Working at heights comprises of a lot of risks as the probability of things not going as planned are as high as the height. Records show that about 8000 injuries and over 50 deaths are caused while working at heights every year. These numbers are enough to depict the risk involved while working at locations higher or lower than the ground level. If is essential that ample safety measures are taken to ensure fall prevention and fall arrestor. There is a wide range of equipment types for height safety and many work stations prefer to get permanent safety platforms installed at heights along with several other measures. All these arrangements may be all in vain if there is no regular comprehensive inspection service. A comprehensive inspection service is meant to check that all the fall prevention equipment is in place and well-maintained. These inspection services are necessary to ensure that the workplace is safe enough for ease of work.
Here is the List of All the Safety Equipment Basically used for Safety at Height:
- Harness
- Shock absorber
- Tool lanyards
- Temporary lifelines
- Rescue blocks
- Work positioning belts
- Anchor points
- Rope grab
- Mini blocks
- Rescue tripods
- Fall arrest blocks
All these are the essentials for a safety gear. There are several minute things to take care and that ensures there is no malfunctioning of the safety equipment while workers are busy working on it.
There are 4 Categories of Comprehensive Inspection Services:
- General Equipment Inspection: This type of comprehensive inspection service includes the quality check of all usually used fall protection equipment like impact indicator, D-rings and D-ring plates, buckles, connectors, labels, plastic keepers, labels, wires and ropes, shock absorbers, webbing and stitching, etc. First, all the labels on the safety equipment are checked and ensured that all are perfectly attached and clearly legible. Cracked buckles are replaced, D-ring plates are checked for cracks or dents, impact indicators are tested for accuracy and functionality. All the connectors are individually checked and inspected for any wear and tear. The missing stitch patterns are patched and connecting ropes and wires undergo a durability test.
- Type 2 and 3 Device Inspection: This inspection includes the comprehensive inspection service of all type 2 and 3 fall arrestors and the retractable horizontal lifelines. All the equipment housings are checked for dents and cracks. Along with the housings, the sliders, handles, and connectors are inspected as well.
- Temporary System Inspection: The work places which have temporary height safety attachments which are taken down after the job is done. These equipments have to be checked too. This includes type 1 fall arresters, vertical lifelines, and proprietary temporary lifelines. There is a data plate assigned to each equipment which mentions the frequency of the usage of each equipment. This tracks the need of maintenance and inspection.
- Permanent System Inspection: Permanent safety systems are the ones that need the highest amount of comprehensive inspection and maintenance. As they are permanent, they are constantly in use and therefore have more wear and tear and so regular inspections are necessary. The anchors and anchor points, fixed as well as moveable ladders, and all other climbing systems are checked. The fixed anchor points which are responsible for bearing the weight of several safety equipment are inspected with precision. Also, all the poles and ladders are checked for minor breaks and durability. All the eyebolts and their positions are checked whether they are aligned correctly as per the installation design.
All these checks are done in any comprehensive inspection service which is necessary after regular intervals to ensure that the safety systems are reliable and not prone to collapsing while workers are busy working.