If you appoint a specialist contractor to work on your roof, façade or other elevated area, does the responsibility for working safely now belong entirely to the contractor?
For facilities managers, this is an important question.
You may appoint the contractor precisely because you are not a specialist in working at height. But that does not mean the contractor should be allowed onto the site without anyone checking whether the work has been properly planned.
The contractor has clear responsibilities for protecting its employees and implementing the required fall-protection measures. At the same time, facilities management should not simply turn a blind eye to unsafe or poorly planned work taking place on the property.
The contractor is responsible for carrying out the work safely
The contractor performing the work must properly plan and control work carried out from a fall-risk position.
This includes having a suitable fall protection plan and ensuring that it is implemented and followed.
The fall protection plan must address important matters such as:
- The fall risks associated with the work
- The methods used to control those risks
- Medical fitness of employees
- Training of employees working from a fall-risk position
- Inspection, testing and maintenance of fall-protection equipment
- A rescue plan
The contractor must also ensure that suitable fall-prevention or fall-arrest equipment is used and that it is attached to a structure or plant capable of safely supporting it.
But the facilities manager still controls what happens on the site
This is where facilities managers sometimes get caught out.
You may not employ the contractor’s workers, but you may still be the person who:
- Appoints or approves the contractor
- Allows access to the roof or work area
- Issues or approves a permit to work
- Knows about hazards on the property
- Sees how the work is actually being performed
- Has the authority to stop obviously unsafe work
It is therefore risky to adopt the attitude:
“They are contractors, so their safety has nothing to do with us.”
The better approach is to establish that the contractor has suitable arrangements in place before workers are exposed to the fall risk.
You are not expected to design the contractor’s fall-protection system
This distinction is important.
A facilities manager does not need to become a fall-protection specialist.
You should not be expected to calculate anchor loads, design an anchor-line system or personally determine whether a complex suspended-access installation complies.
But you can ask whether the contractor has dealt with these matters properly.
For example:
- Has a fall protection plan been prepared?
- Has the actual work area been assessed?
- Where will workers attach their harnesses?
- Who confirmed that those anchor points are suitable?
- Are the workers trained for the work they are doing?
- Are they medically fit?
- Has the equipment been inspected?
- What is the rescue procedure if somebody falls?
If you need the practical pre-work checks, see our Facilities Manager Checklist for Contractors Working at Height.
“The contractor says it is safe” is not the same as knowing it is safe
Experienced contractors should be able to explain their work method and fall-protection arrangements clearly.
Statements such as:
“We have always done it this way.”
“Our guys are trained.”
“That steel beam is strong enough.”
or
“Don’t worry, we do this every day.”
are not substitutes for a properly planned system.
If a contractor proposes attaching workers to an existing anchor point, for example, there should be reasonable confidence that the anchor and the supporting structure are suitable for the intended system.
An old eyebolt, handrail, pipe or steel member does not automatically become a fall-arrest anchorage simply because somebody can connect a lanyard to it.
Read more about Fall Protection Anchor Points in South Africa.
What if you see the contractor working unsafely?
Imagine approving a contractor to carry out roof maintenance and later seeing workers standing close to an unprotected edge without any effective fall protection.
It would make little sense to ignore the situation because:
“They work for the contractor, not us.”
If unsafe work is observed, it should be stopped and the problem corrected before the work continues.
This is one of the reasons facilities managers need enough understanding of work-at-height risks to recognise when something clearly does not look right.
Be particularly careful when the site provides the anchor system
Responsibility becomes even more important where contractors are expected to use fall-protection equipment already installed on the property.
This could include:
- Roof anchor points
- Horizontal anchor lines
- Davit systems
- Monorail systems
- Permanent façade-access equipment
If your building provides the system, contractors may assume that it is suitable and safe to use.
Facilities management should therefore know what equipment is installed, whether it has been correctly designed and installed, when it was last inspected and what limitations apply to its use.
Do not confuse a safety file with a safe system
A contractor can arrive with an impressive safety file and still perform unsafe work.
The paperwork may say that workers must remain connected to approved anchors while the workers on the roof are attaching themselves to a handrail.
The rescue plan may describe equipment that is not actually available.
The risk assessment may refer to a different building or a completely different work method.
That is why the important question is not only:
“Do they have the documents?”
It is:
“Do the documents describe what is actually going to happen on my site?”
What if the facilities manager cannot determine whether the system is suitable?
This is where competent specialist advice becomes valuable.
If you are presented with an anchor system, fall protection plan, suspended platform or access method that you cannot properly assess, you do not need to guess.
Have the arrangement assessed by someone competent in that area.
That allows the facilities manager to make an informed decision without trying to become an expert in every technical aspect of fall protection.
The facilities manager’s goal should be certainty
The objective is not to take over the contractor’s job.
Nor is it to create unnecessary paperwork.
The objective is to be able to say:
“Before these contractors started working at height on our site, we satisfied ourselves that the work had been properly planned, the workers were competent and medically fit, suitable fall protection was available and there was a practical rescue arrangement.”
That is very different from saying:
“We assumed the contractor had everything under control.”
Not sure whether your contractor’s arrangements are acceptable?
Work at Height Solutions can assess proposed or existing work-at-height arrangements and help facilities and safety managers identify gaps relating to:
- Fall protection plans
- Anchor points and anchor lines
- Access systems
- Fall-protection equipment
- Training and competence
- Inspection requirements
- Rescue arrangements
- Work-at-height documentation
You do not have to become the work-at-height expert. You need enough certainty to know that the people working on your site are properly protected.
Frequently asked questions
Does appointing a contractor remove a facilities manager’s responsibility for work at height?
No. The contractor is responsible for carrying out its work safely, but facilities management should still take reasonable steps to satisfy itself that work at height on the site has been properly planned and controlled.
Does the facilities manager have to prepare the contractor’s fall protection plan?
No. The contractor performing the work is responsible for ensuring that the required fall protection plan is prepared, implemented and followed. The facilities manager should, however, establish that suitable arrangements are in place before permitting the work to proceed.
Can a facilities manager approve an anchor point?
A facilities manager should not make technical decisions about the suitability of an anchor point unless competent to do so. Where there is uncertainty, the anchorage should be assessed by a competent specialist.
Can I rely on a contractor’s safety file?
The safety file provides important documentation, but the actual work on site should correspond with the approved plans, risk assessments and procedures.
Should a facilities manager stop unsafe contractor work?
If obvious unsafe work is observed, it should not simply be ignored because the workers are employed by a contractor. The unsafe condition should be addressed before work continues.
What if I do not understand the contractor’s fall-protection system?
Obtain competent advice. Facilities managers do not need to design specialised fall-protection systems themselves, but they should seek suitable expertise where they cannot determine whether an arrangement is acceptable.