Working at height: what do you need to know about the NR 35?
Accidents caused by falls resulting from lack of safety at height work are the main cause of fatalities among workers at civil construction. We know that the construction industry is responsible for most serious accidents in the workplace because of the risks that this activity presents to workers. Therefore, the Regulatory Standards must be followed to the letter so that risks are minimized in order to guarantee the safety and health of workers. NR 35, like the other NR's, must be complied with in order to guarantee good conditions in work environments that require activities at height.
A NR 35 establishes that work at height is any work performed above two meters from the lower level, where there is a risk of falling. This rule applies to civil construction, since work at height is constant during construction and, therefore, the occurrence of many accidents due to lack of safety. Thus, this standard regulates the planning, organization, and execution of work at height, establishing the minimum mandatory standards of protection for workers.
Therefore, compliance with NR 35, as well as with other regulations, in addition to preserving the physical integrity and life of the worker, frees the company from various inconveniences, such as labor actions, fines and many others. With that in mind, we prepared this article so that you can learn all the important information that NR 35 covers and how to adapt your works to the requirements of the standard. Then, do a good read to ensure safety in construction activities that require working at height!
According to the standard itself, your scope is to establish the minimum requirements and protective measures for working at heights, involving planning, organization, and execution, in order to guarantee the safety and health of the workers directly or indirectly involved in this activity, avoiding possible accidents.
But what does it mean by workers who are indirectly involved in working at heights? Well, we have to understand that the requirements established by NR 35 not only assist employees who are carrying out their activities at height, but must also ensure the safety of other employees and any people who may be affected in any way by an accident, such as pedestrians who may suffer from the fall of some material or equipment.
Work at height also refers to activities that involve the use of ladders, scaffolding, or platforms. As long as it meets the definition of working at height, such as any work performed above 2 meters from the lower level, it must meet the requirements of NR 35.
In addition, the NR 35 is complemented by the technical standards officers established by the competent bodies and, in the absence or omission of those bodies, with the applicable international standards.
Let's now understand the main issues addressed by norm, starting with the responsibilities of the employer and employees.
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What are the responsibilities of the employer and employees?
Although the employer has a duty to provide good working conditions for employees, ensuring safety and health, employees also have their obligations regarding compliance with the standard. Let's understand better.
According to NR 35, it is up to the employer to:
ensure the implementation of the protective measures established in this Standard;
ensure that the Risk Analysis - AR is carried out and, when applicable, the issuance of the Work Permit - PT;
ensure that a prior assessment of the conditions in the workplace at height is carried out, through the study, planning and implementation of the applicable actions and complementary safety measures;
adopt the necessary measures to monitor compliance with the protection measures established in this Standard by the contracted companies;
provide workers with up-to-date information about risks and control measures;
ensure that any work at height begins only after the protective measures defined in this Standard have been adopted;
ensure the suspension of work at height when an unforeseen risk situation or condition occurs, whose immediate elimination or neutralization is not possible;
establish a system for authorizing workers to work at height;
ensure that all work at height is carried out under supervision, the form of which will be defined by risk analysis according to the peculiarities of the activity;
ensure the organization and filing of the documentation provided for in this Standard.
And it is up to the employees to:
comply with legal and regulatory provisions on working at heights, including procedures issued by the employer;
collaborate with the employer in the implementation of the provisions contained in this Standard;
interrupt their activities exercising the right of refusal, whenever they find evidence of serious and imminent risks to their safety and health or that of other people, immediately reporting the fact to their hierarchical superior, who will take appropriate measures;
ensure your safety and health and that of other people who may be affected by your actions or omissions at work.
Capacity Building and Training
In order to be able to work at height, workers must have undergone and approved theoretical and practical training, with a minimum workload of eight hours, whose programmatic content must contain:
rules and regulations applicable to working at height;
risk analysis and impediment conditions;
potential risks inherent to working at height and prevention and control measures;
collective protection systems, equipment, and procedures;
Personal Protective equipment for working at height: selection, inspection, conservation and limitation of use;
typical accidents when working at height;
conduct in emergency situations, including notions of rescue techniques and first aid.
Periodic training must also take place and whenever there are changes in procedures or operations, removal returns, or company changes.
Planning, Organization, and Execution
NR 35 states that all work at height must be planned, organized, and performed by a trained and authorized worker.
A worker authorized to work at height is considered to be a qualified worker whose health status has been assessed and who has been considered fit to carry out such activity and who has formal consent from the company.
The employer therefore has obligations to assess the health status of the worker who performs work at height and must also adopt certain measures in the planning of the work in order to minimize risks.
The planning of work at height also involves risk analysis, which you must consider, in addition to the risks inherent to this type of work:
the place where the services will be performed and its surroundings;
isolation and signage surrounding the work area;
the establishment of anchor systems and points;
adverse weather conditions;
the selection, inspection, form of use and limitation of use of collective and individual protection systems, in accordance with current technical standards, manufacturers' guidelines, and the principles of reducing impact and fall factors;
the risk of falling materials and tools;
simultaneous work that presents specific risks;
compliance with the safety and health requirements contained in other regulatory standards;
the additional risks;
the impeding conditions;
emergency situations and rescue and first aid planning, in order to reduce the time of the worker's inert suspension;
the need for a communication system;
the form of supervision.
Fall Protection Systems
The NR 35 requires that a fall protection system be used whenever it is not possible to avoid working at height. That is, there must be means that are adequate to perform the tasks to protect against falls, according to the risk analysis. This system must consider several factors, explained in detail by the standard. Take a look at it in full!
Emergency and Rescue
Regarding emergency and rescue, NR 35 states that the employer must provide staff for responses in case of emergencies for working at height, which may be their own, external, or composed of the workers who perform the work at height themselves.
It is worth remembering that the people responsible for carrying out the rescue measures must be able to carry out the rescue, provide first aid, and have physical and mental fitness compatible with the activity to be performed.
completions
If you have read this far, you can see that the NR 35 is essential to guarantee safety on a construction site, especially when it comes to working at heights, which are very common in this activity. Therefore, meeting their requirements helps combat the leading cause of death in civil construction, falls.
On the other hand, failing to comply with NR 35 can cause great inconvenience and financial losses due to fines and penalties, which do not compensate for the risk. Although it seems like a lot of information, it is possible to understand the norm by reading carefully and consulting the other NR's also helps to understand the full meaning and importance of work safety.
If you need any solution for your work, be sure to consult the team of Blok so that we can introduce you to the best products on the market! And always remember waterproof your buildings, because the wetness it can also be a compromising factor for the health of employees!
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