Induction / Refresher Training for Workers & Supervisors

Venkata Ravi Ram, Advisor - Safety

Although obviously hazardous, your work at height should not
create hazards for anyone on a project.

It is internationally accepted that Work at Height is when you can

fall more than 6 feet. So, this also includes work on ground level
next to any excavation/pit/hole.

Your safe behavior is essential when working at height to keep you

and fellow workers safe.
• You or your team member fall from height.

• Your tools, material or debris falls from height and injures someone.

• Collapse of your work platform.

• Falling while going up or coming down from work platform.

• Contact with overhead electrical cables/other naked wires.

• Bad weather conditions.

 • Guard rail / hand rail – prevent fall

• PPE - control fall

• Safety Nets – minimize consequences of fall

We will now see main dangers and precautions to take to be safe and keep others safe.
Almost all sites have unprotected
sides and edges, wall openings, or
floor holes at some point.

If these sides and openings are not

protected, injuries from falls or
falling objects may result in injuries
ranging from broken bones to
death.
 prevent falls
GUARD RAILS & TOE-BOARDS

• Top rail, Mid Rail, Toe Board • Top Rail, Mesh & Toe board
 prevent falls
GUARD RAIL with MESH
 prevent falls
GUARD RAILS / Covers
1. What are the 3 main hazards that can make you fall from height?

2. Can you name 3 places that have these hazards in this project?
• A – Anchorage
a secure point of attachment for lifelines, lanyards such as a
beam, girder, column or floor that can support your weight if you
fall.
must also be located high enough so that you will not hit
any wall, or structure including ground or lower floor if you fall.
• Lifelines are sometimes used between two anchorage points.
• Can be horizontal or vertical; temporary or permanent.
• You can fall & die if you are not anchored.
• B – Body support
Body Belt: You must never use a body belt to
support your body weight in the event of a fall. It
is for positioning only.

Full Body Harness: A full body harness distributes

fall arrest forces across the shoulders, thighs and
pelvis and supports the body.
 Adjust the fit
Inspect for Position the back Buckle up Buckle up snuggly and
damage D-ring between legs front D-ring remains
shoulder blades in the correct
position
1. Make participants wear safety harnesses.

2. Could they wear them as required?

3. Discuss/address their difficulties or gaps in understanding.

• C – Connection
critical link which joins the body wear to
the anchorage/anchorage connector.

can be an energy-absorbing lanyard, fall

limiter, self-retracting lanyard, rope grab,
or retrieval system.
Anchorage point & length of connection
control the distance of fall – and must be
high enough so that even if you fall, you Lanyard length
Required
will not hit any wall, or structure distance

including ground or lower floor.

REMEMBER: Free fall distance

Free fall should be as minimum as

possible. Free fall force of your weight of
YOUR height
more than 1m can break your back!
Safety factor
Anchorage point &
connector lengths control
the distance of movement
to prevent fall.
3. How do you inspect a Connector before use?

4. How will you select an Anchorage point?

Safety Nets minimize the impact if you fall.
To be effective, Safety Nets must be:

1. Securely tied.
2. Properly placed.
3. If using two or more nets, upper net shall
always overlap the lower net so that if you fall, you will not roll down the
open end.
5. How do you control a possible fall from height?

6. What is overlap in safety net? Is it required?

Working with tools & materials on the limited space of a
scaffold requires you to be more alert.

Work on scaffold with limited space without fall protection or

safe access is dangerous. Falls of persons & objects may result,
ranging from sprains, broken bones to death.

Scaffold needs to erected properly, must be stable and have

safe way to climb up and down.

Plan work such that you will always have adequate lighting.
Scaffold must support the weight of:
1. Scaffold itself.
2. You & your gang.
3. Your tools
4. Material that you will take up.
5. Any debris that is generated.
• Always check with your supervisor that your scaffold was
inspected and is safe to use.

• Remember that your scaffold needs to be inspected after a

gap in work or after heavy weather like wind or rain.
DON’T erect scaffold on

1. Loose soil

2. Wooden planks

3. Uneven surface

Scaffold erected on
scrap wood planks
NO BASE PLATE
 Scaffold base plate

1. Always use base plates.

2. Use firm, level surfaces.

3. Use mud sills on soil.

Mud sill with Base plate on soil Base plate is required even on
Helps to spread the load concrete surface
• Scaffold must be build straight
without tilt.

• Tilted scaffolds risk collapse or fall to a

side.

• Always use base plates on a firm and Scaffold is not level because it
level surface. was erected without base
plates on an uneven surface.
• Rusted and corroded scaffold pipes, couplings
and bolts can break easily and cause scaffold
collapse or failure. Rusted pipes

• Wires are not meant for holding scaffold.

• Always inspect scaffold before using it.
RUSTED BOLTS

STOP WORK and Call your supervisor, if:

• you see excessively rusted or corroded scaffold.
• or if you have any doubt on scaffold materials.
Using Wire to tie scaffold pipes
 This support plank was not tied
Loose planks or large gaps between planks can properly, caused 1 death
result in:
1. You or another worker falling down.
2. Tools or material falling down.

