SAFETY
Above: Kee Walk roof walkway
with handrail. Below: roof step
over platform
supplementary inspections to establish
how the product was structurally
anchored into the base material.
Willmott adds: “Our system provides
the duty holder and recerti cation
technician with clarity and consistency
of approach and interpretation of the
speci c product standards and their
complexities.
“Duty holders receive a full inspection
visit report, including a summary of
their building’s fall protection equipment
condition. Reports are submitted in an
electronic format and for multiple site
inspections these can be hosted on
our online portal, allowing access to all
building/site reports in one safe place.”
FALL PROTECTION
Alternative personal fall protection safety
systems must also be installed and
maintained in order to reduce fatalities.
Such systems include eyebolts, wire or
bre ropes and horizontal life lines.
The latest revision of BS 7883,
released in November 2019, constitutes a
revised and comprehensive best practice
standard for those designing, installing,
maintaining, inspecting and certifying
anchor devices and systems.
Those inspecting such systems
must be aware of what components
should be utilised and if they are
potentially missing, installed incorrectly
or assembled with incompatible
components.
The latest guidance recommends
that a record of all hidden elements and
the materials obscuring them is detailed
within the system technical le, including
evidential and sequential photographs
taken during installation. Many original
installations may not have this critical
veri cation documentation, and a full
system review and supplementary
engineering inspection revealing the
hidden elements may be required.
Anne Hayes, director of sector
standards at BSI, says: “All British
Standards are subject to review at
least every ve years. BSI ensures that
technical committees take responsibility
for each British Standard and undertake
such reviews and consider any matters
of concern brought to its notice at any
other time.”
Wilmott highlights a downwards
trend in the statistics for fatalities at
work as well as those resulting from falls
from height. He attributes this to more
e ective legislation and standards as
well as greater awareness, especially as
a successful prosecution is no longer
reliant on an accident occurring, but the
potential risk of harm.
He adds that because wind speeds in
the south of the UK are lower than those
experienced in the North, PCGSs must
include design exibility to accommodate
local wind speeds. For instance, additional
counterweights can be added, longer
cantilever tubes may be required, and
bay centres (distance between vertical
supports) may have to be reduced.
Willmott, pictured left, says: “We have
created an examination scheme and
ability to produce wind speed calculations
as part of the annual inspection. We
inspect all systems and their technical
le. Any de ciencies are categorised
in a standard format (pass, conditional
pass, conditional fail or fail), with full
explanation, photographic evidence and
any necessary solutions and time frame
recommendations.”
DUE DILIGENCE
Following the ‘best practice’ requirements
of BS 7883:2019 every installation
should have a ‘system technical le’. This
evidence-based document is produced by
the system designer, who passes it on to
the duty holder and should be placed as
part of the health and safety le required
under the Construction (Design and
Management) Regulations 2015.
The duty holder must then retain the
le and ensure it is available to anyone
who may need it for as long as it is
relevant – normally the lifetime of the
building – to enable them to comply with
health and safety requirements during
any subsequent work/inspection. The
system technical le should include
the system design and layout, design
calculations, and wind speed calculations
permitting compatibility, safety, and
operational suitability to be assessed and
veri ed.
Should any of this information be
absent at the time of an inspection,
companies like Kee Safety can assist duty
holders with completing a full system
review of their fall protection system
and, where applicable, undertaking
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