COMPANY NAME AND LOGO

FALL PROTECTION PLAN

Aim:

To ensure that the Fall Protection Plan is implemented, amended and maintained as required by the
Construction Regulations.

The Fall Protection Plan shall include the following:

- A risk assessment of all work carried out from an elevated level;

- The procedures and methods – as stated in the Company Method Statement - to address all
the identified risks per location;
- The evaluation of all employees physical and psychological fitness necessary to work at
elevated positions;
- Training of employees working from elevated positions; and
- The inspection, testing and maintaining of all protection equipment.

Definitions
In the definitions any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act (Refer to as
Act 85 of 1993) shall have the meaning so assigned to it and, unless the context otherwise indicates:

“fall prevention equipment” means equipment used to prevent persons from falling from an elevated
position, including personal equipment, body harness, body belts, lanyards, lifelines or physical
equipment, guardrails, screens, barricades, anchorages or similar equipment;

“fall arrest equipment” means equipment used to arrest the person in a fall from an elevated position,
including personal equipment, body harness, lanyards, deceleration devices, lifelines or similar
equipment and excludes body belts;

“fall protection plan” means a documented plan, of all risks relating to working from an elevated
position, considering the nature of work undertaken, and setting out the procedures and methods
applied to eliminate the risk;

“hazard identification” means the identification and documenting of existing or expected hazards to
the health and safety of persons, which are normally associated with the type of construction work
being executed or to be executed;

“Site” means the area in the possession of the Contractor for the construction of the works. Where
there is no demarcated boundary it’ll include all adjacent areas, which are reasonably required for the
activities for the Contractor, and approved for such use by the Engineer and/or client.

“The Act” means, unless the context indicates otherwise, the Occupational Health and Safety
Act(OHSA), 1993 (ACT NO. 85 of 1993) and Regulations promulgated there under.

“Hazard” means a source of or exposure to danger (source which may cause injury or damage to
persons, or property)

“Risk” means the probability or likelihood that a hazard can result in injury or damage.
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“Contractor’s Responsible Person / s” means any person appointed in writing by the Contractor to
supervise construction or building work. The appointment shall be as required by the OHSA which shall
stipulate health and safety responsibilities, area of responsibility and the proposed duration of the
project

“Health and Safety Plan (HSP)” the content of this document which will be made available on site for
inspection by an inspector, technical officer, agent, subcontractor, employee, registered employee
organisation, health and safety representative, or member of the health and safety committee .

“Health and Safety File” describes the safety file holding all records on health and safety for the
project, which shall be available at all times for evaluation. A copy of this must be sent to the client
upon completion of the project.

Responsibilities

The fall protection planner (FPP) must be a competent person and is responsible for compiling the fall
protection plan.
“Competent person” means any person having the knowledge, training, experience and qualifications
specific to the work or task being performed: Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training
are registered in terms of the provisions of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act 58
of 1995), these qualifications and training shall be deemed to be required qualifications and training
(Regulation 1 of the Construction Regulations).

“Implementation, amendments and maintenance safety requirements”

 The Contracts Manager must appoint a fall protection officer in writing
 The Contracts Manager must ensure a complete risk assessment is conducted on all activities requiring
work at heights to ensure the FPP can be incorporated into the assessment.
 The implementation of this FPP will be the responsibility of the Contracts Manager from the first time work
at heights commences on the project.
 Any amendments and / or maintenance to this plan is the responsibility of the Contracts Manager in
collaboration with the FPP.

“Adherence to the fall Protection Plan”

All personnel who are engaged in work at heights are required to comply with the requirements of the
FPP.

Legal Requirements (Construction Regulations, 2003)

Fall protection
8.(1) The contractor shall cause ¾

(a) the designation of a competent person, responsible for the preparation of a fall
protection plan;
(a) the fall protection plan to be implemented;
(b) the fall protection plan to be amended and maintained as required; and
(c) such steps to ensure the continued adherence to the fall protection plan.

(2) The fall protection plan shall include¾

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(a) a risk assessment of all work carried out from an elevated position;
(b) the procedures and methods to address all the identified risks per location;
(c) the evaluation of the employees physical and psychological fitness necessary to work at
elevated positions;
(d) the training of employees working from elevated positions; and
(e) the procedure addressing the inspection, testing and maintenance of all fall protection
equipment.

