Working at Heights

Basic Working at Heights

Duration: One day
Covers unit standard 23229: Use a safety harness system when working at height. or this can be switched out for Unit Standard 17600: Explain Safe Work Practices for Working at Height. Both can be run in one day, but it makes for a very long day (additional charges for the second unit standard will apply).

Advanced Working at Heights

Duration: Two days
Previously known as the Fall Arrest Course, the course is specifically written to include the contents of the following Unit Standards:

• 17600: Explain Safe Work Practices for Working at Height (one-day course when conducted by itself).

• 23229: Use a Safety Harness System When Working at Height (a prerequisite for 15757 and 25045).

• 15757: Use, Install, and Disestablish Proprietary Fall Arrest System When Working at Height (Standard full course is $550 + GST, including NZQA credits).

Elective Unit Standard (a small fee may be charged to register these extra credits).

• 25045: Employ Height Safety Equipment in the Workplace (or can be run in the place of 15757 in the two-day course).

  Our prices include the application of the NZQA Unit Standards to the learners Record of Learning

What you’ll learn

Course topics include:

• Workplace responsibilities, regulations and height safety guidance.

• Recognising height hazards and selecting suitable controls.

• Selecting and using height safety equipment.

• Basic checks of harnesses and equipment.

• Fall restraint and fall arrest systems.

• Fall distances and forces on the body.

• Suspension intolerance and the need for rescue.

• Basic rescue techniques for working at height.

For more detailed equipment inspection training, see our PPE Inspection & Maintenance course.

Practical training

Both course options include practical work at height. You must complete the required practical tasks yourself; observing other participants is not sufficient.
You’ll set up and use height safety systems and practise basic rescue procedures, with a strong focus on fall restraint as the preferred approach wherever suitable.
Please contact us before booking if you have concerns about working at height or your ability to complete the practical activities.

Health and participation requirements

Training involves practical work at height, wearing a harness and brief periods of suspension.
Before booking, you must tell Elite Training Services about any pre-existing medical condition, injury or medication that could affect your safe participation. Please discuss relevant information privately with us.
If you are unsure whether you can safely complete these activities, seek advice from your healthcare professional before attending. Medical clearance may be required.
Participation in practical activities is subject to our safety assessment. We may stop or defer participation if there are concerns about your safety.

Suspension Trauma

Let’s get through some myths that appear rampant around when someone is suspended motionless in a harness:

Gravity pulls blood into the legs; The leg muscles can’t contract effectively, because the person isn’t standing or moving (feet being able to push against a surface); Without that “muscle pump”, then the venous return to the heart drops; The heart has less blood to circulate, so blood pressure falls; The brain receives less oxygenated blood, leading to dizziness, nausea, and eventually fainting (syncope). This is the same mechanism behind soldiers fainting on parade grounds, or people passing out after standing still too long. The technical term is “orthostatic intolerance”.

Why Fainting Is Dangerous in a Harness?

Fainting itself isn’t the problem. The danger comes from: Airway obstruction if the head slumps forward; Continued pooling of blood in the legs while unconscious; Reduced cardiac output that can progress to shock; Potential for cardiac arrest if the situation continues long enough. This is why rapid rescue is essential even though the “10‑minute death” idea is highly inaccurate.

Why the “10‑Minute Rule” Exists. The idea that someone “dies in 10 minutes” is a myth, but it has a kernel of truth:

Rope access training requires workers to be able to perform a rescue within 10 minutes (this was part of the Pass / Fail assessment criteria that was decided when the AS/NZS4488:1997 was written). The goal is to reach the suspended worker before they lose consciousness, because a conscious casualty can assist in their rescue, and is easier to manage. Research and real-world cases show that loss of consciousness can take 30–45 minutes or more, depending on the harness type, the point of attachment on their harness, the person’s physiology, and their ability to move their legs, and what they were doing prior to the fall / hanging in the harness occurred (so many factors!).

So the 10‑minute benchmark is a training standard, not a biological limit.

Myth: There is apparently one “test” case overseas, where a person was hung from the rear attachment of a harness to ascertain the time for a person to pass out, and was “apparently” found dead after six minutes (this is found mentioned by the Resuscitation Council) …. But, the problem is that we have absolutely no idea if this is true or a myth, as there is no documentation or background that we can find to “fact-check” this. eg. What underlying issues did this one person have? and was it six minutes, or 60 minutes? Why would he have been left hanging with no other person around? This one apparent case cannot form the basis of rescue time, or we should simply live in fear, and never walk out the door of our house (as there is documented proof that people have slipped over and died before -on flat ground). If this case was true, then why has it never been discussed at our industry committee meetings? The Rope Access Committee (the industrial rope access part of SARNZ)….. wouldn’t we have heard of this, and disseminated that information throughout the industry

If we start making people overly alarmed by these rumours, we risk inciting panic. That panic could end up causing more harm than if we take a bit more time to extricate the victim safely and methodically.

Don’t get confused with crush trauma, as your harness simply isn’t tight enough to act as a torniquet. Crush trauma sets a limit of 15 minutes before the limb is at serious risk of toxic shock issues, as the total lack of circulation causes the build up of toxins in the blood of the starved limb.

This course is provided through a contracting arrangement between the primary contract holder, Pacific Coast Technical Institute (PCTI), and it’s sub-contractor, Elite Training Services Limited.