A fall prevention program is one of the primary systems which should be put in place by an employer for all employees working at heights. When workers are furnished with Les Équipements JPB’s fall protection equipment, you are able to control and reduce the risk of injury and potential fatality.
Falls at the workplace can happen at any time, especially when working at heights. Workers are exposed to very real risk on a daily basis – thus the importance of working at heights with guardrails.
Falls while working at heights are the leading cause of serious or fatal accidents suffered by employees in the public works and building sectors. In Quebec alone, according to the province’s occupational health and safety board, the CNESST, there are more than 700 falls per year just in the construction sector. And this figure doesn’t even take into account falls incurred in other sectors such as vehicle maintenance, where workers may need to work on the roof of a truck trailer, a snow plow, or a tanker truck, railroad loading where cargo needs to be sampled and analyzed, maritime transport, and so on.
With this in mind, one of the most overlooked fall protection options for work at height are rigid rail systems. However, these comprehensive, continuous anchor systems offer a multitude of benefits and meet certain safety and mobility needs that other systems simply cannot. For example, lifelines do not offer even close to the same mobility as a rail system, and even less so when intermediary supports are required. In contrast, rigid rails allow for smooth, continuous movement along a system of any length. Rigid rail systems are particularly effective in permanent facilities when working at height, such as for vehicle maintenance duties, work on an elevated platform, or even repairs of a mechanical or electrical nature in a factory setting.
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is a special federal operating agency of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. It provides key maritime services to Canadians, such as search and rescue operations and navigational aid maintenance, among others.
When it comes to industrial safety, fall protection tops the list. Worker safety must be your number one priority if you want to keep your daily operations running smoothly. Industrial warehouses, service workshops, factories, distribution centres, port facilities…no matter your working environment, industrial safety requires specialized knowledge and skills.
Article 346 of the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety states that “the wearing of a safety harness is mandatory for all workers exposed to falls of over 3 m from their work stations, except if a worker is protected by some other device that ensures equivalent safety or by a safety net, or when he is only using some means of access or egress.”
Diamond mines are few and far between on the planet, with only a handful located in Canada. It is with great pride that Les Équipements JPB was called upon by the Stonoway Diamond Corporation to design and install a freestanding rooftop guardrail on the main building of the Renard Mine, the company’s flagship asset and the first diamond mine in Quebec. Located in the James Bay region of north-central Quebec, it is the only mine in Canada with year-round access, a major asset.
Not all that long ago, installing a protective guardrail against falls was a complicated and expensive endeavour that required a concrete structure. In fact, installing a conventional guardrail system requires drilling into the surface area, which can potentially compromise a building’s seal.
A freestanding guardrail is crucial to fall protection, especially on rooftops. Cost-effective and efficient, this type of system offers an undeniable advantage for unanchored work at heights because it allows workers to move around freely and safely.
