Hi all, anyone else realised that some training providers state 2 years while some state 3 years before the working at heights certificate "expire" and due for refresher? Im referring to 23229 and 15757 in specific.

Not sure if this will work for your company but we sent a few personnel for Heights equipment inspection course NZQA19359. They were taught on how to visually inspect the slings, on top of other WAH gear like harness etc. We use custom stickers printed by https://www.nztags.co.nz/pages/custom-height-safety-tags after inspection to certify the sling safe for use every quarterly.

Save money in the long run for not needing to send to an external tester.

You can try see if Retex are able to recycle them. https://www.retex.co.nz/products/

We went paperless by using a Health & Safety app for Daily risk assessment. Went from signing JSA/SWMS mindlessly to answering risk assessment questions on site and include photographic evidence of wearing PPE, cordon of areas, evacuation points acknowledged etc.

Needless to say the old school guys are very against it giving reasons that techy mobile phone apps are difficult to use etc. Takes two years to get everyone settled down and accept the change.

My company competency register classify technicians competency into these categories:

1 = Under direct supervision, is not competent (under supervision all the time)
2 = Under supervision, is partially competent (within supervisor's line of sight)
3 = Indirect or occasional supervision, is partially competent (supervision available nearby)
4 = Fully competent to work unsupervised
5 = Competent to train (Trainer/Assessor)

A verification of competency is done for young and mature workers, workers who just recovered from an incident related to the high risk activity and workers who have been highlighted by supervisors for job quality, safety etc.

A verification of competency is done on site while the worker is performing the high risk job by a competent to train person. (some vital questions on the high risk job and emergency protocols etc)

All of the workers must be trained according to NZQA standards as much as possible and attend refresher training very 2 years

Working at heights is any height you work on which could potentially harm you if you fall. We can't put a measured distance to it even though Worksafe did classify 5 metres to fill up the particular hazardous work form.

As a working at heights trainer/rope access technician/ WAH PPE inspector, I conduct a refresher training every year for the building wash and roofing team of my company. The refresher consists of specific methods to keep themselves safe while working at heights. I noticed generic 2 days training for 15757 and 23229 do not equipped them with sufficient knowledge to be safe while working on the roofs.

What I added was practical training on pendulum effect, competency assessment on multiple equipment like rope grabs and lifelines, how to read an anchor info plate and determining safe load, basic knots (butterfly and stopper knots) rigging slings, choosing structural anchors etc.

The places the roofers work on change most of the time so having someone who is an expert on setting up lifelines, assessing existing anchors, new hazards and pendulum effects is vital. I don't believe anyone who has no experience on the job process should construct the safe work method statement or JSA for any high risk job.

Making the training program fun to learn is the best way to prevent harm and you will see a change in behaviour. And of course WAH kit that is comfortable fit for them because that's one of the reasons people avoid using them.

Hi there, we use Eroad to monitor speed, location, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking and carbon emission of our fleet.

For towing safety we construct a pre tow checklist form using Site App Pro app which is made mandatory for every driver to complete before towing anything with a vehicle.

This includes questions such as:

1) Is the tow bar weight capacity capable of towing the load?
2) Is the trailer rego and wof valid?
3) Is the towing ball and pin in good working condition?
4) Did you move the load closer to the front of the trailer bed
5) Are electrical wires in good condition?
6) Is the trailer brake lights working?

and a few more.

It has been working well so far

Our H&S reps are volunteers and they gladly contribute without any rewards. It all depends on the safety culture of the workplace I believe.

Been using SiteAppPro, it's NZ based and covers all aspects of health & safety. you can apply for a free demo at their site. Their customer service is awesome too.