1. Scaffold planks must always be tied tight & close.

2. Ensure that there are no gaps to prevent tools or material to fall & injure
people below.
Remember danger of unprotected sides we
discussed?
1. Scaffold must have fall prevention measures
like Guard Rails.
2. Toe-boards to prevent material or tools from
falling down and injuring others.
3. Toe-boards also help prevent you from slipping
between the middle rail and the work deck.
This is more common than you can imagine. No guard rail, No Toe-board
7. How do you ensure a stable scaffold base?

8. How will you ensure that you will not fall from a scaffold?
Apart from you, anything that you carry up to work
spot can fall and injure someone below like:
1. Tools, Work Material & debris
2. Personal material like mobile phones, lunch
boxes etc.

1. While kept at height.

2. While being taken up or down.
To prevent others from getting injured
by falling objects:
1. Don’t throw anything down.
2. Don’t allow your fellow workers to
throw anything down.
3. Ensure area where things can fall
down below your work area is
barricaded before starting work.
 If you MUST throw things down - Ask your Supervisor for advice.

1. Barricades to prevent people from entering it.

2. Defined procedure like time, warning alarm, guard on the ground to alert
people etc. for dropping objects.
1. Tools and material should be secured/tied/tethered
to prevent from falling down.
2. Use tool bags, tool buckets, tool belts.
3. Use tool lanyards to tie tools while in use.
4. Do regular housekeeping: Don’t allow unnecessary
tools material, debris to accumulate on platforms.
5. Keep electrical cables, welding cables, gas cutting
hoses etc., out of walkways. You can trip.
6. Barricade the area below. MISSING TOEBOARD:
OBJECTS CAN SLIP &
7. Ensure Toe boards are secure without gaps HIT PERSONS BELOW

8. Ensure scaffold planks are without gaps.

9. If tools & equipment are required to be higher than
toe-board? Use a mesh, panel or screen to extend
upward to eliminate falling object hazard.
10. Ensure you cover gratings to prevent small hand MISSING TOEBOARD:
OBJECTS CAN SLIP &
tools like screwdrivers or material like nuts from HIT PERSONS BELOW

slipping through the holes.

11. Ensure gratings are secure & without gaps.
REMEMBER:
Every object YOU drop down can KILL someone.
9. How many times have you thrown small objects like debris or tools
from height? Did you think of consequences if someone died because
of that?

10.How many times have you missed being hit by a falling object? How
did you feel about it? What did you do about it?
You must have a safe way to reach the
work spot and safely come down.
MISSING TOEBOARD:
OBJECTS CAN SLIP &
HIT PERSONS BELOW
Cable Tray is NOT a
ladder

Cross Braces are

NOT ladders
Ladders must be tightly secured to your
scaffold and stand firmly on the ground. MISSING TOEBOARD:
OBJECTS CAN SLIP &
HIT PERSONS BELOW
Ladder must be proper – no broken or missing rungs
Ladder must extend 3 feet or 1m above the work spot.
11.What is 3-point contact when using ladders?

12.How many times have you used scaffold bracing or cable trays or
other items as ladders? Did you think what would have happened if
they broke? What about next time?!
• You can drop tools or material from height due to electric shock
• You can fall from a height due to electric shock.
• Wet conditions increase risk of electric shock.
• You can die due to electric shock.

• Keep safe distance from overhead live cables.

• Inspect all power tools before use.
• Always use power sockets with RCCB.
• Check that all wires that touch your
scaffold are insulated with no cuts.
• Don’t allow naked wires or unnecessary
wires in the scaffold.
• Work at height in very hot conditions can lead to dehydration.
• Work at height in windy or rainy conditions outdoors increases risk of scaffold
collapse, lightning strikes.
• Windy or wet conditions increase risk of tools or material or debris falling
down and injuring someone below.

• Ask your supervisor regarding taking breaks in hot weather.

• Keep enough drinking water in hot conditions.
• Avoid work at height in windy or rainy conditions.
• Windy or wet conditions increase risk of tools or material or debris falling &
injuring someone below.
• When resuming work after heavy wind/rain, always confirm the stability of
scaffold with your supervisor.
13.What can give you electric shock on a scaffold or when working at
height?

14.What is the danger when working in rain at height in open area?

15.Next, you will be shown a series of actual people working at height.
Try to identify the hazards.
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 Workers are exposed to a
fall hazard greater than 6
feet, while working near
stairwell opening.

Workers
must be
protected
from falls
over 6 feet.

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54
The photo shows
This could
a mid-rail and expose
toeboard are workers to a
missing on an fall.
open-sided floor
of a building.

Toeboards are
required to
protect
workers below
from falling
objects.

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56
 Planks appear to
Lack of fall be overloaded
protection for and there is no
workers on safe access for
fabricated frame workers.
scaffolds.

The workers are

exposed to a fall
hazard from a scaffold
while stacking blocks
prior to overhand
bricklaying operations.

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58
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 It must
extend 3
feet above
Ladder to work
the working
platform is not of surface.
sufficient length.

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60
Scaffold was not erected
with guardrails in areas
where workers were
working at heights
greater than 10 feet.

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REMEMBER
• Your unsafe behavior can kill You or Others.
• Your unsafe behavior will NOT be tolerated in this project.
• You may be asked to leave the project.