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Abstract
In most industries there are works carried out at height for those the individual protective equipment against falls from height are the only measure of protection for workers against the risk of falls. Although it is successfully used in many activities carried out at height on horizontal surfaces, inclined or vertical, there are situations where the personal protective equipment against falls from height is itself a risk, either because of the discomfort caused by a failure of ergonomic design or stress due to the request of a static position "hooked" or improper selection or use in degraded condition. Based on these specific situations through the article realized I wanted to draw attention to the advantages and disadvantages of using this type of personal protective equipment, as of the measures to be taken to support the work at height safely.
Keywords: personal protective equipment, working at height, risk, security
1. Foreword
Whether the works are to lift the formwork, maintenance and rehabilitation of buildings, silos or chemical plants and reactors the activities performed at height are present in most sectors. Without denying the elements of progress in recent years and the decreasing number of work accidents of new cases of professional diseases by 27%, however, in terms of fatal accidents at work due to falls from the height, (Eurostat, 2016) the figures remain high. Furthermore, by analyzing various studies, we found that in many cases, although the workers were properly equipped, they have suffered various accidents due to the workload specific, performing improper work operations, omissions or exposure outside the work task to dangerous or harmful factors. (Baszczynski, 2011), (Baszczynski, 2007) The aim of this study is to present both the advantages and disadvantages of using personal protective equipment (abbreviated as PPE) against falls from height, in order to identify the appropriate and effective measures for prevention and protection, leading to reducing work accidents due to the falls from height.
2. PPE against fall from a height - additional measure for protection
For the activities carried out at height there is a hierarchy of measures to be taken: the organizational measures to prevent accidents (personnel selection, training, information and documentation and organization of the activity and job), the intrinsic technical measures and safeguards collective...
