height safety audit photos

Gallery of hazards

Due to the unregulated nature of the industry, 'height safety' work is often non-compliant, inconsistent and unsafe and people responsible under OHS legislation, such as building owners and employers, are often unaware that fall hazards have not been adequately addressed, in either design or construction.

Our audits and inspections often uncover serious non compliance and safety issues with 'height safety' work which has been carried out under the pretext of providing a safe workplace but has no independent checks and balances to ensure that it does actually result in a safe workplace.

Our gallery of photos from site inspections gives an indication of what can happen when there is no independent inspection or certification. Many of these examples had been installed by 'height safety companies' and 'certified' as compliant by the installer.

Walkway to edge This walkway leads directly to a 5 storey drop. If you followed this walkway you would likely be one of the many fatalities that result from falls from heights each year	Walkway to a parapet This walkway goes nowhere and ends at the parapet.	Inward opening self closing gate This work was passed off by the contractor as complete. The gate opens inward allowing a fall back down the hatch. The gate should open outwards
Ladder To Glass Roof Roof access ladder landing directly onto a glass roof.	Roof Hatch This recently installed hatch opens up right underneath a plant platform. Not only are there head injury and subsequent fall hazards but the user is forced to crawl out	Ladder with no head room There is no safe way for a person to climb this ladder without hitting their head on the wall sheeting
Ladder starting in mid air Here you need a ladder to get to the ladder. The start of this vertical rung ladder is 3m above the ground. Look closely and you will see the cage is also flattened	Ladder & plank What can we say? There is a plank to get to the ladder	Painted Sky Light Falls through skylights are not uncommon. Here, adjacent to the AC unit, a brittle, fragile, fibreglass skylight has been painted white and is almost indistinguishable from the roof sheeting
Plant Platform Plant platforms need to be guardrailed. This 1m+ fall at the edge of the platform could result in serious injuries and major effort in getting that injured person off the roof	Hotel Ceiling Space The gas bottle is sitting on a thin sheet of ply directly above a corridor. Ceiling spaces are often dark and covered in dust making it difficult to see where to stand safely	Ceiling Space More ceiling space drama. It is not uncommon for tradespeople to 'make do' and walk across planks in ceiling spaces to get to equipment
Hotel Ceiling Space As previous photo. There is nothing to warn or prevent a worker from standing on this thin ply and falling into the corridor below - with the gas bottle!	Static Line This static line was non compliant and not installed to manufacturers specifications yet had been regularly inspected and certified for use by the same company that installed it	Walkway To Edge Another walkway leading directly to a roof edge with no fall prevention
Static Line This static line was both non compliant and unsafe to use. The closeness to the roof edge could have resulted in a free fall	Roof Anchor One side of this anchors fixings have been removed -possibly due to roof works - leaving the anchor unsafe and non compliant	Static Lines Non compliant static lines where 1 static line has simply been added to the side of another static line post
Static Line This non compliant static line has been made up of non rated spare parts from the hardware store	Roof Anchor This roof anchor, despite being recently inspected and 're-certified' was very loose and in danger of coming completely out of the roof.	Roof Anchor This 'anchor' was simply stuck with silicone onto the top of the roof sheet. The bolt is not fixed to anything
Fall Arrest Anchor This anchor was loose on the roof and without signage or inspection details	Ladder lifeline There is no safe way to get to the ladder and attach to the vertical lifeline	Static Line This static line end post is about to pull itself off the roof sheeting
Roof Hatch Although newly installed the ladder, roof hatch and surround are non compliant with under size clearances	Ladder Falls from ladders such as these can result in serious injuries. Here the ladder and handgrips are non compliant and there is no way to safely access the door	AC Equipment A common sight on roof tops is air conditioning equipment placed at roof edges. There is a potential 10m fall at the roof edge
AC Equipment Another AC unit on a sloping roof complete with fibreglass skylights and a precarious timber platform with no fall prevention	Timber platform Many people assume something is safe simply because its there and has been in use...although in this case?	AC Equipment Looks like the budget didn't stretch to an actual platform..just the frame
Ladder Just below this ladder is a warning sign saying to use extreme caution when climbing!	Scaffold & ladder Ok so this scaffold and ladder is on an island in Greece but are the 'professional' installations above much better?

height safety audit photos

Gallery of hazards

Walkway to edge

This walkway leads directly to a 5 storey drop. If you followed this walkway you would likely be one of the many fatalities that result from falls from heights each year

Walkway to a parapet

This walkway goes nowhere and ends at the parapet.

