{"id":231,"date":"2020-05-13T09:49:16","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T09:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/?p=231"},"modified":"2022-12-21T09:21:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T09:21:48","slug":"falling-from-grace-heigth-safety-risk-perception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/falling-from-grace-heigth-safety-risk-perception\/","title":{"rendered":"Falling From Grace Heigth safety risk perception"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"231\" class=\"elementor elementor-231\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-558cbb13 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"558cbb13\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-451bbff7\" data-id=\"451bbff7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-169a437d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"169a437d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.9.1 - 14-12-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Falls from height account for a significant proportion of workplace and at-home serious and fatal accidents in many countries around the world. In this article Andrew Sharman argues that we must engage, encourage and empower workers to think differently about how they perceive risks in the workplace.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>We\u2019ve all seen them haven\u2019t we? The images in magazines and on the internet, those adrenalin-fuelled daredevils hell-bent on extreme sports. Each time we see them we catch our breath as we observe how they constantly push the limits, while at the same time carefully managing the ultra-fine balance between life and death. As we look on in wonder, are we witnessing a super-high degree of skill, learned through years of\u00a0dedicated practice? As we look on in disbelief, though, we can\u2019t help but wonder if they\u2019re just lucky Or plain stupid. What\u2019s in their mind? Why do they do it?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Now, to set the record straight, I\u2019m apt to partake in some pretty unusual hobbies. BASE jumping, paragliding, sea kayaking, motorcycling and swimming with sharks would all feature in the \u2018Hobbies and Interests\u2019 section of my CV. But I\u2019m not referring to these sorts of activities here; in fact, to be abundantly clear I don\u2019t even consider these to be `extreme\u2019 sports. They are, at least to me, simply activities with a degree of risk to be managed just like football, rugby; martial arts, trail running \u2014and, arguably, even ping pong and almost any other sport you can think of. Rather, I\u2019m referring to those idiots on ladders.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The chap repairing the roof. The woman installing the new satellite dish. Those two guys who realise they don\u2019t have enough scaffolding and so create an alternative access using whatever comes to hand. The worker stretching out to joint a cable just out of reach. The engineer replacing a broken streetlamp. The painter leaning out to get that last little bit\u2026 These aerial acrobats have become so popular that there\u2019s even now dedicated PowerPoint slideshows doing the rounds with photographs of such high jinks, typically generating a guilty giggle and often incorporated into safety toolbox talks.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter where we are in the world, we\u2019re likely to find at least one \u2018idiot on a ladder\u2019 or working at height somewhere. Some of you, as health and safety practitioners or operational managers may have\u00a0even found them in your own workplaces. Only last week during a site visit the factory manager I was with did a double-take as we turned a corner to find a forklift truck, engine running, driver in place, its forks raised to maximum height, with a \u2018working platform\u2019 made out of an old pallet, upon which stretched upwards the longest ladder I\u2019d ever seen. Right at the top, many metres above us, was an intrepid maintenance technician \u2014 clearly not a sufferer of vertigo \u2014 with wrench in hand, attempting to fix a leaking pipe. A few metres away, a pile of temporary scaffolding pipes and clips sat silently, just begging to be noticed.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Work at height has been a priority issue for most workplace safety regulators and inspectors around the world for many years. Without doubt, most readers of this journal would consider work at height as a potential \u2018high risk\u2019 task that requires careful assessment and planning, and diligence in execution. But why isn\u2019t our assessment of these risks shared by the workers engaged in carrying out the task? And why is it that they seem so oblivious to the very real and present danger that they place themselves in?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Falling from the stars\u00a0(and stripes)<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>Falling from heights is one of the most common causes of admission to the Emergency Room in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and several other supposedly \u2018developed\u2019 nations. Unsurprisingly it also ranks in the top 10 of Accidental Deaths for many of these countries, too. So why has our thinking not developed to such a degree to allow us to see the risks for what they are? But it\u2019s not just the ordinary folks \u2014 in the last 12 months Brad Pitt took a tumble, leaving his handsome face scuffed and scarred, and Tom Cruise suffered a similar fate too.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And the winner is\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>Over in the UK there\u2019s even a national tournament recognising the phenomenon. The \u2018Idiots on Ladders\u2019 competition recognises the stupidity of humankind when working at height. This year\u2019s winner is a man way up on a building roof, charged with a repainting job. Acknowledging the challenge of building a scaffold to a hard-to-reach area, he creatively constructs his own using three ladders: one each side to act as the legs or brace, and a third positioned horizontally between them to create a platform on which he can balance and attempt to work.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It all sounds like a great jape but there is, of course, a serious side. For the last nine years the UK Ladder Association has used the \u2018competition\u2019 as a way to promote its annual Ladder\u00a0Exchange campaign, where old ladders may be traded in towarls new ones. The point of the campaign is clear \u2014to reduce the number of damaged, broken or inadequate ladders in use and encourage people to think more about safe work at height. The association reports that over the years the campaign has facilitated the removal of several thousand unsafe ladders from service \u201cthus reducing the risk of an accident resulting from a worn or faulty ladder.