How to avoid falling objects when working at heights

You may have great fall protection measures in place to keep employees safe when working at height, but what about their co-workers below? Dropped tools and other falling objects are a major hazard โ€“ and one that isnโ€™t always fully addressed.

The following notes will give a clear summary of best practice in securing tools, avoiding tool drops and increasing safety in your workplace.

The problem:

Technicians in the metal working and energy sectors are especially likely to find themselves operating at heights. Think, for instance, of the long climbs involved in maintaining a wind turbine or a tall building. Even a small item of equipment dropped from such a position can seriously injure anyone hit by it. In the United States alone, more than 50,000 people each year suffer injuries due to falling objects, according to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).


What the law says:

Who is responsible for your injury? The person who put it there? You โ€“ for not being careful? Somebody else? The responsibility is shared.

Every business needs to comply with Health and Safety at Work Act from 2015. It lists step by step guides on how to prevent injuries from taking place. Falling objects are one of those threats that need to be prevented.

People Responsible For Your Safety

Of course, you need to take care of your safety. However, if you are at your workplace, there are others that share that responsibility with you. HSW Act recognises following people as duty holders:

  • PCBU
  • Officer
  • Worker
  • Other persons at workplace

PCBU is the โ€˜person conducting business or undertakingโ€™. It can be an organisation or an individual and they have the primary duty of care.

This means that they need to make sure the health and safety of the employees are not put at risk at their workplace.Of course, it is their responsibility to ensure this as long as it is reasonably practicable.

The Officer is usually a company director. It is a person who has control or significant influence over the management. Their duty is to make sure that PCBU enforces all the safety measures.

Workers and other persons at a workplace are not without their responsibilities when it comes to health and safety. They need to do take care of themselves and everyone around them when performing their work.

Prevention Steps A PCBU Needs To Take

The main responsibility for the safety of the employees falls upon the PCBU. There are several steps that he needs to take to prevent accidents, including the injuries by falling objects. The first is to eliminate the risk and if that is not possible, then to minimise it.

For example, let us say that you work in a warehouse and there are many heavy boxes stored. Eliminating the risk from one of those boxes falling on you would be โ€“ storing them on the ground.

Minimising the risk, on the other hand, can be done in several ways.

  • Substitution โ€“ replacing the hazard with something of a lesser risk. In the case of warehouse boxes, it could mean packing stuff in smaller boxes or placing them on lower shelves.
  • Isolation โ€“ preventing people from getting in touch with the hazard. In this example, this would mean limiting the access to the areas below the boxes.
  • Engineering control measures โ€“ coming up with physical control measures, including processes or mechanical devices. For example, placing strong bars that keep the boxes from falling.
  • Administrative control measures โ€“ these are all work processes and procedures that are not managed by engineering or wearing PPE. In this example, it could be introducing all warehouse workers with a guide about how to store and handle boxes safely.
  • Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) โ€“ the name says it all. In the case of warehouse boxes, it would mean wearing a protective helmet.

When it comes to threat of falling objects, HSW Act requires from your PCBU to try and do the following:

  • Prevent objects from falling
  • If that is impossible, arrest the freefall
  • If even that is impossible, introduce a โ€˜no-goโ€™ zone

How To Prevent The Objects From Falling?

Nobody can have full control over every little thing that happens at the workplace. Accidents always happen. Gravity will do its thing and some of those tools will fall down from the scaffolds.

Your PCBU should do everything that is reasonably practicable to keep those falling objects from hurting you.

  • All the objects and tools at heights need to be secured, tied down or put away from the edges.
  • Ensuring safe ways of raising and lowering the objects
  • Arresting the fall by providing safety nets, covering pedestrian walks and providing overhead protection

How To Protect People Around You

Some people work at heights and they need to be trained on safety measures. In that way, they will know how to protect their coworkers and themselves. Safety measures include:

  • Keeping everything away from edges
  • Securing tools and materials and fixating them
  • Keeping the work area clean and tidy
  • Using chutes to place debris into the skip area which needs to be below

If you are moving a load from one place to another, make sure that you take care of the following:

  • Secure and balance load before lifting it
  • Take into account the weight and the external factors like wind
  • Make sure that the equipment that you use is fully operational
  • Establish a โ€˜no-goโ€™ zone while you move the objects

Worst Case Scenario: Someone Got Hurt

Even if everybody is being very careful, somebody might get hurt. In that case, you need to have your First Aid Kit ready. Moreover, it needs to be compliant to all the legal requirements.

Your First Aid Kit needs to be positioned near the places where is more likely for accidents to occur. If your workplace includes some potential risks, there should be a trained first aider among your employees.

