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www.thesafetymag.com/ca 19 KEY WORKING AT HEIGHTS STATISTICS © 2020 Thomson Reuters TR1046566-NM Available Risk-Free for 45 Days Online: store.thomsonreuters.ca Call Toll-Free: +1 800 387 5164 | In Toronto: 416 609 3800 Your responsibility to ensure compliance has never been more critical New Edition Pocket Ontario OH&S Act & Regulations 2020 – Consolidated Edition Your peers rely on this bestselling pocket resource for invaluable guidance on workplace safety law. From preparing job hazard analyses and creating safety training programs to performing violence risk assessments, this edition will help your organization meet all your OHSA obligations under the new changes. The "Green Book" is a must-have resource for every Ontario organization. To see what's new in this edition, visit store.thomsonreuters.ca. The eBook* version on Thomson Reuters ProView® is available through your web browser, or can be downloaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Learn more at store.thomsonreuters.ca/proview *eBook not available to trade bookstores, third-party distributors, and academic institutions. Order # 42728597 $27 Softcover April 2020 approx. 1140 pages 978-0-7798-9428-4 Also available in French Call for details Also available Large format edition with tabs Order # 42728294 $27 Softcover April 2020 approx. 860 pages 978-0-7798-9430-7 Shipping and handling are included. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes imaginable workplace and, quite frankly, in most residences, if we consider the act of cleaning out one's gutters or hanging up the Christmas lights," says Henn. He adds that a fall hazard exists "anytime we have somebody who is working on some elevated surface structure or in an environment where they are subjected to a fall hazard, which is usually going to be some form of unprotected side or edge, a catwalk, a roof, on top of a piece of equipment and machinery that perhaps we're maintaining or repairing." What equipment should be used? Cole says there are a couple of major components that one should have in a fall protection system. Before anything, use the correct hard hat. Working at heights, it is very important to have the right head protection. Rather than a conventional hard hat that simply rests upon the head, workers at heights should use a hat that is both top and side impact rated and has a chin strap or retention system. Once the hat is on, "the first thing we're going to be investing in is engineering resources to determine where we can prevent or eliminate exposure to fall hazards. Can we do the work on the ground? Can we bring the work to the worker as opposed to taking the worker to the work?" says Henn. i. Passive systems There are a host of passive systems that can be implemented, including guardian barriers, netting or any kind of physical barrier that will prevent access to the fall hazard. Passive fall protection "is designed to inhibit you from ever reaching the edge, so you never encounter the dangerous component of your work area," says Cole. This could be a guardrail, a warning line system or even a person that watches over other workers and warns them when they get too close to the edge. In addition, there are positioning devices, which could be lanyards or chain positioning lanyards that allow you to work within a certain distance; they position your body so 29 per cent of traumatic fatalities were from the construction industry 18 per cent of traumatic fatalities in the workplace were due to workplace falls 92 per cent of those suffering fatal injuries were male 23.4 per cent of all Ontario's Ministry of Labour orders were 'fall from heights hazards' Source: Acute Environmental & Safety Services, 2016 statistics that you can never reach the edge. Then, we get into "active" fall protection systems. "That's our last line of defence," says Henn. ii. Harness "When we get into those types of systems or solutions, the basic products or components of systems are first of all going to be a full body harness, which is basically the envelope for the individual at risk, the thing that we're going to use to capture and contain their body and hopefully arrest or prevent access to the fall hazard if we're rigged," says Henn. A body harness, which you wear on your person — your torso — is designed to minimize the forces that your body would experience in the event of a fall, says Cole. "The type of harness that you would use would be based off of your application," says Cole. For example, she says, the harness that someone may wear for construction may contain a tool belt. This harness is not necessarily aimed at other industries. If a person is working on an offshore rig or doing