Working at heights is a high risk activity and a leading cause of death and serious injury in Australia. In the five years to 2019, there have been 122 fatalities in Australia, with the statistics skewed towards workers over 45 and those in the construction industry.
This high risk environment makes it critical to install fall prevention systems such as guard railings, edge barriers and scaffolding on every project, along with taking a range of other precautions to keep your team safe.
The best option of course is simply to avoid working at height altogether, but often on large construction projects that just isn’t possible: if it’s up off the ground you’re going to need an edge protection fence to ensure your height safety compliance is up to scratch.
If you are working on civil or infrastructure projects that feature multi storey construction such as car parks, train stations, bridges, community buildings or commercial projects, edge fencing is one way to create a physical barrier that helps to prevent falls from height.
What is an edge protection fence?
Edge protection fencing is specifically designed to surround voids, edges, open pits and lift wells during the construction process.
A type of temporary fence panel, edge protection fencing is designed to conserve as much floor space as possible with its low profile design. It can be fixed in place temporarily whilst construction is taking place, protecting workers from falls and also protecting anyone below from dropped tools or equipment.
How does edge guardrail fencing make your site safer?
Working at heights is always risky, and it is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that they do everything in their power to make sure their team makes it home safely every day.
For that reason, providing quality height safety protection fencing on every project is a must.
Safe Work Australia states that there have been 122 fatalities in just five years in Australia, and 40% of these have been in the construction industry.
Fixing a temporary edge fence on to the perimeter of your project ensures that workers are protected from potential falls from height.
Forms a continuous barrier around concrete deck edges
Each panel of the Fortress Fencing XT Edge Protection Fence is screwed together securely on site to form a continuous barrier around the edge of concrete decks, pits, voids and areas where there is a considerable change in floor height such as near ramps.
Protects anyone working below
Panels also feature a rectangular rolled wire top and rolled wire bottom that includes a galvanised kick plate.
This solid kick plate helps prevent objects from falling through the panel bottom, reducing the risk of losing objects near the drop-off. This also helps protect anyone working below from being impacted by falling tools or other objects.
Prevents trips and falls that could end in a fatality
Edge protection fencing that is correctly installed around an edge is designed to absorb moderate impacts such as a worker leaning or tripping into the fence.
Whilst a trip might still result in a few cuts and bruises, having the edge fencing in place to keep the worker contained and stop them actually falling from a considerable height makes this system a massive safety improvement.
Does edge protection fencing comply with Australian Standards?
Fortress Fencing’s height safety edge protection fence is designed to be fixed into concrete slabs with 50mm square RHS posts.
Each galvanised welded mesh panel comprises 4mm steel wire construction with grid centres not exceeding 50mm x 50mm – this means it complies with AS/NZS 4994.1:2009 ‘Temporary edge protection general requirements’.
These 1 metre high posts are specially designed to quickly and easily lock the XT Edge Protection barrier panels in place. This makes installation (and removal) quick and easy.
The RHS post can be fixed to concrete using the low profile fixing flange, further helping to reduce trips and falls as there are no protruding components that could be a trip hazard.
Get a quote on void and edge protection barriers
Ensure your team of construction workers, contractors and tradespeople are kept safe when working around unprotected edges, voids, drop offs and pits.
Our edge protection panels are ideal for industrial, commercial and residential height safety applications, giving you peace of mind on site.
For a fast quote give Fortress Fencing a call today and find out how our edge fencing will help keep your team safe when working at height.
Want to know more?
Contact us today for more information about the products used or to learn how we can assist with your upcoming project!