Having a proper First Aid Kit that is always up to date and fully stocked is somewhat challenging. Replacing the items from it can slip your mind. However, if a falling object hurts somebody, you need to know that your Kit contains all you need for dressing that wound. Reference: Alsco.co.nz

Six step to prevent injuries from falling objects

  1. Provide Warning. When working on a jobsite where the potential for falling objects exist the employer needs to provide adequate warning for both the employee and other people who may enter the jobsite. ...
  2. Secure loads. ...
  3. Properly move load. ...
  4. Keep a clean worksite. ...
  5. Administrative controls. ...
  6. Protective Equipment.

Ash Air is here for your  longevity!

Your business performance is what we strive for. We operate in the safest way possible while we offer a full range of Chicago Pneumatic and Alup air compressors, tools and on-site solutions. We also provide oil-free compressors and food-grade oil to suit your needs. Ash Air are specialists in vacuum pumps, blowers, and medical gas solutions. Ash Air offers complete quality air solutions as well as advanced piping systems for the performance and efficiency of your compressed air system.



Do you have an idea for our #expertcorner?ย Let us know!

Useful links:

Book Your Compressor Service

Who we are and how Ash Air can help your business!

Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and weโ€™ve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!

  • Reciprocating, Screw, air compressors
  • Vacuum pumps
  • Nitrogen
  • An extensive line of air treatment components

Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, Alup, Pneumatech, and Quincy compressors are used extensively around the world in industries ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world class compressors here in the land of the long white cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported by a 13 locations nationwide, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.

Reliability and Efficiency

With Ash Air compressors, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our efforts on the following:

  • Increasing uptime
  • Reducing unexpected repairs
  • Reducing energy consumption
  • Improving the cleanliness of compressed air


Talk to the team today:  CONTACT US CONTACT US

Read more from our #expertcorner


Just like any other equipment, a compressed air installation also requires the necessary maintenance work during its entire lifespan. Even though maintenance costs are only about 5 to 10% of a machine's annual operating costs, failure to budget for maintenance can have potentially disastrous consequences. …


The air dyer is one of the most ignored cooler in the system. A dirty condenser will cause water in the lines, or worse it will cause complete dryer failure. …


Using nitrogen is not about fully replacing CO2, but it can reduce their consumption of CO2 by close to 70%. Using nitrogen is about sustainability. Creating your own nitrogen is easy and will reduce the use of a greenhouse gas, which is better for the environment. It will also save you money as early as month one adding that savings to your bottom line. …


A question that is occasionally asked by our customers to Ash Air is 'what is the cost of compressed air?'ย  This article looks at the product costs involved with compressed air, as well as minimising the energy cost of compressors and cost allocation. When looking at these factors, we need to realise what causes dropped efficiency of your compressor, leading to increased costs of compressed air. …


You may have great fall protection measures in place to keep employees safe when working at height, but what about their co-workers below? Dropped tools and other falling objects are a major hazard โ€“ and one that isnโ€™t always fully addressed.ย  …


Providing a safe working environment for operators is essential, especially when using pneumatic tools and compressed air. If there is a failure in the air network and the hose is not adequately clamped, the resulting whiplash could be devastating. Failure to follow best practice can result in injuries, associated production downtime and decreased productivity. …


A common questions asked is why do I need an air dryer for my compressor? Typically, air compressors produce water, and although the water can be drained, there can still be aerosol and vapour droplets that are present. This is because water cannoet be compressed. Water can damage your compressor by corroding the valves, pipes and machinery controls, which will cost you time and money to resolve. In the long run, the cost of a new compressor is a small price to pay compared to the loss of production that could potentially arise due to water damage in your compressor.





…


Air compressors can fail for an assortment of different reasons: Normal wear and tear, lifespan and age of the unit, poor maintenance, power surge, install issues are just a few the come to mind. Check out this blog to find out our top 7 tips to ensure your compressor is looked after!  …


That cold, rainy, and in some places icey New Zealand winter is upon us, and with the following air compressor tips, your air system will be prepared with the preferred temperatures, despite the weather outside. Regardless of whether or not it actually snows or freezes up where you live, most winterisation service recommendations are also basic, solid maintenance procedures that will help extend the life and operational efficiencies of air compressors regardless of whether you live in Queenstown or Northland. …


If you're wondering what an air compressor actually is, you've come to the right place. Simply, air compressors convert power in to air that is pressurised which is then used to power air tools such as spray guns. Air compressors are used in a wide range of applications, so naturally if you want one that will be designed for spray painting your vehicle, you want a compressor specifically made for spray guns! This way your compressor will be able to provide the right amount of power to perform the job. …


Compressed air plays a fundamental role in industrial activities. Depending on the type of application, the energy cost of producing compressed air can be very high. Below are some tips to save on you compressor bill. …

Show More