There is an increased awareness of height safety in all areas of todays work places, including domestic, commercial and construction sites. Choosing the correct height safety system and installers can be difficult. It is important to ensure that the height safety systems being installed are not only useable but practical, simple and meet all the relevant standards, codes of practice and building codes of Australia.
Sorting through and understanding the many different codes and standards is often difficult if not impossible for the consumer.
How do you ensure you are getting the right system?
Below is a simple checklist to help make choosing the right contractor a little less daunting.
1/ Does the installer have a current QBSA license to install height safety systems?
This will provide an avenue for rectification of defective work, should the system be found to be non-compliant in the future.
2/ Has the contractor been approved by the manufacturer to install their products?
Each system available on the market today has different installation requirements and it is crucial that the individuals (not the company) are approved installers.
3/ Can the contractor provide testing documents to prove the system being installed meets current Australian Standards?
The Australian Standards only require that proprietary systems meet the testing outlined in AS/NZS 1891.2 and unfortunately some systems do not meet this standard.
4/ Can the company provide references from satisfied customers regarding the quality and suitability of their installations?
Word of mouth is often the best guarantee. At the end of the day we are often totally reliant on the trained professional that installs the system. How can you ensure it meets all industry standards and requirements as well as being a user friendly system. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions. This will ensure you will be fully protected in event of non-compliant work of a fall from height.