(3) The contractor shall ensure that the construction supervisor appointed in terms of regulation
6(1), is in possession of the current fall protection plan.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulations (1) and (2), the contractor shall ensure that¾

(a) all unprotected openings in floors, edges, slabs, hatchways and stairways are adequately
guarded, fenced or barricaded or that similar means are used to safeguard any person from
falling through such openings;
(b) every person working in an elevated position, and no person shall work in an elevated
position, unless such work is performed safely as if working from a scaffold or ladder;
(c) notices are conspicuously placed at all openings through which any person is liable to fall;
(d) fall prevention and fall arrest equipment shall be suitable and of sufficient strength for the
purpose or purposes for which it is being used having regard to the work being carried out
and the load, including any person, it is intended to bear;
(e) fall prevention and fall arrest equipment shall be securely attached to a structure or plant and
the structure or plant and the means of attachment thereto shall be suitable and of sufficient
strength and stability for the purpose of safely supporting the equipment and any person who
is liable to fall;
(f) fall arrest equipment shall only be used where it is not reasonably practicable to use fall
prevention equipment; and
(g) suitable and sufficient steps shall be taken to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that in
the event of a fall by any person, the fall arrest equipment or the surrounding environment
does not cause injury to the person.

(5) Where roof work is being performed on a construction site, the fall protection plan shall in
addition to the requirements as per sub-regulations (2) and (4), take the following into
consideration-

(a) that the roof work is properly planned;

(b) that the roof erectors are competent to carry out the work;
(c) that no employees are permitted to work on roofs during inclement weather conditions
or if weather conditions are a hazard to the health and safety of the employees;
(d) that prominent warning notices are to be placed where all covers to openings are not of
sufficient strength to withstand any imposed loads and where fragile material exists;
(e) that the area mentioned in sub-regulation 5(d) are barricaded off to prevent persons from
entering;
(f) that suitable and sufficient platforms, coverings or other similar means of support are
provided and used in such a way that the weight of any person passing across or
working on or from fragile material is supported; and
(g) that there is suitable and sufficient guard-rails or barriers and toe-boards or other similar
means of protection to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, the fall of any
person, material or equipment.
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Structures
9.(1) The contractor shall ensure that¾

(a) all reasonably practicable steps are taken to prevent the uncontrolled collapse of any
new or existing structure or any part thereof, which may become unstable or is in a
temporary state of weakness or instability due to the carrying out of construction work;
and
(b) no structure or part of a structure is so loaded as to render it unsafe.

(2) The designer of a structure shall¾

(a) make available to the client all relevant information about the design that may affect the
pricing of the construction work before the contract is put out to tender;
(b) in writing inform the contractor of any known or anticipated dangers or hazards and make
available all relevant information required for the safe execution of the work as designed
or subsequently altered;
(c) subject to subregulations (2)(a) and (2)(b), the designer shall ensure that the following
information is included in a report and is made available to the contractor¾

(i) a geo-science technical report where appropriate;

(ii) the design loading of the structure; and;
(iii) the methods and sequence of construction.
(d) not include anything in the design necessitating the use of dangerous procedures or
materials hazardous to health or safety of persons, which could be avoided by design
modifications or by substitute materials;
(e) take into account the hazards relating to any subsequent maintenance of the structure and
should include facilities in the design for such work to be performed to minimise the risk;
(f) carry out regular inspections of the construction work involving the design in order to
ensure compliance to the design and a record of such inspections is to be kept on site;

(g) stop any contractor from executing any construction work which is not in accordance
with the design;
(h) conduct a final inspection of the completed structure prior to its commissioning in order
to render it safe for use and issue a completion certificate to the contractor; and
(i) ensure that the when carrying out the design, cognizance is taken of ergonomic design
principles in order to minimise ergonomic related hazards in all phases of the life cycle of
a structure.

(2) The contractor shall ensure that all drawings pertaining to the design are kept on site and are
available on request by an inspector, contractors, client, client’s agent or employee.

(4) Any owner of a structure shall ensure that inspections of the structure upon completion are
carried out periodically by competent persons in order to render the structure safe for continued use:
Provided that the inspections shall be at least once every six months and records of such inspections
must be kept and made available to an inspector upon request.
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(5) Any owner of a structure shall ensure that the structure upon completion is maintained such that
the structure remains safe for continued use and such maintenance records shall be kept and made
available to an inspector upon request.

