Safety topics - Working at height

Falls from height continue to be an issue for paper and board industries. During 2011 a number of enforcement notices were served in relation to work at height activities. A good health and safety management system will identify work at height tasks and put in place measures to prevent falls BEFORE work at height starts.

Work at height includes the risk of falls from low heights where a person could be injured, as well as the more obvious risk of falling from higher heights such as from scaffolding, tops of machinery etc. Common areas of concern for work at height issues include:

The Law

The Law requires employers to ensure:

When carrying out assessments for managing and selecting equipment for work at height there is a simple hierarchy employers should use as follows:

More information

For advice on specific tasks involving work at height in the paper industry advice can be found in the publication Making paper safely.

More information on particular areas of managing the risks from work at height can be found as follows:

Updated: 2021-11-04