Sample Working at Heights Rescue Procedures
This document is intended to provide guidance for developing site-specific working at heights
rescue plans.
The creation and maintenance of a safe work environment is the collective
responsibility of all employees, employers, and contractors at the jobsite.
Company Policy on Working at Heights Rescues
It is our company policy to provide prompt rescue and medical treatment when a
worker is injured on the jobsite. On occasion, our workers may have to rescue a
worker who has fallen and is being suspended in a safety harness. This “working
at heights” rescue involves lowering a worker to a safe location.
This procedure applies to all managers, supervisors, forepersons, employees,
and subcontractors at the jobsite.
Purpose of Working at Heights Rescues
When a worker falls and is suspended in a harness, it’s important to rescue them
as quickly as possible for the following reasons.
The worker may have suffered injuries during the fall and may need
medical attention.
When workers are suspended in their safety harnesses for long periods,
they may suffer from blood pooling in the lower body. This can lead to
suspension trauma.
Suspended workers may panic if they are not rescued quickly.
The events that led to the fall may create additional risks that need to be
addressed.
Emergency Planning
The three main parts of emergency planning are:
1) Creating a training and testing plan
2) Creating an emergency plan
3) Outlining rescue procedures.
Rev. 03/16/20
1) Training and Testing Plan
All site personnel must attend a site-specific safety training session where they
will review emergency response procedures and receive instruction on alarms
and assembly areas.
Train a designated crew to perform the rescue. This crew must know how to
safely use the equipment that is available to them at the jobsite and where they
can find it. They should review the rescue procedure every two weeks with the
crane crews.
2) Emergency Response Plan
If a worker falls and is suspended by a safety harness, implement the emergency
response plan by following the steps below. Note: It’s important for everyone to
know their role.
1. The site supervisor (or alternate foreperson) takes control of the
situation.
2. The site supervisor sounds the emergency alarm—two long blasts from
a horn. All workers in the immediate vicinity of the incident stop working.
The site supervisor quickly evaluates the situation and identifies any
further hazards that could arise.
3. The site supervisor or their designate goes to get help if workers are
close by. If no one is close enough, the site supervisor calls for help.
4. The site supervisor calls 911 to notify local police, fire, and ambulance if
required.
5. The crane operator remains on standby. The operator frees the hook and
waits for further direction in case the designated rescue team must
perform a basket rescue.
6. The site supervisor (or a worker assigned to the task) isolates the
accident zone and its perimeter to limit further exposure.
7. The site supervisor (or a worker assigned to the task) moves all non-
affected personnel to a safe zone or directs them to remain where they
are.
8. The site supervisor enables radio silence on the jobsite, except for crisis
communications from emergency responders. These communications
are conducted on a pre-selected "emergency only" radio channel.
9. The site supervisor sends a designated worker to the site gate to meet
the response team (police, medical, fire, etc.) and ensure that they have
a safe access path to the accident scene.
10. The site supervisor assembles the emergency rescue team at the
accident site as quickly as possible to determine the best rescue
procedure for the situation.
3) Rescue Procedures
The following rescue procedures are ordered (A) through (D), with (A) being the
preferred method and (D) being the method used when there is no other means
of rescue.
A. Elevating Work Platform Rescue—If an elevating work platform (EWP) is
available on site and the suspended worker can be reached by the platform,
follow the procedure below.
1. Bring the EWP to the accident site and use it to reach the suspended
worker.
2. Ensure that rescue workers are wearing full-body harnesses attached to
appropriate anchors in the EWP.
3. Ensure that the EWP has sufficient load capacity for both the rescuer(s)
and the victim.
4. If the victim is not conscious, two rescuers will be needed to safely
handle the weight of the victim.
5. When the worker is safely on the EWP, reattach the lanyard to an
appropriate anchor point on the EWP, if possible.
6. Lower the worker and arrange for treatment of the victim for suspension
trauma and any other injuries.
7. Arrange for transport to nearest hospital.
B. Ladder Rescue—If an elevating work platform is not available, use ladders to
rescue the fallen worker with the procedure outlined below.
Where possible, use ladder(s) to reach the victim.
Rig separate lifelines and fall arrest equipment for rescuers to use while
assessing the victim from the ladder(s).
If victim is not conscious or cannot reliably help with their own rescue, at
least two rescuers will be needed.
If victim is suspended from a lifeline, move them to an area that can be
safely reached by the ladder(s), where possible.
If victim is suspended directly from their lanyard or from a lifeline,
securely attach a separate lowering line to the victim’s harness. Other
rescuers will lower the victim while being guided by the rescuer on the
ladder.
In no case should ladders be used to support the weight of more than
one worker.
Once the victim has been brought to a safe location, administer First Aid
and treat the person for suspension trauma and any other injuries.
Arrange for transport to nearest hospital.