Inward opening self closing gate

This work was passed off by the contractor as complete. The gate opens inward allowing a fall back down the hatch. The gate should open outwards

Ladder To Glass Roof

Roof access ladder landing directly onto a glass roof.

Roof Hatch

This recently installed hatch opens up right underneath a plant platform. Not only are there head injury and subsequent fall hazards but the user is forced to crawl out

Ladder with no head room

There is no safe way for a person to climb this ladder without hitting their head on the wall sheeting

Ladder starting in mid air

Here you need a ladder to get to the ladder. The start of this vertical rung ladder is 3m above the ground. Look closely and you will see the cage is also flattened

Ladder & plank

What can we say? There is a plank to get to the ladder

Painted Sky Light

Falls through skylights are not uncommon. Here, adjacent to the AC unit, a brittle, fragile, fibreglass skylight has been painted white and is almost indistinguishable from the roof sheeting

Plant Platform

Plant platforms need to be guardrailed. This 1m+ fall at the edge of the platform could result in serious injuries and major effort in getting that injured person off the roof

Hotel Ceiling Space

The gas bottle is sitting on a thin sheet of ply directly above a corridor. Ceiling spaces are often dark and covered in dust making it difficult to see where to stand safely

Ceiling Space

More ceiling space drama. It is not uncommon for tradespeople to 'make do' and walk across planks in ceiling spaces to get to equipment

Hotel Ceiling Space

As previous photo. There is nothing to warn or prevent a worker from standing on this thin ply and falling into the corridor below - with the gas bottle!

Static Line

This static line was non compliant and not installed to manufacturers specifications yet had been regularly inspected and certified for use by the same company that installed it

Walkway To Edge

Another walkway leading directly to a roof edge with no fall prevention

Static Line

This static line was both non compliant and unsafe to use. The closeness to the roof edge could have resulted in a free fall

Roof Anchor

One side of this anchors fixings have been removed -possibly due to roof works - leaving the anchor unsafe and non compliant

Static Lines

Non compliant static lines where 1 static line has simply been added to the side of another static line post

Static Line

This non compliant static line has been made up of non rated spare parts from the hardware store

Roof Anchor

This roof anchor, despite being recently inspected and 're-certified' was very loose and in danger of coming completely out of the roof.

Roof Anchor

This 'anchor' was simply stuck with silicone onto the top of the roof sheet. The bolt is not fixed to anything

Fall Arrest Anchor

This anchor was loose on the roof and without signage or inspection details

Ladder lifeline

There is no safe way to get to the ladder and attach to the vertical lifeline

Static Line

This static line end post is about to pull itself off the roof sheeting

Roof Hatch

Although newly installed the ladder, roof hatch and surround are non compliant with under size clearances

Ladder

Falls from ladders such as these can result in serious injuries. Here the ladder and handgrips are non compliant and there is no way to safely access the door

AC Equipment

A common sight on roof tops is air conditioning equipment placed at roof edges. There is a potential 10m fall at the roof edge

AC Equipment

Another AC unit on a sloping roof complete with fibreglass skylights and a precarious timber platform with no fall prevention

Timber platform

Many people assume something is safe simply because its there and has been in use...although in this case?

AC Equipment

Looks like the budget didn't stretch to an actual platform..just the frame

Ladder

Just below this ladder is a warning sign saying to use extreme caution when climbing!

Scaffold & ladder

Ok so this scaffold and ladder is on an island in Greece but are the 'professional' installations above much better?