As leaders in the height safety industry & with over 14 years of experience installing and recertifying height safety systems, our team have discovered some extremely dangerous systems. Our technicians can spot a non-compliant Anchor within seconds but to the average trade using these systems they may not be quite as savvy & aware of the dangers that a non-compliant system will bring.
Height safety systems, such as these examples, have the capability to cause serious injury or even death. If it looks dangerous, it is dangerous – it’s that simple. There are too many companies out there that do not care enough, don’t have the appropriate training & get away with it.
Surface Mount Anchor – Incorrect installation
This surface mount anchor was discovered this year by our installers and immediately tagged DO NOT USE for the following reasons:
- Rusted Roof
- Sikaflex covering the rivets so unable to inspect integrity of fixings
There are a few scenarios that came out of our discussions on social media around this anchor point and how it ended up like this, the one comment that continued to come up was the lack of proper training. Contractors removing the anchors and reinstalling them incorrectly without realizing the dangers. Click here to read all the comments around this Anchor on our LinkedIn page.
3sixty Top Mount Anchor – Damaged Anchor
And another one bites the dust! Here we have a 3sixty top mount Anchor point that in its current state is non-compliant, yes, we could potentially clean the rust off, however, to avoid any doubt we would recommend replacing with a new Anchor Point. We also notified the client of the additional rust on the roof sheets so that they could address this.
This Anchor point was also added to social media to spread awareness around the importance of yearly inspections by a certified height safety inspector. There were still some comments saying this Anchor could be compliant for reasons being they have met the required number of rivets, surface rust could be cleaned off thus not effecting the anchor itself, but at the end of the day it is installed to save a life and if it looks unsafe it is unsafe. Click here to read more comments around this Anchor on our LinkedIn page.
Tile Mount Anchor – Incorrect Installation
When engaging a height safety company ensure they are trained by the manufacturers of the products they are installing, below is another example of some of the things our technicians come across when inspecting anchors that have been installed by someone without the correct training.
This tile mount anchor requires the screws to be fixed in the side of the plate, in this case they have been incorrectly fixed through the holes on the top side, interfering with the energy absorbing qualities of the anchor point. If someone were to take a fall while connected to the below Anchor the consequences could have been catastrophic. Please ensure that any anchors are installed to the manufacture’s specifications. Click here to view the correct installation guide.
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Concrete Mount Anchor – Unable to confirm condition
The Anchor Safe Recertification Team marked this Anchor Point Non-Compliant due to the following reasons:
1. Unable to determine the condition of the Anchor Point due to the waterproofing membrane covering the entire Anchor Point
2. Unable to attach a carabiner to the Anchor Point
3. Unable to pull test the Anchor Point
In these situations, its best practice to mark non-compliant and limit access to the area of the roof to reduce the risk of workers attempting to use the Anchor Point until the system has been rectified. It’s also extremely important to keep an active asset register of all height safety systems on your building to supply to trades that are doing work on your roof to stop this situation happening.
We see this more and more especially with solar panel installation and roofing works – height safety equipment often gets overlooked which can lead to height safety non-compliances, like this one.
When considering works to the roof area, remember to ensure your height safety requirements have been factored in.
Click here to read all the comments around this Anchor on our LinkedIn page.
Access Hatch – Not up to Australian Standard
With every inspection Anchor Safe conduct, we not only refer to the Australian standards but how safe the system actually is and whether or not it poses a risk of a fall even if the system is complaint. In this circumstance the Access Hatch was marked Non- Complaint due to the obvious fall hazard seen and the Australian standards states that a hatch should be provided with –
a) guardrail protection on three sides; and
b) access provisions that conform to the requirements of clause 7.4.8.3
Click here to read all the comments around this Anchor on our LinkedIn page.