\u201d But it\u2019s not just about selling more new ladders: \u201cEqually important is the fact that buyers and users of ladders, and the people who supervise their use, are encouraged to think about work at height safety in general.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>It\u2019s this last idea that resonates\u00a0with me. Think for a moment to\u00a0the work at height activities in your\u00a0workplace. I\u2019ll wager that the majority\u00a0of equipment bring used is in good\u00a0order, well-maintained, and often used in the correct manner for which it is designed. So why is it that work at height remains one of the leading causes of death and serious injury around the world? Is it simply because a fall from height typically has greater potentially to kill or maim? No, the real issue is around perception \u2013 risk perception to be exact. People simply don\u2019t see the risks. Here are four recent fatal accident cases to illustrate my point.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Case one<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>A pregnant worker fell three metres through an open cellar hatch in a nightclub in the United Kingdom. The 23-year-old woman was busy working behind the bar, turning to fetch more drinks for a customer she did not notice the hole in the floor behind her \u2014 the hatch had been left open by another worker who had\u00a0descended into the cellar to retrieve stock\u2014 and promptly fell down the stairs to the cellar below The opening of the cellar hatch behind the bar was common practice, especially in busy times where frequent stock replenishment was necessary. Indeed, the injured person had worked at the bar for several months and was familiar with the practice of opening the hatch having previously retrieved stock from the cellar herself, and even stepping over the open hatch to reach other parts of the bar area.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Case two<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>In Lahore, Pakistan, a worker died after falling from a crane during overhead works to create a new line on the metro network. The man had ventured out along the beam of the crane to replace a loose piece of pipe when he slipped and fell to his death. His aerial activities occurred just days after a site toolbox talk on the dangers of working at height, which emphasised the need to \u2018always clip-on\u2019 with a harness.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Case three<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>In Australia a worker died while operating a scissor lift during construction of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. The worker\u00a0sustained fatal injuries when he was crushed between the lift and a concrete slab overhead. The deceased was the only operator of the controls of the scissor lift, and it was he who raised the platform towards the ceiling. The incident was strikingly similar to a previous accident in November 2014 on the same site.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Case four<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>A worker on Shell\u2019s Brent Charlie oil platform plunged 23 metres into the North Sea when a sharp edge severed his access rope. The worker had descended on abseil equipment through an access hatch to retrieve fallen items and debris from below the main deck. Upon completing the task, the worker began to climb back up, however his weight pulled the rope tight against the sharp edge of the access hatch, severing it and allowing him to fall to his death.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In each of these four cases, even on the limited information I\u2019ve provided, I\u2019m certain that you\u2019re already\u00a0spotting the risks and picking up on crucial points for action. So it would appear, at least on face value, that each worker just didn\u2019t see the risks in the way we might expect them to.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Assessing the risks<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>The previously mentioned accidents highlight two key issues. The first is around assessment of the actual risks \u2014 subsequent investigations in each case found that the formal risk assessments were, at best, lacking. In two of the events, risk assessments were not even completed.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>For example, in its investigation of the oil platform death, the regulator (the UK Health and Safety Executive) found that the task had not been properly planned: \u201cAssessing the risks of the job properly would have identified that the potentially sharp edge presented a very clear danger to anyone suspended and working on ropes rigged against it.\u201d But it transpired that the risk assessment had failed to include the risk of ropes being cut or damaged by such sharp edges and instead simply referred to \u201cgeneric (work at height) procedures\u2026 rather than being really focused on the job in hand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>I\u2019m confident that readers will be saysy with the art of robust risk assessment and I don\u2019t intend to use page space here to harp on about the importance of this, or clipping on, cordoning off areas below; or the use of hard hats above and below: Instead let\u2019s focus on digging deeper. The second key issue is perhaps the more challenging: risk perception. So, let\u2019s return to the oil platform. During the set up of the job, the deceased and his team members were aware that the access ropes needed to run over the edge of the hatch, but they did not spot the very real risk of the rope being severed by the hatch edge, instead they \u201cjust saw a rather dirty piece of steelwork and didn\u2019t recognise it as being sharp.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading -->\n<h2>G<span style=\"color: #000000;\">olden Rules<\/span><\/h2>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><br \/>Work at height often features in an organisation\u2019s Golden Rules for workplace health and safety. The logic behind Golden Rules is sensible: identify the biggest risks of fatal or serious injuries and create an absolute non-negotiable rule for their control. Just like on the Pakistan construction site in the case study above, many of our clients have in the past typically included a statement such as \u201cAll work at height must be properly controlled. Those working at height must always wear a harness and be clipped on at all times.\u201d But that doesn\u2019t mean that it always happens like that, does it? Could it be that the workers\u2019 perceptions of the risk don\u2019t match the intent of the rule?