Occupational

Health & Safety

Increasing awareness
To protect health and safety in relation to our operations

Preventing
Incidents by reporting, investigating and taking action

Taking care
To ensure a safe work environment

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21

Safe Working at Height –
Awareness Session
What is working at height and what activities are included in
working at height ?
Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Work at height is any
activity where a person could fall to a lower level including but not limited to:

Accessing rooftops
Climbing masts and towers
Rigging and maintaining antennas
Using ladders to access areas or work above ground or floor level
Using a mobile elevating work platform or boom crane
Using scaffolds
Accessing underground areas

Main hazards while working at height :

 Falling from height;
 Falling of objects from height;
 Contact with overhead services i.e., electrical or power lines
 Collapse / overturning of boom crane , scaffolding , ladder etc..
Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21
Operational controls for safe working at height
The following requirements shall apply for any type of work with a risk of falling two meters or more to a lower
level :

Risk Assessment and planning :

• Pre-planning (site survey) of the job must be done by competent person
• A pre-task risk assessment and toolbox talk must be conducted on site by competent person
• A safe work method statement must be prepared & present on site

Effective Supervision:
• A competent supervisor (PICW – person in charge of work) must be available on site during the activity
• All working at height activities must be performed under the supervision from the site engineer or team
leader or OHS officer

Training & Competence:

• All climbers must be trained / certified by a competent training provider for work at height & rescue
• All climbers must be trained to use the fall protection PPE’s correctly
• All climbers must be medically fit for the tasks they will undertake
Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21
Operational controls for safe working at height (cont..)
Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) :

•All climbers must be equipped with required fall protection PPE and standard clothing

•All fall protection PPE’s must be inspected by a competent person prior to use

•All fall protection PPE’s must be inspected / certified by a 3PP

Emergency preparedness :

•Work at height rescue plan and emergency response plan must be available and shared with field team
members

•A rescue kit and a rescuer must be available on site.There must be minimum 2 riggers per activity both
trained on rescue techniques.

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21

Absolute rules for working at height :
•Ericsson Zero Tolerance Safety Rules must be followed all the time
•“Free climbing” is strictly not allowed
•A climber should never climb alone
•A climber must be attached to the structure at all times.
•Don’t work within 2 meters of an unprotected edge without being attached to a stable structure.
•Only authorised climbers are allowed to climb
•A “drop-zone” must be established by a competent person , when climbing activity is on-going.
•Climbing should be avoided during bad weather conditions i.e., windstorms, heavy rain, high or gusting winds,
poor visibility, extreme and high temperature and humidity etc..
•Ericsson do not permit the climbing at night or during the hours of darkness (special approval / precautions
required for exceptional circumstances)
•Equipment's i.e., ladder , scaffolding , MEWP (mobile elevated work platform) etc.. must be inspected ,
maintained and used by trained & competent personal.
•All incidents ,unsafe conditions / acts must be reported to immediate supervisor and on Global EHS Incident
Reporting Tool.

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21

 Do’s and Don’ts for
Climbers

We want YOU to work safely so you can go back to your LOVED

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21 ONES at the end of each and every day SAFE.
EHS requirements - For Site Teams
 One competent team lead/ site supervisor (PICW)
 Safety officer for high-risk activities (work at height , rigging & lifting etc..)
 All climbers must be trained / certified for working at height and physically fit-to-climb
 One rescuer standby (trained / certified and equipped) for each work at height activity with Rescue Kit
 PPE’s available according to PPE matrix , inspected and 3PP certified
 Field team trained / competent as per training matrix
 One trained / certified first aider with well equipped first aid box.
 One trained / certified firefighter with firefighting equipment
 Site emergency response plan
 Work at height rescue plan
 Pre task risk assessment
 Safe method statement
 Toolbox talk
 OHS inspection must be done by safety officer or competent supervisor
 Driver should hold defensive driving certification and medically fit to drive
 Vehicle inspection checklists must be filled, and record must be kept. Vehicle must be in complaint as per
MMEA driving & vehicle standard
Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21
Lessons Learnt / Root Cause of previous fatal or serious
accidents :
• Unsafe behaviour: Experienced climbers are overconfident, and some time this leads to unsafe behaviour.
In a previous fatal accident ,an experienced climber neglect to use the fall protection PPE’s ,which were
available on site , for a short duration climbing activity

• Ineffective supervision / poor decision-making : A competent & confident site supervisor ( PICW) is
very important to control the unsafe acts on site. In a previous fatal accident , a site supervisor did not stop
a climber from climbing activity who was not wearing the required fall protection PPE’s.

• Poor Risk Management : Its very important to conduct a pre task risk assessment by a competent person
in order to identify / control all hazards. In a previous serious accident ,a hazard was not identified which
result in a serious accident

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21

Recommended Actions :
• Transfer the knowledge to your climbers / field team members and take their consent

• Implement behavior / culture improvement plan

• Increase management site visits

• Improve inspection regime

• Improve site supervisor's knowledge , competence and control

• Improve communication between climbers and site supervisors / safety officers

• Improve climber's knowledge & competence

Ericsson Internal | 2018-02-21

Q&A