Formwork and support work

10.(1) The contractor shall ensure that¾

(a) all formwork and support work operations are carried out under the supervision of a
competent person appointed in writing;
(b) all formwork and support work is adequately designed, erected, supported, braced and
maintained so that it will be capable of supporting all anticipated vertical and lateral
loads that may be applied to the formwork and support work and also not impose any
loads onto the structure that the structure is not designed to withstand;
(c) the design of formwork and support work is done upon close reference to the structural
design drawings and where any uncertainty exists, the structural designer should be
consulted ;
(d) all drawings pertaining to the design of the formwork or support work are kept on the
site and are available on request by an inspector, contractor, client, client’s agent and
employee;
(e) all plant and equipment used in the formwork or support work structure are carefully
examined and checked for suitability before being used by a competent person;
(f) the formwork and support work structure shall be inspected by a competent person
immediately before, during and after the placement of concrete or any other imposed
load and thereafter daily until the formwork and support work has been removed and
the results recorded in a register and available on site;
(g) if, after erection, any formwork and support work is found to be damaged or weakened
to such a degree that its integrity is affected, it shall be safely removed or reinforced
immediately;
(h) adequate precautionary measures are taken to secure any deck panels against
displacement;
(i) adequate precautionary measures are taken to prevent any person from slipping on
support work or formwork due to the application of formwork or support work release
agents;
(j) as far as is reasonably practicable, the health of any person is not affected through the
use of solvents or oils or any other similar substances;
(k) upon casting concrete, the support work or formwork should be left in place until the
concrete has acquired sufficient strength to support safely not only its own weight but
also any imposed loads and should not be removed until authorization has been given
by the competent person appointed in terms of sub-regulation (1)(a);
(l) provision is made for safe access by means of secured ladders or staircases for all
work to be carried out above the foundation bearing level.
(m) all employees required to erect, move or dismantle formwork and support work are
provided with adequate training and instruction to perform these operations safely; and
(n) the foundations conditions are suitable to withstand the weight caused by the formwork
and support work and any imposed loads such that the system is stable.

Cranes
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20.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Driven Machinery Regulations published under
Government Notice R.533 of 16 March 1990, as amended, the contractor shall ensure that where tower
cranes are used¾
(a) account is taken of the effects of wind forces on the structure;
(b) account is taken of the bearing capacity of the ground on which the tower crane is to
stand;
(c) the bases for the tower cranes and tracks for rail-mounted tower cranes are firm and
level;
(d) the tower cranes are erected at a safe distance from excavations;
(e) there is sufficient clear space available for erection, operation and dismantling; and
(f) the tower crane operators are competent and are physically and psychologically fit to
work in such an environment.

Construction vehicles and mobile plant

21.(1) The contractor shall ensure that all construction vehicles and mobile plant¾

(a) are of an acceptable design and construction;

(b) are maintained in a good working order;
(c) are used as designed and intended with due regard to safety and health;
(d) are operated by workers who have received appropriate training, are certified competent
and have been authorized to operate such machinery;
(e) are operated by workers who are physically and psychologically fit to operate such
construction vehicles and mobile plant;
(f) have safe and suitable means of access;
(g) are properly organized and controlled in any work situation by adequate signaling or
other control arrangements to guard against the dangers from movement of vehicles and
plant, so as to ensure their continued safe operation;
(h) are prevented from falling into excavations, water or any other lower area than the
working surface by installing adequate edge protection, which may include guardrails
and crash barriers;
(i) where appropriate, are fitted with structures designed to protect the operator from falling
material or from being crushed should the vehicle or mobile plant overturn;
(j) are equipped with an electrically operated acoustic signaling device and a reversing
alarm; and
(k) are inspected daily prior to use by an appointed competent person and the findings
recorded in a register.

