Three new guidance documents have been published, which provide information on how to working at height safely.
Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Association (SAEMA), the trade body that represents the façade access systems sector, has published the three documents to promote best practice.
The first covers rescue and planning, the second explains how to determine the necessary loads to comply with the requirements of BS EN 1808, the European standards which prescribes the manner in which suspended access equipment should be designed.
The third is a guide to using components of existing building maintenance systems (BMUs) as anchorage points for industrial rope access, which the association says is a cause of increasing concern.
SAEMA’s member companies, who adhere to a strict code of practice and meet all relevant national and European standards, are responsible for the installation and maintenance of temporary and permanent access systems at many of the UK’s landmark sites, including 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) and 122 Leadenhall Street (The Cheesegrater).
The seven page ‘rescue and planning’ document explains what to do in the event of a mechanical or electrical failure and is designed to provide information and guidance for duty holders – building owners, main contractors and facilities managers – who are responsible for the management and safe use of both permanent and temporary façade access systems.
It covers the relevant regulations and standards, the necessity to have a rescue plan in place, and includes a rescue flow chart highlighting the options and actions to be taken, for example, can remote controls be used to recover the operatives and restore normal working?
The latest document has been published to assist anyone who is considering using existing suspended access equipment as anchorage for industrial rope access. There have been an increasing number of instances where installed suspended access systems have been used incorrectly and therefore dangerously as anchors.
The new documents are free to download from the SAEMA website, www.saema.org
