SA Affordable Housing July - August 2019 // Issue: 77 | Page 18

FEATURES
Working at heights has a
lot of depth – Part 1
Like many other aspects of construction, there is a huge risk
when working at heights. Usually considered a headache, proper
management of working at heights is critical as failure to do so can
cause injury, close down sites and cost time and money.
By Benjamin Brits
A fall arrest system showing the retractable lanyard and lifeline.
I
f you are like me, you may assume that working at heights
only involves things like access and working on, or in a
roof, but recent developments in standards around best
practice when working at heights will lower the
requirement for management to as little as half a metre off
the ground. In reality, even a fall of this short distance can
cause serious injury (and even death in some cases).
I was invited to the Waco Training Facility in Boksburg,
Johannesburg recently to discuss working at heights with
training manager, Jakes Jacobs [who is also the chairman for
the Scaffolding Chamber at the Institute for Working at
Height (IFWH)]. During our chat, I realised the enormity of
risk that working at heights holds, as well as the importance
of this seemingly-simple element of construction that is not
just about the correct gear or personal protective
equipment.
“One of the bigger challenges in the industry is the fact
that many companies in the construction space don’t know
the difference between the various elements of working at
heights, or the necessary training for their teams. Often
they send their teams on training that is not aligned for
what they need to achieve, which leads into the next major
challenge of fly-by-night training providers offering training
but they don’t complete the certification process. This
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JULY - AUGUST 2019
www.saaffordablehousing.co.za