Work at heights (climbing work) requires not only special care, but also special skills and knowledge. For their implementation, employees must have access. Specialists need to be instructed, to know the new Rules.
Work at height
Regulatory requirements are binding on all organizations and citizens whose activities are carried out in this area. Work at heights include:
- The ascent or descent, from five or more meters, on a vertical staircase with an angle of inclination to a horizontal surface of more than 75 m.
- Works associated with the risk of falling from a height of 1.8 or more meters.
- Activities on sites located closer than two meters from unshielded drops of more than 1.8 m, and if protective structures are less than 1.1 m.
- Works associated with the risk of falling from a height of less than 1.8 m, if they are performed on mechanisms and machines, protruding objects or a water surface.
Primary requirements
Employers can set local standards, taking into account the specifics of their enterprises. In this case, the requirements that contain the new Rules should be taken as a basis. Work at heights can only be carried out by persons who have reached 18 years of age. Specialists entering the enterprise to carry out these activities must undergo preliminary and periodic medical examinations. Employees are subject to certain qualification requirements. It must be appropriate to the nature of the work. The qualification level is confirmed by a document on vocational education.
Safety regulations
Work at heights can be carried out by employees after they have passed:
- Instructions on OT.
- Teaching safe practices and methods of doing work.
- Familiarization and testing of knowledge of existing requirements for OT.
The employer or a person authorized (appointed) by him, is obliged to organize training before work will be carried out at heights. Labor protection provides briefings primarily for employees:
- Admitted to the activity in question for the first time.
- Transferred from another job, if they have not previously been trained.
- Interrupted activities for more than a year.
Specialists who have mastered the requirements and successfully passed the test of acquired knowledge and skills receive an appropriate certificate. From this moment, they can work at height. Labor protection provides special requirements for employees who are allowed to carry out their duties without using scaffolds and scaffolding, using rope systems. A special clearance order must be issued for them. The form form is established by the adopted new Rules. Work at height in this case is carried out according to a special principle. Specialists are divided into three groups.
Employee Categories
According to the provisions that contain the new Rules, work at height is carried out by the following groups of specialists:
- The first is employees who are allowed to work as part of a team or under the direct supervision of a responsible person appointed by the employer.
- The second - foremen, foremen, internship managers, specialists authorized along with the performance of relevant duties.
- The third - the specialists who ensure labor protection, are instructed. This group also includes teachers, employees who are members of the certification commissions formed by order of the director of the enterprise conducting the training. The third group also includes those responsible for carrying out maintenance and regular inspection of available protective equipment, issuing work permits, supervising work at heights, and approving assignment plans.
Training
Intersectoral rules for working at height prescribe classes with the above 1 and 2 groups. The frequency of training is at least 1 time / 3 years. For employees of the third group classes are also provided. They should be carried out at least 1 time in 5 years. After studying the requirements that contain the Rules for the performance of work at height, an exam is provided. The certification commissions provide him. They are formed in accordance with the order of the director of the enterprise conducting the relevant training. The commissions include specialists of the above third group who have undergone the necessary training and certification. Employees who pass the exam receive certificates that allow them to work at heights without using scaffolds and scaffolding, using cable systems. In addition, each specialist is issued an individual accounting book.
Internship
It is carried out to consolidate the knowledge gained, to master in practice the provisions that contain Intersectoral rules. Work at height as part of the internship is carried out for at least two days. The head of practical training is appointed from among the masters, foremen, and qualified specialists with at least a year of experience. It is allowed to attach no more than two employees to one responsible person. Testing of acquired knowledge is carried out at least once a year. For this, the employer forms an appropriate commission.
Executive Order
To ensure the safety of employees, the director should, whenever possible, eliminate the need for work at heights. If it is impossible to do without them, the manager is obliged to provide specialists with inventory scaffolding, scaffolding, scaffolding, lifts (towers), machines, mechanisms and devices for personal protection.
Site Inspection
Prior to commencing activities alongside, it is necessary to determine the risk associated with the probable fall of the employee. For this, an inspection of the place of work is carried out and compliance with the Rules is established. This event is carried out by the responsible person in the presence of a specialist who will carry out the necessary activities. During the examination, the reasons for the probable fall of the specialist are found out, in particular:
- Unreliability of anchors.
- The presence of destructible (brittle) surfaces, open or open hatches, various openings in the area of activity.
- The probable loss of balance by a specialist when performing work on building ladders, scaffolds, scaffolding, ladders, cradles of the elevator, their overturning, destruction, or violation of stability.
- The presence of slippery surfaces having unshielded swings.
- Destruction of structures, equipment or their elements and parts when carrying out activities on them.
In addition, when examining non-stationary work places, it is necessary to take into account:
- Climatic conditions.
- The likelihood of a specialist falling, materials and other items used in the course of activity.
- The use of flame and welding equipment, cutting or creating fragments of the tool.
- The presence of sharp edges in structural elements, which can provoke, among other things, damage to PPE elements.
Risk factors
They are also taken into account when inspecting the place of work. Risk factors are associated with the location of the anchor devices. These include:
- Probability of a fall. This characteristic, which is determined by the ratio of the indicator of the height of the fall before the shock absorber responds to the total length of the connecting components of the safety system.
- The pendulum factor. It appears with such an arrangement of the anchor device in relation to the specialist, in which the fall of a person is accompanied by a corresponding movement.
- Risk of lack of headroom. It is calculated taking into account the growth of the employee, the total length of the connectors and the sling, the shock absorber that has worked, as well as the remaining free space to the surface lying below after stopping the fall in the state of equilibrium of a specialist.
Important point
It is not allowed to modify the existing set of measures established by the outfit. The transfer of the team of performers to another place is carried out by the head or other person responsible for carrying out the work, if the specialist issuing the permit authorized it. At the same time, the order should contain the corresponding entry in the column "Special Instructions". At a break in activity or upon completion of work, the brigade must be removed from a height. The responsible executive must hand over the outfit to an authorized manager or to the person issuing it. In the absence of these employees, clearance must be left in a designated place. The completion of work is certified by the responsible employee with his personal signature in the order.
Requirements for Professionals
When working at height, the instruction prohibits carrying out activities simultaneously in two or more tiers vertically. It is not allowed to store the tool at the edges of the site, throwing it and materials on the ground and floor. Accessories should be stored in a special box or bag. During the descent or ascent, it is not permitted to carry tools and parts in hands. They should be lowered or raised on a cable, rope or in a bag over his shoulder. It is forbidden to toss items for transfer to an employee located above. Serve necessary parts or tools with ropes. An employee who is on top should make sure that no people are below.
Use of stairs
Instructions when working at height prohibit:
- Carry out activities on unreinforced structures, move along them, climb over the enclosing elements.
- Work on the top 2 steps.
- To be together on the stairs or on one side of the stepladder.
- Move along the stairs with tools or a load in your hands.
- Use faulty stairs or structures doused with slippery substances.
- To stand or carry out activities under a ladder (ladder).
- Install structures near rotating pulleys, shafts, etc.
- Increase the stairs in length, regardless of the material from which they are made.
- Perform work using pneumatic tools.
- Carry out welding on the stairs (stepladder).
Finally
To ensure safety and to prevent accidents during the fall of any object or tool, the areas in which work will be carried out should be fenced. In this case, it is necessary to use special warning signs that are clearly visible from afar. Places where the fence passes must be guarded by the responsible person. When carrying out activities on lattice platforms, it is necessary to lay a wooden flooring to prevent the fall of tools and objects.