FALL PROTECTION

The crew follows the fall protection law that applies on the site. Where provincial thresholds differ, the site law applies. Where this program is stricter, this program applies. Default posture: if you can fall more than the legal threshold — or onto a hazard below that threshold — you are protected before you go there.

ORDER OF CONTROLS

• Eliminate the exposure. Do the work from the ground if the lift can be rigged there.
• Guardrails, platforms and travel restraint that physically prevent the fall.
• Fall arrest as the last control — with a rescue plan that is real, not theoretical.

SWP — WORKING AT HEIGHT ON A LIFT

1. 01

   DECIDE IF YOU NEED TO GO UP

   If the hitch can be made at ground level, make it at ground level.

2. 02

   INSPECT THE SYSTEM

   Harness, lanyard, SRL, connectors, anchor. No unlabelled, damaged or homemade anchors.

3. 03

   CONFIRM THE ANCHOR AND CLEARANCE

   Rated anchor. Fall clearance calculated. Swing-fall considered. A harness with no clearance is a decoration.

4. 04

   CONNECT BEFORE YOU ARE EXPOSED

   100% tie-off when required. You are connected before the unguarded edge, not after you notice it.

5. 05

   RESCUE IS PART OF THE PLAN

   Who gets you down, with what, in how long. Suspension trauma is on the clock. “We’ll figure it out” is not a rescue plan.

A tower-crane operator who needs to come out of the cab or off the tower is high-angle rope rescue. In B.C. that plan is written with the municipal fire department through BCCSA THARRP. It is not the same document as a Part 11 fall-protection plan, and THARRP will not approve one. See Emergency Response.

10 — EMERGENCY RESPONSE / THARRP →

Operators accessing upperworks follow the manufacturer’s access method and site fall rules. Jumping down from a carrier or riding a headache ball is not access.