Working At Heights Training: The Dangers Of Working At Heights Without Proper Training

Our primary aim at EMCARE is to be the premier safety training academy in South Africa, by providing safety training in key fields, this includes working at heights training. We believe this is one of our most critical courses, as it can provide safety education to a wide range of workers in several dangerous industries. Our course has been formulated in such a way that it is universal applicability, with the tips and tricks we teach being applicable no matter what field you work in.

Working high up is dangerous and the results of improperly trained staff can be severe, and in some cases lethal. It is so important that employers take the time to train their workers and provide them with all the necessary tools and knowledge to fulfil their duties in a manner meeting industry standards and that can confidently meet all legal requirements.

In this article we want to explore the dangers of not having working at heights training. We begin by providing a brief overview of height related injuries and their causes. We will then turn our attention to the possible consequences that can be linked to a lack of safety training. Finally, we also want to highlight a few key factors in effective training methods. In this way we at EMCARE hope that we can emphasize the importance and peace of mind this training can bring you and your team.

The Leading Causes Of Height Related Injuries

When you work in an office or at home, slipping or tripping can be embarrassing, but is generally not considered life threatening. However, there are several occupations where a misplaced step can have fatal consequences. For those working at heights, being sure footed and well trained can mean the difference between life or death. Although this may sound rather dramatic at first, if you look at the statistics on this topic, you would be surprised just how dangerous height related injuries can be.

Surveys on this topic revealed that globally, falling from height leads to approximately 684 000 deaths annually on average. As one may suspect, the construction industry is a leading contributor to these figures. It is reported that in the US alone in 2022, almost 47.4% of height related injuries resulting in death came from the construction industry.

In South Africa we see a range of similar statistics. Between 2015 and 2021 the Federated Employers Mutual Assurance Company (FEM), revealed that there were 5842 cases of injuries caused by "falling from one level to another". The majority of these injuries came from the construction and mining industry. These are dangerous places to work, where labourers are consistently expected to scale great heights to complete tasks.

Any industry that requires workers to leave the ground and complete tasks above a certain height are putting their employees at risk of height related injuries, due to tripping or falling. Without proper working at heights training, employees are left without the knowledge to prevent these accidents from occurring in the first place or being able to attend to them in an urgent fashion when they do happen.

Relating these figures, is our way of highlighting the possibility of danger and urging businesses in these dangerous industries to seriously consider working at heights training.

The Consequences Of No Training

Many poor employers believe that the cost far outweighs the benefits of working at heights training. However, it may be that they haven't fully contemplated what the consequences of a lack of training may bring. Although we won't be able to fully cover all the possible consequences in this article, we do want to highlight a few prominent examples to show you just how dangerous it can be to forgo training.

Physical Consequences
Probably the most direct consequences are the physical ones that are easy to link to height related accidents. It is also important to highlight here that unlike a few of the burdens we will cover further down in this section, physical consequences are generally the burden of the employees themselves.

There are so many height related injuries that can cause serious damage to the worker and may even prevent them from being able to work again. These can include, but are not limited to, broken bones, head trauma, and spinal injuries. That is if you are lucky in many cases the result can be death, and as a responsible employer it is important to consider the burden that can have on your employee's family as well.

Financial Impact
From an employer's perspective a height related incident has consequences they will have to bear too. The most prominent of these being financial ramifications. In serious situations the financial burden can be so great that it puts the company under. However, even in situations that are not as serious, generally the financial repercussions are a lot more expensive than any working at heights training would have cost.

Financial issues related to improper training may result in medical bills, loss of income payments, increased insurance premiums and legal costs (both from a civil and regulatory perspective). It is important to note, realistically, these situations may result in several of these costs being applied at the same time.

Key Elements Of Effective Training

At this point, we believe we have made a concrete case for the importance of working at heights training. You may then be wondering what would be taught in these causes and whether they are comprehensive enough to help minimize the risk of all the issues we discussed above.

At EMCARE we have seven courses related to height safety, each accredited by all the necessary legal and governmental authorities in South Africa. But to give you a sample of what you can expect from our course let us show you what is included in our basic working at heights course (WHB).

Not only is the course only one day long meaning that it is not a huge time commitment, but it also results in certification which is valid for three years. During your training day you will learn about height safety PPE, fitment and inspection, suspension trauma, fall protection plans and more.

EMCARE You Partner In Working At Heights Training

If you have found this article informative and want to learn more about how you can protect yourself and your workers look no further than our EMCARE team. Let us help and advise you on your next course of action with regards to training. Find out more about our working at heights training by visiting our website today.