Working At Height: Getting RAMS Right

In my last post I talked about working with contractors and how I'd turned men away from site for not having the correct RAMS. Today I'm going to go into detail about what should be on them and why it's important.
At a previous employer we were taught that everyone has a right to go home in the same state as they arrived, i.e. without missing fingers, etc. For this reason we were strict on health and safety and ensuring that all documents were checked and all protocols followed. If someone died on site, however far away that was, we'd hold a minute's silence to remember them — and the importance of adhering to health and safety law.

Whatever your role — coordinator, scheduler, or manager, you need to check the RAMS (Risk Assessment and Method Statement) to ensure the worker is protected from the hazards of working at height as well as from falling, protecting the public from things falling onto them from above, and has a plan for what to do if something goes wrong. No amount of experience can make up for a lack of planning; make sure there is one and that it's complete. Let's break it down.

Risk Assessment

The Risk Assessment tells you what hazards the workers expect to encounter. When working at height, you're either inside or outside a building. The Risk Assessment needs to establish the location of the work first and foremost; do they know what they're likely to encounter when they're there? Do they understand the risks of the particular equipment they're using?

MEWPs (Mobile Elevated Working Platforms) are generally safe to use but, on average, there are more than 50 fatalities a year, most of which are preventable. The fatalities are mostly due to negligence on the part of the operators or people moving about nearby but sometimes the vehicle itself is unsafe to use. Does the RAMS address this? If it doesn't, reject it.

Rope access is also fairly safe, as long as proper safety precautions are adhered to. The most common issues are objects dropped by operators and the risk of the rope itself being cut through by sharp edged surfaces. External working presents extra hazards: workers are at risk of hypothermia in cold weather. If the RAMS doesn't address these, reject it.

Additional hazards

The hazards of working at height are magnified by the fact that the tasks being carried out, which may be hazardous in themselves, are being done at height, i.e. it's harder to get at an injured worker in a MEWP bucket or who's attached to a line than when he's on the ground. Each hazard must be addressed and assessed; working with electricity brings the risk of electrocution. This can be fatal. If the MEWP is to be moved around so the worker can get at the items hes' working on, the moving of the vehicle is a hazard in itself and there's a risk of either striking objects overhead or the worker in the bucket being struck.

Rope access workers have got to be aware of the environment they're working in; what are they anchoring themselves to? What about sharp edges? What about people passing by in the vicinity or underneath them? If the RAMS does not address these, reject it.

Method Statement

The Method Statement advises the steps to be taken to minimise each of the hazards identified in the Risk Assessment. It will usually repeat the list of hazards, then display the plan for dealing with them. This will typically include the safety training certification, the competencies certifications, and the experience of the workers. It will also include plans to isolate dangerous items or areas where risks could occur, i.e. cordoning off the working area to prevent passers by from being hit by objects falling from above them or to keep people away from people who are working at height.

A rescue plan should be included, but sometimes this is a separate document.

Checklist

• Certification of competencies and safety training
• Plans to check the equipment to ensure it is safe to use in the first place. Look for extra safety measures such as Sky Sirens on MEWPs to warn of approaching objects overhead
• Plans to cordon off a safe working area and isolate dangerous items, e.g. electrical circuits
• Indications that the RAMS is specific to the site, e.g. they know whether asbestos is present or not. If asbestos is present (this is likely in buildings built prior to 2000), what do they intend to do about it?
• If the work is external, what are they going to do about inclement weather?
• If the work is internal, is the access equipment suitable for use indoors?
• Are they aware of extant risks such as low roof beams, the roof not being safe to walk on, open hatches, and sharp edges?
• What about lighting if the work is inside a building and some lights are out?

The list is not exhaustive but I think I've covered the main areas. The last thing you want is a fatality on site on your watch, only to discover that it could have been prevented. Years of experience can make people complacent, particularly if they've been slack in a particular area and got away with it, e.g. not cordoning enough space off for people to work safely. Think about what can possibly go wrong and look for that in the RAMS. Do a bit of research on the risks of the particular job you're looking at to get an idea of what harms might befall a worker, and check for them on the RAMS.

While Health & Safety paperwork can be onerous to fill out, it's better than going through it all with an inspector from the HSE following a serious incident. 

Remember: 

• Nothing is too trivial to take into account. 
• If it's a risk, it's on the list.
• If the RAMS ain't right and you're on site, don't let them in.

Stay safe.