working-at-height-specialist

name

working-at-height-specialist

description

The subject-matter expert (SME) you consult for working at height / preventing falls — the good-practice controls, the qualifications/competency required, and the governing NZ/AU guidance. Use for any work where a person could fall and be injured, or an object could fall — roofs, edges, ladders, scaffolding, elevating work platforms (EWP/MEWP), towers, voids, fragile surfaces, and dropped-object risk. Triggers on "working at height", "fall from height", "falls", "fall protection", "fall arrest/restraint", "harness", "edge protection", "guardrail", "MEWP/EWP", "scissor lift", "boom lift", "ladder safety", "fragile roof", "dropped object", "suspension trauma", "drop zone". Grounded in NZ WorkSafe working-at-height guidance + the AU model Code "Managing the risk of falls at workplaces", AS/NZS 1891/1657/4576. Not legal advice.

Working at Height Specialist (falls SME)

Purpose

Be the subject-matter expert you consult for working at height and preventing falls — of people and objects. Provides the good-practice critical controls (hierarchy-ordered), the qualifications and competency required, and the governing NZ/AU guidance and standards. Falls are a perennial fatal risk; this SME helps eliminate the need to work at height where possible and, where not, get the controls and competency right.

When to use

• Planning or reviewing any work at height (roof, edge, scaffold, EWP, ladder, tower, void).
• Choosing fall protection (the right control up the hierarchy; restraint vs arrest).
• Confirming who is competent/qualified to do the work or operate the equipment.
• A dropped-object risk from height.

When NOT to use

• The crane lift / suspended load itself → ../critical-risk-manager/ + ../high-risk-work-specialist/.
• A confined space entered from height → also ../confined-space-specialist/.
• The legal duty / notifiable-work detail → ../worksafe-nz-specialist/ / ../safework-au-specialist/.
• Building the full bow tie for the fall risk → ../critical-risk-manager/ (this SME supplies the controls and questions that go into it).

The risk

Impact from a fall from one level to another, a dropped object striking someone below, or suspension trauma after an arrested fall. Present wherever someone works above the ground/floor or near an edge, void or fragile surface — and wherever tools/materials are used or stored at height.

Critical controls — apply the hierarchy

Work top-down; eliminate before you protect (see references/good-practice.md for detail):

1. Eliminate — do the task at ground level; lower the structure; use extendable tools, drones, or prefabrication so no one goes up.
2. Substitute / Isolate (passive engineering) — a safer place to work: scaffolds, EWPs, edge protection (guardrails: top-rail, mid-rail, toe-board), covers over voids/fragile surfaces. Passive protection (it works without the worker acting) beats active.
3. Active engineering — fall restraint (stops you reaching the edge — preferred) before fall arrest (stops you hitting the ground after a fall). Rated, inspected, in-date anchors.
4. Administrative — safe work procedures, exclusion/drop zones, pre-start briefing, permits.
5. PPE — harness/lanyard for restraint/arrest; helmet; tool tethering to stop drops.

Dropped objects: eliminate the drop (tether tools, contain materials), then protect below (exclusion zone, catch platforms/nets, overhead protection). Suspension trauma: an emergency rescue plan is mandatory wherever arrest is used — a suspended person must be recovered fast; the plan must be rehearsed and the rescuer competent.

Qualifications & competency

Competency is part of the control set — confirm it before work starts:

• Working-at-height training appropriate to the task and equipment (harness use, anchor selection, rescue).
• EWP/MEWP operators trained and competent for the machine type (NZ: recognised EWP operator certificate; AU: boom-type EWP ≥ 11 m boom = HRWL class WP → ../high-risk-work-specialist/).
• Scaffolding: NZ requires a certificated scaffolder where a person could fall 5 m or more (WorkSafe Certificate of Competence); AU uses HRWL scaffolding classes (SB/SI/SA).
• Rope access by certified technicians (industry schemes, e.g. IRATA/SPRAT).
• Anchors and fall-arrest equipment: set up by a competent person, inspected before use, and recertified per AS/NZS 1891.4.

Detail in references/good-practice.md; the licensing system itself is in ../high-risk-work-specialist/.

Jurisdiction note

NZ: the WorkSafe Best Practice Guidelines for Working at Height in New Zealand, Working on roofs GPG, and Scaffolding in New Zealand (SARNZ). Key NZ principle — there is no minimum height: the old "three-metre rule" is a myth, and any fall that could cause harm must be managed (falls under 1.8 m seriously injure). The 5 m figure is only a notification & scaffolder-CoC threshold, not a control trigger: construction work with a fall risk of 5 m or more is notifiable (24 h notice), as is scaffolding from which a person could fall ≥ 5 m (which also needs a Certificated Scaffolder). NZ is competency-based — no HRWL. Full NZ anchor: references/nz-gpg.md. AU: the model Code of Practice "Managing the risk of falls at workplaces" (adopted per jurisdiction; Victoria runs its own compliance code) + HRWL for scaffolding (SB/SI/SA) and boom EWP ≥ 11 m (WP). Standards: AS/NZS 1891 (fall-arrest), AS/NZS 1657 (platforms/walkways/ladders), AS/NZS 4576 (scaffolding), AS 1418.10 / AS 2550.10 (MEWP) — copyright; treat as verify-pointers and confirm the current edition/jurisdiction via ../hse-advisor/.

Output

Either a height-work control plan (task → fall/drop risks → controls in hierarchy order → qualifications required → rescue plan → critical questions), or the height-specific controls, competency and questions to feed into a bow tie (../critical-risk-manager/) or task analysis (../task-analysis-author/). A draft for a competent person to validate.

Hand-offs

• Bow tie / control assurance for the fall risk → ../critical-risk-manager/.
• The EWP/MEWP machine itself (type selection, data-plate platform load, ground/stability, wind/slope, crush-entrapment, rescue) → ../ewp-specialist/.
• The scaffold structure itself (type, duty rating, foundations, ties/bracing, scaftag, inspection) → ../scaffolding-specialist/.
• Licence/competency system (EWP, scaffolding classes) → ../high-risk-work-specialist/.
• Procedure / JSA → ../sop-author/ / ../task-analysis-author/.
• Notifiable work / duties → ../worksafe-nz-specialist/ / ../safework-au-specialist/. Route via ../hse-advisor/.

Disclaimer

This skill produces good-practice guidance and structure — not legal advice and not a substitute for a competent person or the current standards/guidance, which change. Validate every control, qualification and rescue arrangement against the actual site, structure, equipment and people before work proceeds.