<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Just a few weeks ago I\u2019d been through a pretty robust site safety induction before being taken for a tour around a large construction site in downtown Johannesburg. This creation of a new global headquarters was indeed awe-inspiring, with 10 floors above ground and three more below; the building\u00a0was magnificent both in terms of size and its architectural splendour. The site\u2019s Golden Rules were fresh in my mind. Rule 4 concerned work at height: \u201cWork at height means any work performed more than 1.2 metres above the ground. Harnesses and lanyards must be inspected before each use. Workers must always clip on to a secure point when working at height.\u201d Straight-forward and clear, I thought. Venturing out onto the site I stood in what would become the main reception area, a vast space which would become replete with a massive vaulted glass-ceiling. From here I felt like a tiny ant as I looked up at the galleries of each floor above me. Climbing the scaffolding staircase we ascended towards the roof. On the fifth floor however, we had cause to break. Two men, kneeling on the floor, were working to install fixings for the gallery windows. Both were wearing harnesses; neither were clipped on. When asked about the Golden Rule for working at height their response was spot on: \u201cYou must clip on if you are more than 1.2 metres up.\u201d But I was surprised when he added \u201cWe are sitting on the ground though, not on a scaffolding or ladder, so it doesn\u2019t apply here to us.\u201d Even when my guide nodded towards the drop of five floors just a few feet from where the man sat, he was still puzzled. His understanding was that he must have actually climbed up something first to make the rule come into play. Although he knew he was on the fifth floor of a skeleton-like work-in-progress construction, and had been up and down on all levels every day for several weeks, he simply couldn\u2019t see the very real and very serious risk of falling from height right in front of him. To this man, all was normal. He spent his day installing window brackets, usually while sitting or kneeling on the ground. Sometimes on level one, sometimes level three, four, five, 10. He had become so familiar with the heights that he didn\u2019t see the risk, nor the applicability of the rule.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Further discussions with our man revealed that he had never suffered a fall from height in his career; he\u2019d \u201calways been careful\u201d he\u00a0added. This notion that a wealth of experience makes us invincible to risk is reinforced in some people because they say \u201cit\u2019s never happened to me\u201d. But as I\u2019ve suggested in previous articles and also in my book From Accidents to Zero, the absence of accidents does not equal the existence of safety.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>In fact, ask anyone who has survived a fall from height and almost all will say that they didn\u2019t see it coming. Some, will even go out of their way to share their story in the hope that it prevents someone else suffering the same fate, like the UK\u2019s Jason Anker. Jason fell from a ladder when in his early twenties and has spent the rest of his life paralysed from the waist down. Awarded an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, Jason tirelessly travels the world \u2014 in his wheelchair \u2014 to re-tell the heart-touching story of that fateful day and how it has affected his life ever since.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {\"level\":3} -->\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In summary<\/span><\/h3>\n<!-- \/wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>So what can we do about risk perception? Whether it\u2019s working at height, or any other potentially risky work task, maybe an alternate\u00a0angle could help. All too frequently risk assessments are completed at the desktop. In the event that the assessor gets out to the work location, the activity is often done in relative silence, perhaps ignoring the workers themselves. In our bid to create safety in the workplace employee engagement is vital. It\u2019s time to build dialogue rather than assume alignment on risk. Try asking workers \u201cWhat is slow inconvenient or uncomfortable about doing this job safely?\u201d \u2014 it\u2019s a sure-fire winner to get them thinking. You\u2019ll either get suggestions for improvement, or confirmation that things are under control. With the latter you then have room for a follow-up: \u201cSo, if I were working with you today; what would I need to know in order to go home safely after work?\u201d More thinking encouraged, and a verbal confirmation of the risks, rules and procedures associated with the job, which serves well as salient reminder to the worker. If you spot a risk that\u2019s not been mentioned this can be dropped into the conversation at this point and discussion continued. You might even try \u201cSo what could we do to make this task even safer?\u201d Safety dialogues like this can be done at any time, not just during the risk assessment process, and by anyone, not just the safety manager. They can even be used by managers and supervisors on a daily basis to boost risk awareness right around the workplace.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The time for toolbox talks showing idiots on ladders has passed, let\u2019s move beyond \u2018superheroes on stilts\u2019 and use good old-fashioned\u00a0conversation to engage, empower and equip our workers with enhanced risk perception skills. It might just stop them \u2014 and you \u2014 from falling from grace.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Andrew Sharman is Chi 5f Executive of R1\/S, a global consulting specialising in organisational safety culture and leadership. With a strong track record of improving culture and enabling excellence for NGOs and commercial organisations around the u-orld through industry sectors including mining, construction, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, FAICG and more. Find out more at www.fromaccidentstozero.com<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Falls from height account for a significant proportion of workplace and at-home serious and fatal accidents in many countries around the world. In this article Andrew Sharman argues that we must engage, encourage and empower workers to think differently about how they perceive risks in the workplace. We\u2019ve all seen them haven\u2019t we? The images [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[33],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2894,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231\/revisions\/2894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preventdrops.com\/devnew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}