OH&S

OH&S is of vital importance in all areas, and especially the building industry. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2005–2006, of the 437,600 men who experienced a work-related injury or illness in the last 12 months, 28 per cent were trades persons and related workers, 18 per cent were employed in the manufacturing industry, 17 per cent in construction and 15 per cent were labourers and related workers when the injury or illness occurred.

These are sobering statistics. Consider the impact these injuries have – not only on the injured person and their family, but the morale of the workplace, delays in schedules and, in the worst case scenario, legal ramifications that cost time and money. It’s important to remember that OH&S is your responsibility, whether you’re an employer or employee, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Most of the time, OH&S relies on commonsense and vigilance on behalf of individuals. However, there is also a lot of OH&S legislation aimed at protecting workers and their rights to a safe workplace, so make sure you’re up-to-date with the latest industry practices.

Risk management
The appropriate control measures for a particular system of work are generally determined by individual job factors. Conducting a risk assessment identifies these. Employers and self-employed persons must identify any foreseeable hazards, assess their risks and take action to eliminate or control them. Risk management is a regulatory requirement. The risk management process is a problem solving process that when taken step-by-step, will lead to informed decisions about how best to avoid or control the impact of risks.

You must involve your workers when undertaking risk management. This is a regulatory requirement. There are four basic steps:
Step 1: Identify the problem (hazard identification).
Step 2: Determine how serious a problem it is (assess the risks).
Step 3: Decide what needs to be done to solve the problem (eliminate or control risks).
Step 4: Review the risk assessment process and control measures to ensure risks are still adequately addressed.

Safe scaffolding

Scaffolding laws are generally covered by OH&S legislation which varies from state to state and covers a variety of scaffold types typically used in residential construction. These include:

‘A common reference in the legislation is to require the use of systems that comply with Australian Standards such as AS/NZS 1576 Scaffolding, AS/NZS 4576 Guidelines for scaffolding and AS 1892 Portable ladders,’ says Melanie Foster, HIA’s executive director of OH&S policy.

Generally the OH&S regulations require that edge protection, in the form of guard railings and toe boards, or mesh screens incorporating kick plates, are provided where a person or object can fall a specified distance (two metres or more) from any platform. The height threshold and prescribed controls can vary by state legislation, so local guidelines must be checked to ensure compliance.

Licensing requirements to erect scaffolding also vary from state to state and is generally established by a height restriction below which a licence is not required.

For example, in NSW a licence is not required where the fall height is less than four metres (measured from the platform to the ground in the fall zone). This means that any scaffolding for construction of single storey housing on reasonably level land in NSW generally would not require a scaffolder’s licence. Local legislation must also be checked for licence requirements.

Case study 1

A 44-year-old painter died from severe head injuries after falling through a corrugated plastic skylight. The painter fell some 5.5 metres onto the concrete floor below. At the time of the accident four painters were preparing the roof surface for repainting, using a specially constructed roofing ladder. It was positioned on the edge of the skylight.

The painter either slipped or overbalanced off the ladder and fell sideways onto the plastic skylight. Another painter tried unsuccessfully to hold onto him before he fell through the skylight to the concrete floor below.

The Coroner found that death was by misadventure because the employer failed to install safety mesh. The death of the painter could have been prevented by safety mesh under the skylight. This case also shows that roofing ladders are only effective if the painter stays on the ladder itself. It is a fact that workers can fall off ladders.

Case study 2

A painter, who had been working on an aluminium extension ladder, used the ladder to get to a part of the roof to paint the wall above. The roof was 40-year-old corrugated asbestos cement roofing without underpinning wire mesh. It is believed that a very strong gust of wind blew the ladder to the ground, forcing the painter to cross the roof to get to an open window. In crossing the roof, it collapsed and the painter fell 6.2 metres to the concrete floor below and was killed.

The Coroner heard from the investigating inspector that the roof pre-dated regulations requiring the installation of wire mesh underneath new roofs. However, catwalks should have been provided instead. The death of this worker is as much a reflection on the misuse of ladders as it is on the unsafe nature of unmeshed fibre cement sheeting.

If scaffolding had been erected, there probably would not have been any need to work off the roof, or at least to cross the roof to exit. Even securing the ladder would have prevented it blowing over and possibly averted the accident.