Have you ever looked up at a building covered in scaffolding and wondered “wow, how do they stay safe up there?” – well, it’s a dangerous job, but a lot of training and safety courses go into these roles.
These courses help workers in industries such as construction have the skills and know how to safely navigate and build structures, as well as understand what to do in an emergency such as sudden bad weather like strong winds or rain, or a fall or an accident.
This isn’t just a necessity for safety, but is a legal requirement to ensure business operate within standards and regulations.
Courses used by these workers and business include PASMA training, which teaches users of scaffold towers how to safely use them, amongst other responsibilities related to the equipment.
In this article we’ll look at some of the courses used and what working at height entails…
What Is Working at Height?
Essentially, working at height means anything that involves building, repair, or any other type of work at anything above ground level. But in particular this generally involves high heights, and any role that poses the risk of injury if a fall happens.
This work is usually construction and maintenance related tasks on tall buildings, but can include work on trees (trimming, etc) or things such as telephone pole repair.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 was created with the aim to reduce and prevent death and injury caused by falling whilst working in high places.
Along with this several different courses are available to further mitigate risk, here’s a selection of courses that are commonly used…
Work at Height Awareness Training
To coincide with the Work at Height Regulations, there is Work at Height awareness training courses.
This particular course covers a range of topics related to working at height, such as:
- Risk assessment
- Identifying fall hazards
- Using protective equipment for falls as well as the inspection and maintenance of equipment
- The usage of anchorage points and setting up safety lines
- Safety and emergency procedures
These topics are all designed to help employers and workers comply with regulations, they feature practical tasks such as setting up equipment. The training may also cover legal responsibilities.
PASMA Course
PASMA courses, which stands for Prefabricated Access Suppliers and Manufacturers Association, is a more specific course aimed at those who use mobile access towers for their work at heights.
The course trains workers such as builders, maintenance experts and other tradespeople how to safely assemble, dismantle, move, and even perform a safety inspection on mobile towers.
The emphasis on safety checks also includes teaching an understanding of stability in order to avoid a tower collapsing.
A mobile tower is essentially similar to scaffolding and usually features a ladder and a platform in order to help workers scale up to, and work at the height needed.
Many providers offer a PASMA course, and on completion you will receive a certification and ID card that is valid for five years.
IPAF Training
IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) PAL (Powered Access Licence) training is for workers who use anything that falls under the category of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (also known as MEWPs).
This includes things such as scissor lifts, cherry pickers, and boom lifts.
The training course teaches workers how to operate these machines safely, including how to perform inspections before use and what to do in case of an emergency with the machine.
This course is usually a requirement for professionals in trades such as the electrician industry and general maintenance.
Why Courses Like These Are So Important
Courses such as the ones listed above and more are so important because working at height can be so potentially dangerous. With proper training and safety measures, the likelihood of accidents is reduced but the fact remains it is still a dangerous role.
In fact, accidents whilst working at height is one of the leading causes of workplace injuries and fatalities in the UK. So doing everything possible to minimise and prevent this is incredibly crucial.
As well as safety and reducing accidents, it also helps workers feel more confident. This in turn means projects will be completed with efficiency.
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