There are many careers that require working at heights. But safety during work is a priority. There are many safety precautions that you can take to avoid injuries or fatalities. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure all safety equipment are provided and the employees are given safety training.

Working at a height refers to any height that poses a risk of injury or falling. This can be working on a ladder, on the roof etc. Fall protection should be provided to all employees. Railings are a good way of keeping up the safety of workers at heights. This is actually a passive form of protection. There are different railing systems available depending on the type of the roof such as metal roof railings, parapet mounted railings etc.  It is very easy to use this because employees don’t need to undergo training to use this.

There are also height safety equipment such as body harnesses, pole straps and PPE. You need to understand the types of harnesses that are available and why there is a range of prices for them. Sometimes the more expensive harnesses provide more comfort. So you have to understand your requirements clearly at the beginning to start looking for the right harness. For example, if the workers are carrying out welding at a height, then the harness required should have heat protection. There will be many workers that use the harness so you need to make sure that it comes with features that allow the user to adjust the fit of the harness.

Also, the safety lanyards should be checked for their specifications as well. If you are working at larger heights, then retractable lanyards may be needed. You need to select the protective wear according to the situation. So it is recommended to have a security officer that can go over the protocols and make recommendations to ensure all the workers are safe. The safety equipment should be inspected to make sure they are in a good condition. Just wearing a harness will not guarantee your safety; you need to make sure that it is of good quality and that it hasn’t worn out over years of use. But to do this, there has to be an experienced person to inspect the protective equipment and provide corrective methods and solutions when necessary.

It is best to train the employees to carry out a pre-check of the protective equipment and understand how to spot any irregularities. In the event of an issue, you need to inform them what corrective measures are to be taken. You also need to have the crew trained in understanding fall distance. When using a lanyard, you need to understand that the fall distance includes the length of the lanyard when it is deployed, body length and any sag that is present in the harness. Even when you have the lanyard and the harness properly selected, you need to select an acceptable anchor point. An anchor point should be approved by a professional engineer and it should be designed in a way to handle at least 5000 pounds.