BS13700:2021 & Wind Speed Calculator
Manchester’s No.1 Fall Protection & Safety Service experts Harcon, will help you to figure out what products should be installed and what safety standards need to be met to keep workers safe from fatal falls.
Harcon measures to reduce fatal falls from height
Being a Kee Safety partner, Harcon Services offer a wide range of systems to keep people safe while working at heights such as their Kee Walk anti-slip Rooftop Walkways Solutions will not only keep workers safe whilst manoeuvring the roof top, but also protect the roof from the load. These walkways can be fitted with handrails or used with a safety lifeline system to help increase the level of protection to single or multiple users depending on the requirement.
In addition to platforms and walkways, Harcon’s Skylight protection systems, Safety Gates, Lifelines and Anchors, Fall Arrest and Fall Restraint systems can prevent workers from falling from height!
As defined by the Work at Height Regulations 2005, workers performing flat roof refurbishments/repairs at heights used counterweighted guardrail systems. A lifting foot is provided at the bottom of each vertical part of the guardrail which is fitted with a cantilever tube/counterweight to secure it in place. It became clear that these products could be used as a Permanent Counterweight Guardrail System (PCGS), but there wasn’t a specific standard for such products.
BS13700:2021 & Wind Speed Calculator Released
In Spring 2021, Kee Safety released BS 13700, a long overdue standard for Permanent Counterweight Guardrail Systems (PCGS).
As a result of BS 13700, there is clarity and consistency for manufacturers, designers, duty holders (owners) and recertification technicians (inspectors), ensuring these safety critical edge protection systems are designed, installed, inspected, and maintained at the highest possible level.
Two of the most important features of the new standard are requiring wind speed calculations for all guardrail installations depending on location, height, and exposure level. This requirement will require manufacturers to provide calculations or software programs.
The act introduced the requirement for annual recertification of counterbalanced guardrails installed permanently, as well as the requirement to document an examination scheme in the Technical File for the project.
Being a Kee Safety Partner, Harcon Services has access to this unique technology of the wind calculator and as the largest Fall Protection company in North- West Midland & Manchester, we are able to offer this smart tool to all the major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Cheshire, Leeds, etc.
James Coote, Harcon General Manager, says: “Wind speed is far more dangerous than a person falling against a guardrail, and is even more likely.”
According to him, because wind speeds in the south of the UK are lower than in the north, PCGSs must incorporate design flexibility to accommodate local wind speeds. For instance, it is possible to add additional counterweights, to extend the cantilever tubes, to reduce the bay centres (distance between vertical supports) and so on.
James states, “As Kee Safety is the global leader in our industry, we have embraced BS 13700 and adopted the examination scheme that includes the calculation of wind speeds during the annual inspection.”
How Harcon can help with BS13700:2021 & Wind Speed Calculator?
Our team inspects all systems and their Technical Files. “Any deficiencies will be categorized in a standard format (pass, conditional pass, conditional fail or fail), with full explanations, photographic evidence, and recommendations regarding their solution and timeline.”
Each installation should have a ‘System Technical File’ in accordance with BS 7883:2019. This evidence-based document is produced by the System Designer and should be placed with the duty holder’s health and safety file in accordance with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.
Afterward, the duty holder must keep the file and make it available to anyone who needs it for the lifetime of the building, so they can comply with health and safety requirements during any subsequent work/inspection. In the System Technical File, specify the design and layout of the system and the wind speed calculations so that compatibility, safety, and operational suitability can be assessed and verified.
Should this information not be available at the time of an inspection? companies like Harcon can assist duty holders with completing a full system review of their fall protection system and, where applicable, undertaking supplementary inspections to establish how the product was structurally anchored.
James continues, “Our system provides duty holders and recertification technicians with a consistent, clear approach to and interpretation of the specific product standards and their complexities.
We provide our duty holders with a comprehensive inspection report, including a summary of their building’s fall protection equipment condition. Our reports are submitted electronically, and multiple site inspection reports can be hosted on our online portal, providing a central location for all building/site reports.”
Alternative fall protection safety systems also need to be installed and maintained in order to reduce fatalities. These include eyebolts, wire or fibre ropes, and Horizontal Lifelines.
BS 7883, released in November 2019, is a revised, comprehensive standard for those designing, installing, maintaining, inspecting, and certifying anchor devices and systems.
It is essential that those inspecting such systems know which components are expected to be used, whether they are in place, and if any are missing, incorrectly installed, or assembled with incompatible components.
James says, “We have invested in the newest field-based technology, which is aligned with the new standards, as well as the appropriate evaluation scheme for fall protection equipment and supplemental requirements.”
In the latest guidance, it is recommended that the System Technical File include evidence-based and sequential photographs of all hidden elements and materials obscuring them during installation. This critical verification documentation may not be available in many original installations, requiring a full system review and supplementary inspection to uncover hidden elements.
James points out a downward trend regarding fatalities resulting from falls from heights as well as fatalities at work. In his view, effective legislation, and standards, as well as greater awareness are responsible for this, especially because successful prosecution is no longer reliant on an accident occurring, but rather the potential danger of harm to the public.
