To mitigate the risk of falling when working at heights, employers must establish a fall prevention program based on an assessment of the risks in their workplace. Fall protection in Alberta is governed by safety regulations intended for all companies that operate in the construction or public works sectors.
Who works at heights and in which sectors?
Construction companies work to develop structures such as houses, buildings, stores, and factories. They ensure their interior and exterior layout. Public works companies, meanwhile, specialize in the construction and repair of infrastructure such as roads and civil engineering works such as bridges, dams, and runways. These generally large-scale jobs therefore require the prevention of falls from heights, which pose significant and often deadly risks.
The safety guidelines for working at heights
In Alberta, as in other Canadian provinces, work at heights is regulated by governmental safety standards. Employers must ensure that the methods and materials used to perform the work for which they are responsible are safe and comply with these standards. To do this, they must provide the appropriate equipment and train their employees on the safety standards and how to use the safety equipment. For their part, workers must take the necessary steps to ensure their own safety and that of their colleagues by not taking any additional risks besides that of working at height.
When it comes to collective protection for construction work at height in Alberta, the guardrail and the warning line are preferred for their high level of security. These safety devices let you mark off a work area located 2 or more metres away from any place from which a worker could fall, such as the edge of a flat roof.
How to secure workers during their work at heights
First of all, it’s necessary to secure the circulation and intervention areas of the workers by installing means of collective protection. To do this, many protection systems that comply with Alberta’s safety regulations can be found, such as guardrails, which are among the most appropriate movement limitation systems.
Besides securing the circulation areas, it’s important to provide employees with safety equipment that is specially suited to each task to be performed at height. Among the choices, we find lifting platforms, permanent warning lines, and other fall protection equipment. Finally, workers must obviously follow the safety guidelines issued by the company.
Choose professional equipment
As an employer, to ensure the safety of your employees and to comply with the applicable standards in Alberta, you can equip yourself with professional equipment manufactured and approved in Canada. This makes it possible to avoid unpleasant surprises or ending up with equipment that isn’t resistant to the country’s weather conditions. Self-supporting guardrails manufactured in Canada, in particular, offer major advantages, because they have been specially designed with materials that are resistant to the weather conditions in the country. Removable and easy to install, they completely eliminate fall risks without damaging the roof and can be installed temporarily. Because all roofs over 10’ high involve fall risks to be eliminated but each one is different, self-supporting guardrails are also designed to adapt to all risky situations.
Delta Prevention is a manufacturer of non-penetrating fall protection equipment for rooftop. With innovative materials and industry leading versatility, Delta Prevention’s VSS System is the safest and most durable collective fall protection system on the market. Visit our website at deltaprevention.com