Any kind of manual labour will always carry with it some degree of risk, but none more so than working at heights. This brings about the importance of height safety systems. Between 2017 and 2018, the most common cause of hospitalised injury was caused by an unintentional fall, and unintentional falls were the leading cause of injury deaths, accounting for 40% of all registered deaths in the workplace.
Luckily with the right height safety systems in place, these risks can be greatly mitigated or even eliminated altogether.
That’s why it’s vital for your building to have well designed and well-maintained safety systems, as these will help greatly reduce the risk of fall injuries when your employees are working at heights.

Types of Height Safety SystemsDepending on the access requirements of your building, there is a wide range of height safety systems available that will help keep your staff and contractors safe.
These range from passive protection such as caged ladders, guardrails, and aluminium walkways, to fall restraint systems such as anchor points, ladder brackets, and stainless steel static lines.
Some systems are simply designed for preventing or arresting a fall from a height, whilst others are engineered to be used under tension by rope access technicians.
It’s challenging for the average person to be able to tell the difference, which is vital as your life may literally depend on it. That’s why these systems should be designed and installed by a licensed height safety professional also be maintained, regularly inspected, and certified safe for use.
It’s also important that your height safety systems are appropriate for the risks associated with working on your building. It’s entirely possible that some of these systems won’t work with certain areas of your building due to its architecture or cladding materials, or that you need specific height safety systems because of the risks associated with different parts of the building.
So, what works for one building may not work for yours. If you’re looking to get a height safety system installed, it’s important to work with industry professionals who can properly assess the risk of your building and design a comprehensive height safety solution.

Benefits of Height Safety SystemsThe most significant benefit of height safety systems is that it reduces the risk of your employees suffering fall-related injuries or deaths. However, it’s worth mentioning that height safety systems should always be used alongside the correct PPE and risk assessment strategy for the system to be effective.
As a PCBU it’s mandatory for you to have height safety systems in place, which comply with AS1891.4 and AS4488. In accordance with standards and manufacturers guidelines the systems must also be regularly inspected and/or load-tested, usually every 12 months.

Maintaining Your Height Safety SystemsWe can’t stress enough how important it is for you to continuously monitor, maintain, and have your height safety systems inspected and certified. Not only will this be a condition of regulations and your insurance, but it’s an unfortunate truth that unmaintained height safety systems have the potential to cause more accidents than they prevent.
At Skypro, our experts are fully licensed to install, inspect, and certify your height safety systems to make sure they match industry health and safety standards. Whether you need a height safety system installing on your building, or you need your existing system inspecting, check out our Facebook page or get in touch with our team today and we’d be happy to help