Work Health and Safety (Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces) Code of Practice 2015
Inspect the workplaceInspect the workplace
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Inspect the workplace
Walk around the workplace and talk to your workers to find out where work is carried out that could result in falls. A checklist may be useful in this process. Key things to look for include:
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surfaces:
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the stability, fragility or brittleness
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the potential to slip, for example where surfaces are wet, polished or glazed
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the safe movement of workers where surfaces change
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the strength or capability to support loads
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the slope of work surfaces, for example, where they exceed 7 degrees.
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levels—where levels change and workers may be exposed to a fall from one level to another
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structures—the stability of temporary or permanent structures
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the ground—the evenness and stability of the ground for safe support of scaffolding or a work platform
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the working area—whether it is crowded or cluttered
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entry and exit from the working area
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edges—protection for open edges of floors, working platforms, walkways, walls or roofs
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holes, openings or excavations—which will require guarding
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hand grip—places where hand grip may be lost.
In some situations, advice may be needed from technical specialists, such as structural engineers, to check the stability of structures or load bearing capacity.