Any time that you stand, climb or walk on a structure that is high enough to cause injury if you fall, you are taking a life-threatening risk. In fact, working at heights is a leading cause of workplace fatalities.
To help reduce the risks and increase height safety, the government requires workers and employers to complete safety training that complies with WHS standards.
What Is the Working at Heights NSW Course?
The working at heights training course gives workers the skills needed to assess risks. Through proper training, students learn how to choose the right fall protection equipment and minimise risks. Other details covered during safe working at heights training Sydney include:
- Assessing the risks of working at heights
- Proper clothing and equipment
- Understanding types of fall protection
- Learning how to deal with workplace accidents
- Using the hierarchy of control measures
The hierarchy of control measures provides guidelines for assessing and minimising risks. The control measures include eight levels. Starting at the first level, workers analyse the conditions:
- Avoid performing tasks from tall areas
- Prevent falls using the workplace
- Prevent falls using collective equipment
- Prevent falls using personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Mitigate the distance using collective equipment
- Mitigate the distance using PPE
- Minimise consequences for collective equipment
- Minimise consequences through training
The primary goal of the training course is to help reduce the risks of falls. This starts with trying to find ways to avoid tall areas. If workers cannot avoid the height, you must do everything possible to minimise the risks.
The next step involves finding ways to perform tasks from a safer place. Instead of working from a higher spot, workers may perform their tasks from a lower ledge or balcony, reducing the need for PPE.
If the area does not include a safer place, workers should use collective equipment for protection. This may include guardrails or other external devices.
Personal protective equipment is the final step for stopping workers from getting injured when working from heights. PPE may include lanyards, straps, or harnesses.
After implementing steps to prevent falls, workers focus on mitigating falls. Common steps for mitigating risks include the use of airbags or nettings.
Along with these steps, workers require training and instruction. To obtain the necessary training, the WHS Act recommends training courses.
The training courses explain the best practices for carrying out work from dangerous areas. Students also learn the right safety measures for ensuring that the working conditions remain as safe as possible.
Do I Need Sydney Working at Heights Training?
Working at heights is a major cause of death in the workplace. The high-risk job includes additional hazards that require training to avoid or minimise. If your job entails performing tasks from roofs, ladders, scaffolding, or any other structures with a risk of falling, you likely need to complete the work at heights course.
To complete the training course, you need to enrol through a registered training organisation (RTO). Always verify that the course comes from an RTO, or its partner, before enrolling. An approved training centre offers a curriculum that follows the WHS code of practice as well a unit of competency if that is what is required by your workplace.
How Long Is the Working at Heights Training Course in Sydney?
The RIIWHS204E work safely at heights training course is a full-day course. It typically lasts at least six hours, depending on the group size. As the course lasts all day, students get time for breaks and meals.
Whilst the Statement of Attainment never actually expires, students should take a refresher working at heights course Sydney typically evert 2 years. Instead of attending a full-day class, workers may elect to complete this online at their own pace. Typically, the online course takes about two to four hours to complete. There is no mandatory aspect to complete Nationally Recognised refreshers but to be sure you should check with the organisation you are working with to see what is acceptable.
At What Height Do You Need a Working at Heights Ticket?
Falls in the workplace account for 27% of all workplace related injury claims. To help reduce the occurrence of injuries and fatalities, the national code of practice requires risk assessments for anyone working at heights of two metres or higher. For shorter spaces, the code of practice still recommends workers to take precautions to ensure safe work.
How Long Does a Working at Heights Ticket Last?
The license does not have an expiry date. However, refresher courses provide a way of remaining aware of the latest safety practices. The refresher courses also help reinforce everything that you learned during the initial training.
You can take your refresher working at heights training course online. It offers a convenient way to maintain your safety without needing to retake the entire full-day training course.
For those who do not yet have a certificate, consider enrolling in the RIIWHS204E work at heights training course today. With the right guidance and training, you can start working safely at heights.
