Transcript Document

Developing and Maintaining
Policing at Height
Capabilities
Jez Hunter MIOSH
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Police Officers at Height
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Searching
Crime scene investigation
Protestor removal
Dynamic Intervention / Entry
Deployment of Armed Firearms Officers
Suicide Intervention
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Sources of Training Best
Practice
• Industry best practice
– IRATA
– PASMA
– Aboriculture Association
• British Standards
– BS7985:2002 – Code of practice for the use of
rope access methods for industrial purposes
– BS 8437:2005 Code of practice for selection, use
and maintenance of personal fall protection
systems and equipment for use in the workplace
• None encompass the demands of policing at
height
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Reg 6 – Hierarchy of Controls
• Avoid
– Remote searching
– Reducing access to protestors, jumpers
– Using other access points for DE
• Prevent using suitable and sufficient measures
– Use an existing place – difficult when responding to
spontaneous events
– Use an existing means of access
– Select collective prevention measures over personal
measures
• Minimise
– Minimise distance and consequences - Nets / Fall arrest
with anchor point high
– Minimise consequence - Soft Landing Systems / Fall Arrest
with anchor point low / ALJs
– Provide information, training or other measures to minimise
effects of a fall
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Competence
• Combination of practical and
theoretical knowledge, experience, skill
and judgement
• Test of competence…
– Able to assess the risks effectively
– Able to devise and implement a safe
system of work
– Able to identify and stop dangerous
situations
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Definitions
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Work Restraint
“A specific form of personal fall
prevention system by which a person is
prevented from reaching zones where a
risk of a fall exists“
• Useful system for deployment of static
AFOs
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Limitations of Restraint
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Work positioning
“A personal fall protection system that
enables a user to work while supported
in tension or suspension in such a way
that a fall is prevented or restricted"
• Protestor removal
Max fall less
than 0.5m
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Roped Access
• A personal fall protection system that
specifically uses two “static”
separately secured sub-systems – one
as a means of support and the other as
a safety back up. This is used to get to
and from the place of work and to
undertake work positioning
• Dynamic Entry
• Search
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Fall Arrest
“A personal fall protection system by
which a fall is arrested to prevent the
collision of the user with the ground or
structure"
• More flexible than work restraint,
however must be able to rescue
Max fall less
than 4m and
6kN
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Rescue System (Reg 4(2))
• Personal Fall Protection System by
which a person can carry out a rescue,
rescue themselves, or be rescued from
a height / depth by pulling, lifting or
lowering
• Releasable systems
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Structuring Training
1. Supervising working at height
2. Basic Hazard Awareness – those officers
who may occasionally work at height, for
short periods and undertaking simple tasks
3. Rooftop Safety – those officers requiring
more complex access techniques who may
don personal fall prevention PPE
4. Specialist rope access using PPE in
suspension
5. Equipment inspection and management
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1. Supervising Working at Height
• Health and Safety Officers / Risk
Managers / Team Commanders
• Should understand the following:
– Employer and employee duties
– Hazard awareness and risk assessment
– Strategies to avoid working at height
– Different collective and personal fall
prevention / protection systems
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2. Height Hazard Awareness
• All police officers
• Should understand the following:
– Employer and employee duties
– Specific hazard awareness – fragile roofs,
effect of weather, falling objects
– Application of a dynamic risk assessment
– Options to avoid working at height
– Simple control measures to work safely
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3. Rooftop Safety
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Suitable for AFOs, Negotiators etc
Should be competent in the following:
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Pre-use inspection, use, care and maintenance of
equipment
Anchor selection, rigging anchor systems and knots
Establishment of work restraint and fall arrest system
Operating on or near fragile surfaces
Operational procedures – re-positioning, use of
firearms
Emergency drills including Suspension Trauma &
rescue
Safe use of access systems eg. ladders
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4. Specialist Rope Access and
Work Positioning
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Task specific training that requires blending
mechanical ascent / descent techniques with top
down rescues
Consider:
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The access is only the start
Supervisors require additional risk control, rigging and
rescue trg
Weather and fragile roof exemptions – do these apply to
trg?
An industrial type rescue may not be appropriate
Single vrs twin rope
Realistic training is critical
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PPE and Lifting Equipment
Competent Persons
• PPE custodians must be competent to
thoroughly examine equipment according to
an inspection schedule.
• They should be aware of:
– Legislative requirements
– How and why equipment fails
– How to systematically examine equipment
– How to quarantine, maintain, repair and
dispose
– How to record findings (Schedule 7 WAHR
and Reg 10 LOLER)
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System Failure
Maintaining Capability
• The more complex the system of work
the shorter the half life of knowledge
retention
• IRATA advise refresher training if
inactive for over six months
• Training should be progressive,
challenging and realistic
• Personal log books are useful to
monitor currency
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Maintaining Capability
• Annual Specialist Training Exercises
• External audits
• Symposiums
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Summary
• WAHR is not new, we just need to carry
on applying best practice
• An organisation-wide solution is the
most effective in order to standardise
technology, methodology and
competencies
• Techniques are constantly evolving –
networks are increasingly valuable
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www.rigsystems.co.uk
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