Height Safety Engineers recently installed a roof access system and HVAC platform at a new industrial warehouse.
In the second half of 2024, Height Safety Engineers was successful in tendering to install the safe access and fall protection system for a new industrial building, including a platform for HVAC plant. The site was located on the NSW Central Coast, in the suburb of Warnervale.
The specified system comprised of non-slip walkway, fixed ladders, anchor points and a bespoke mounting platform for air-conditioning units.
Solar panel access
As solar panels continue to gain in popularity at an exponential pace, the need for safe access to them is also increasing.
Being located on roofs, often placed in incredibly dense layouts, accessing solar panels for maintenance and installation presents a substantial risk of a fall to workers.
Metal roof material can become slippery over time as dirt and debris build up over it. During rain events it can also become slick and dangerous to work on. By installing non-slip, FRP walkway alongside and between the solar panel arrays, workers have a safe and stable surface to stand on in all situations. This minimises the risk of their losing grip on a slick roof surface and falling.
Moving between roof levels
The fixed ladders provide a safe and effective way for workers to transfer between roof levels and down onto the building’s sizeable awnings.
Ladders like this can be installed either at an angle or vertically. In this instance, there was space available to allow the ladders to be installed at an angle. Doing this can make using the ladder safer as the angle means gravity is putting a force on the worker towards the ladder. This force means it is less likely that a worker will lose their balance and fall backwards.
Given the proximity to roof edges and the potential for a fall to be of a greater height than just the ladder, ladder cages were installed to guide a falling worker to the base of the ladder. By doing this, the worker is less likely to fall off the edge near the base of the ladder, which would add to the overall distance of the fall and increase the potential for severe injury.
Anchor points for gutter access
The design of the system also included 47 roof anchor points.
These anchor points were installed to allow safe access to all edges and gutters of the two main roof areas of the building – the warehouse and office.
HVAC platform
The primary benefits of HVAC platforms are two-fold. First, a well-designed platform can assist in spreading the load of AC and other plant across a wider roof area. This reduces stresses on the roof structure.
Second, in situations where the roof has been designed at a pitch, they allow plant to be installed on a level surface. This is generally better for the equipment itself but also makes access for maintenance and repairs substantially easier and safer.
Using design software supplied by the platform manufacturer, Kattsafe, our team were able to easily put together all the required elements efficiently and in a way that ensured the final design would be compliant.
From here, the platform components were shipped to our warehouse and then taken to site and installed by out technicians.
Powder-coated screens were also included as part of the platforms design. These screens obscure views of the plant and equipment placed on the platform from the street to improve the aesthetics of the building. They also can reduce the amount of noise emanating from the AC and plant units.
Additional access protection
Access to the roof area is from a door at the top of an internal staircase. This door opens out on to the roof of the office area, near the HVAC platform.
The location of the door places it immediately adjacent to the roof edge, which is a fall risk. To address this, our team installed a length of guard rail along that edge to allow for safe access to the roof area and the fall protection system.
See the whole project in our showcase video
Your partners in protecting people
Height Safety Engineers are the experts in designing and installing comprehensive, compliant and cost-effective height safety and fall protection systems. Our team bring decades of real-world experience to every job.
Start your safety journey with your partners in protecting people by calling 1300 884 978, emailing enquiries@heightsafety.net or by filling out the contact form above.
