When are crash bags used in construction? We look at the uses of crash bags to stay safe while working at height.
Construction workers rely on a safe working platform when operating machinery and equipment. Traversing scaffolding and construction sites has the risk of falls from heights, and falling objects can cause major injury. This is why fall protection crash bags are used.
Where are Fall Protection Crash Bags used?
Soft landing systems were established for use on construction sites where workers handle tools and work at heights.
Fall arrest bags, aviation bags, and lorry bags are used to ensure the protection of workers from falling. A polystyrene fill provides an energy-absorbing landing area and a soft landing for those who may fall.
These such bags and other fall arrest systems are typically used throughout the construction industry in areas enclosed by walls or partitions. Contractors and site managers are responsible for ensuring these protective means are put into place and help reduce the risks of impact.
Protecting Against Falls From Height
Crash bags are essential to secure a team and prevent the death of workers. The g-forces of a fall onto a crash deck 2cm or less can cause 50G - way more significant than the 1g of Earth's gravitational pull.
The crash decking is designed with materials to support the weight of a falling construction worker, stopping them from seriously injuring themselves. They cannot save lives from great heights, but distances of 2.5 meters or higher can mitigate health risks.
Of course, the higher the fall, the more crash bags should be used to prevent injuries and ensure all workers are protected.
How to use Crash Bags on a Construction site
To ensure proper safety is covered for each person on-site, the correct installation of crash bags must be adhered to.
A visual inspection of the bags and all details should be done before any installation. This ensures no damage to outer casings or the clips, giving confidence they can complete their job.
The energy absorbent material must be tested, along with the Inspection Due By date, ensuring it has not expired.
As the installation aims to achieve a continuous mat of bags, you should clear the ground floor of all debris. Clipping all the bags together, this should lead to the whole perimeter being covered.
You can curve the bag up perimeter malls where needed, as this will enable a fallen person to slide down onto the soft landing system.
It is of the utmost importance to conduct a 'Foot Test', checking to see if you can push your foot between any of the bags. If you can, they have been installed incorrectly.
If secure floor joists and flooring are on-site, bags can be used as protection on the first floor. Many sites use forklifts to transport them between floors, but be wary as the bags may be light (no more than 7kg) but can cause injury when dropped.
Where a fall is below 2.5 metres, the same methods and procedures can be used to install bags across a multi-storey building. More layers of bags will be needed when the fall is greater than that, increasing costs but improving safety and efficiency.
When passing bags from one floor to another, a safe working platform must be erected. Construction workers and operatives standing on scaffolding should pass the bags between the layers with ease.
While they are durable, the soft landing bags should be treated with care when in storage and being transported down a line. If a site allows continued compression of the inner materials, this can lead to a shortened life expectancy of the bag.
The polystyrene fill and outer skin are treated with flame retardant chemicals, but they will burn when exposed to flames for long periods.
Only those trained and deemed competent Fall Protection personnel should be completing such installations. The site contractor and developer should know of those in power to approve the Risk Assessment, and most of the time, it is them.
A completed Risk Assessment and inspection will result in a Fall Protection Handover Certificate being issued.
Every time a worker falls into the landing system, this should be reported, and all details noted. Fall Protection agencies will analyse the data and ensure the constant improvement and betterment of the equipment.
If you are working on a construction project in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent or London, you will be considring the safety requirements of your workers. Follow the links below for construction site safety nets, crash bags hire and edge protection hire.
Construction Site Safety Nets Crash Bag Hire Edge Protection Hire