Fines can start at $250,000, and punishments can include jail terms if non-compliant practices or equipment result in the serious injury or death of a worker.
Of course, while that deters the employers, that doesn't deter the workers.
Australian industry standards must be met on every worksite. They are non-negotiable for every worker, every size job and every location. Not using equipment because ‘it’s only a quick job’ or ‘I’ve done this a million times; I don’t need it’, is not only failure to comply, but is also unnecessarily risky.
From 2015-19, there were 122 fatalities due to falls from height - 13% of reported fatalities. That's potentially 122 families devastated - something completely avoidable with the proper protective measures. If you think you 'don't need it', then stay on the ground.
How do I get my equipment inspected?
Height Safety Inspections must be performed on all equipment at six-month intervals. First and foremost, all inspections must be conducted by a trained and qualified Height Safety Inspector. This is somebody who has gone through a height safety course (online or in-person) and has been officially certified. This certification should be at minimum against the nationally recognised unit of competency, PUAEQU001.
A Height Safety Inspector has to manually and physically check over any items being inspected, thoroughly checking for wear, tear, or other signs of age. This can include things that the average user would think wouldn't matter, such as fading of colour or even an important part being a little too dirty.
It's vital that everything works properly in a system to handle some of the extreme stress that a height safety system can experience, so we always err on the side of caution.
If your item passes inspection, the Height Safety Inspector will document what they did (if anything) and pass the paperwork back over to you. You need to hold these records long past when you receive them, often for the lifespan of the equipment (but usually longer). Ensure this paperwork has details such as the equipment's date of manufacture, details of inspection, and identifying details such as serial numbers. It is not enough to simply get a piece of paper saying "the equipment is compliant".
Any competent person with a current certification can perform this inspection. Of course, we have a small team at Taylor Safety with these qualifications, and if you want to enquire about or book an inspection, our freecall number is 1800 330 466. You can also email us here. If you're unsure as to whether your gear needs to be inspected, or whether we can perform your inspection, feel free to come in and chat with us at 303 Taylor Street.
Can I trust my inspection? What are you even looking for?
If your inspector is properly certified and qualified for their position, then yes, you should be able to trust the inspection process. However, if you're ever unsure about whether you got an accurate result, it may be worthwhile taking your gear to be inspected by somebody else.
Disparate results do not necessarily mean one inspector is necessarily 'better' than the other one, as the inspection process is subjective and based on a system of best practices and experience, but it never hurts to get a second opinion.
However, it is possible to get a bad, or phony, inspector. If you get your equipment inspected through Taylor Safety, you'll never have to worry about this, but there are signs of poor practices to look out for.
For example, the vast majority of equipment has a withdrawal date - the date at which it should be withdrawn from service and condemned, usually regardless of condition. For harnesses and lanyards, this tends to be 10 years after the date of manufacture. If your equipment is not removed from service after this date, it could very well be a sign that you need to find a new inspector. Of course, not all equipment is the same, and these dates may vary - refer to the item's documentation and manufacturer guidelines.
Other common issues found in inspected equipment are faded, damaged, or missing serial numbers, manufacture dates, and other documentation. In order to pass a piece of equipment, we need to be certain that we can identify it - if the serial number is damaged or otherwise illegible, this is grounds for a failure.
All equipment needs to be traceable, to ensure that manufacturing defects can be tracked and equipment cannot be 'repainted' and distributed beyond its service life.
It's also not uncommon for qualifications to be made on returned equipment. For example, if a piece of equipment is covered in muck and grime, it can be impossible to reasonably ascertain whether or not the equipment is fit for service.
In these instances, depending on the situation, the item may be cleaned by the inspector or may simply be returned with a request for the owner to clean it before bringing it in for another inspection. In more rare, and usually repeat circumstances, equipment may be condemned. Although some level of dirt is expected - hard work is dirty work - unclean equipment is liable to deteriorate and weaken over time, and an excess of mud can even interfere with operation.
Remember to refer to the manufacturer's guidelines on how to clean your equipment - in many cases standard detergents will damage equipment irreperably, as the chemical solution will have undesirable or unpredictable effects on webbing and the like.
Why are these guidelines so strict?
On first glance, a lot of the guidelines around inspection seem harsh - almost unnecessarily so. After all, if you can wash your shirt in something, why can't you wash your harness in it too? On a surface level, it seems fine - all you're doing is cleaning it, right?
The issue, however, is in that uncertainty. It is impossible to tell at a glance how any chemical solution will interact with the fibres and stitching of harness webbing, for example. If the integrity of the webbing is damaged, or the stitching weakens, then the harness may not be able to handle the drastic forces involved in a fall.
Remember that any harness or lanyard needs to be able to handle your entire weight suddenly dropped from a height, not only arresting your fall, but cushioning it to prevent the force from damaging you, and then continue to hold you aloft until you can be rescued. That's a lot of stress to put on a piece of gear you can walk around in, and even small amounts of damage to equipment can be the straw that 'breaks the camel's back'.
Any piece of equipment removed from service was removed because the inspector could not safely say that it would save your life in the event of a fall, and it is for this reason that we err on the side of caution.
As an addendum to this section, it should be noted that all information included in this article is advisory only and does not substitute for or take precedence over actual training, official guidelines, or any other source. The information and examples given may not be reflective of all inspection results.
What happens to my condemned equipment?
While it varies depending on the situation, condemned equipment is usually destroyed and trashed. This is to prevent illicit use of the equipment in the future, accidentally or willfully. It may be returned to its owner, or to the manufacturer, but these are case-by-case instances. You should assume that condemned equipment is gone for good and act accordingly.
If you are unhappy with the result of an inspection, and do not believe equipment should have been condemned, the inspector may or may not allow you to have it inspected by another party to 'double-check'. However, the inspector's opinion is final. The most you should expect is advice on how to avoid future equipment condemnation - though often, the answer is 'take better care of your equipment'.