C. Rescue from Work Area or Floor Below—If the fallen worker is suspended
near a work area and can be safely reached from the area from which they
fell or the floor below, use the following procedure:
Ensure that rescuers are protected against falling.
If possible, securely attach a second line to the workers’ harnesses to
assist in pulling them to a safe area. (Note: more than two strong
workers will be needed to pull a victim upwards for rescue.)
Ensure that any slack in the retrieving lines is taken up to avoid
slippage.
Once the victim has been brought to a safe location, administer First
Aid and treat the person for suspension trauma and any other injuries.
Arrange for transport to the nearest hospital.
D. Basket Rescue—If a worker has fallen and is suspended in an inaccessible
area, you may need to perform a basket rescue.
For basket rescues, the basket must be designed by a professional engineer and
constructed in accordance with good manufacturing processes to withstand all
loads to which it may be subjected. It must be kept on site at all times in an
accessible location where it is clear of material or other equipment.
Fit the rescue basket with a double connection to the crane and appropriate
rigging for quick hookup by the crane operator.
Always keep the following items in the rescue basket.
1. First-aid kit
2. Three lanyards equipped with shock absorbers
3. One full-body harness
4. Tag line attached to the basket at all times
5. Descent controller rescue device in good working condition
6. Secondary safety line to tie the basket above the headache ball of the
crane.
To perform a basket rescue, follow the steps below.
1. Make sure preferred methods A, B, and C are not possible.
2. Notify the crane operator immediately to position the crane to attach the
basket.
3. While the basket is being attached, the crew leader checks that all safety
rigging is done and all the required safety equipment is available.
4. With two rescuers in the basket, hoist it to a position that is above and as
close as possible to the fallen worker. A designated worker on the
ground guides the basket with a tag line. The designated worker must
make sure that when the rescue basket reaches the right elevation, the
door of the basket is facing the structural steel to provide an easy exit for
rescuer #1.
5. Rescuer #1 exits the rescue basket and gets into a position to reach the
fallen worker. When doing this, rescuer #1 must be tied-off at all times to
either the structure or the rescue basket.
6. Rescuer #2, who is still in the rescue basket, lowers the line that will be
used to retrieve the worker. Rescuer #2 attaches an extra lanyard to the
line if required.
7. Rescuer #1 assesses the fallen worker for injuries and then decides how
to proceed (i.e., treat injuries first, guide the fallen worker into the rescue
basket, or lower the basket to the ground with the fallen worker attached
to it).
8. Once the fallen worker has been brought to a safe location, administer
first aid. Treat the person for suspension trauma and any other injury.
9. Arrange transportation to hospital. A designated worker must accompany
the injured worker to hospital.
If the basket rescue is the method used, keep the following points in mind.
Perform a basket rescue only when it is not possible to use conventional
equipment to rescue the fallen worker in a safe manner.
Never exceed the maximum number of workers in the basket as indicated
on the nameplate.
Ensure that a competent worker inspects the crane and equipment being
used prior to lifting rescuers.
Always equip the crane with a fail-safe mechanism to prevent the boom
from descending in the event of a power source or system failure.
Maintain an adequate means of communication between the rescuers in
the basket and the crane operator at all times.
Ensure that workers in the rescue basket wear full-body safety harnesses
attached to a lanyard and anchored to appropriate points in the basket at
all times.
Make sure that all rigging used to attach the rescue basket to the hook of
a load line has a safety factor of 10 against failure. There should be a
safety line attached to the load line directly from the basket.
Do not allow cranes to travel while rescuers are in the basket.
Do not use suspended rescue baskets during high winds, electrical
storms, snow, ice, sleet, or other adverse conditions that could affect the
safety of personnel on the platform or in the basket.
Post-Rescue Procedure
All non-affected workers should remain in the designated safe gathering zone
until the site supervisor notifies them to do otherwise.
The site supervisor and health and safety representative should
Begin the accident investigation.
Quarantine all fall-arrest equipment that may have been subjected to fall
fatigue effects and/or shock loading for further investigation.
With a critical injury or fatality, secure the area. (The OHSA requires that
an accident scene not be disturbed where a fatal or critical injury has
occurred.)
Determine whether or not the jobsite-specific rescue and evacuation plans
were followed as designed. Make corrections to the plan if necessary.
Record modifications or additions to the plans that the rescue team deems
necessary.
Record all documented communications with fire, police, MOL, and other
contractors involved. (When a fall occurs and is arrested, you must notify a
Director of the MOL in writing.)
Record all documented statements from employees, witnesses, and
others.
Save all photographs of the incident.
Record all key information such as dates, time, weather, general site
conditions, and specific accident locales including sketches of the
immediate incident area, complete with measurements if applicable.
Tower Crane Operators: Rescue Training
Time is of the essence when attempting to rescue an injured or ill tower crane
operator. A rescue will involve training and a solid working knowledge of how to
use the specific equipment. Ontario has several independent training providers
you can hire to train your workers.