(2) The Contractor shall ensure that¾

(a) no person shall ride or be required or permitted to ride on any construction vehicle or
mobile plant otherwise than in a safe place thereon provided for that purpose;
(b) every construction site shall be organized in such a way that, so far as is reasonably
practicable, pedestrians and vehicles can move safely and without risks to health;
(c) the traffic routes shall be suitable for the persons using them, sufficient in number, in
suitable positions and of sufficient size;
(d) every traffic route shall be indicated by suitable signs where necessary for reasons of
health or safety;
(e) all construction vehicles and mobile plant left unattended at night, adjacent to a freeway
in normal use or adjacent to construction areas where work is in progress, shall have
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appropriate lights or reflectors, or barricades equipped with appropriate lights or

reflectors, to identify the location of the vehicles or plant;
(f) bulldozers, scrapers, loaders, and other similar mobile plant, shall be either fully lowered
or blocked when being repaired or when not in use, with controls in a neutral position,
motors stopped and brakes set;
(g) whenever visibility conditions warrant additional light, all mobile plant shall be equipped
with at least two headlights and two taillights in operational condition;
(h) tools and material shall be secured to prevent movement when transported in the same
compartment with employees;
(i) vehicles used to transport employees shall have seats firmly secured and adequate for
the number of employees to be carried;

Risk Assessments
Daily risk assessments must be done in writing and all applicable employees must acknowledge that
they understand the risks and sign the applicable form.

All risk assessments must be done in accordance with the Company Method Statement as mentioned
in the Safety Management Plan.

The Company Method Statement is a document that stipulates what format must be utilized to do risk
assessments to ensure uniformity and accuracy of the Risk Assessment.

Method Statements/ Safe Working Procedures

Method statements and safe working procedures must be prepared subject to the level of risk and as
defined in the risk assessment process.

Fitness
All employees must undergo a medical examination before being allowed to work. This examination
must be documented and kept on file on site.

Inspection
All equipment must be inspected daily by the operator and fall protection supervisor of such equipment.
All inspections must be documented in the applicable register. Inspections documented must correlate
with the number on the list and original number on the equipment, i.e. the serial number on the fall
protection equipment and the inspection register must be the same.

Program of training
The training of personnel for work at heights must be included within the training matrix submitted with
the Safety Plan. Training must be both formal where necessary and informal through weekly toolbox
talks.

Testing and maintenance of fall protection equipment

Testing of fall equipment

All fall arrest equipment must be inspected on the proforma (form provided for inspections) and must
be inspected by the users daily before they use it. Faulty equipment must be withdrawn from service
immediately.
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The areas of importance for inspections are:

 Webbing
 Metal fittings
 Lanyard

Maintenance of fall protection equipment

Maintenance of the fall arrest equipment must be done in conjunction with the inspections conducted
before each use. Maintenance must include cleaning and repairing of the equipment as required (e.g. if
the harness is damaged, then the necessary repair work or maintenance must be done)

Sub-Contractors
When you use sub-contractors, ensure that a fall protection supervisor is appointed according to
Regulation 8(1) of the Construction Regulations. Subcontractors must have a copy of the FPP in their
Safety File, and must have a copy of this safety file (SHE file) available on site.

The Standard (SANS Code: 100085)

Unprotected openings

The Contracts Manager must ensure the Construction Work Supervisor fulfils his function to ensure all
unprotected openings in the floor, deck and surfaces of the scaffolding are adequately safeguarded as
required by SANS 100085.

Elevated work – safely as if on ladder or scaffold

The Contracts Manager must ensure all work at heights is conducted in such a manner as if it were on
a scaffold or a ladder. This can be done by installing edge protection to prevent falls. In some cases,
construction workers work on latches where there is no guard rail, but is fairly safe to work on. To
prevent an accident it is recommended that temporary guard rails are installed, or the use of a life line
with a safety harness.

Place notices up

The Contracts Manager must ensure suitable and adequate signage and warnings are posted in all
areas where the risk of falls is prevalent to warn employees of the danger.,

Fall prevention and fall arrest equipment

The equipment must be selected based on suitability and strength to bear the load of the person/s it’s
designed to protect. The equipment must be securely attached to a structure or plant with sufficient
strength to safely support equipment or people.

Where shall fall arrest equipment be used?

The Contracts Manager is responsible to ensure fall arrest equipment is provided and issued whenever
it isn't possible for fall prevention equipment to be installed to protect theemployees. ,.

The contracts manager must ensure that the choice of protection selected won’t pose any further
danger or injury to employees or the public.
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