“L-Ilqugħ”
On your balcony, you fix railings that are permanent and made of solid materials. These railings are normally manufactured to fit your needs and dimensions. Once fixed you would not have to worry about anyone falling down from your residence. However, a fixed railing is not possible during the construction of a building and temporary measures must be put in place to protect workers.
Edge protection is what this temporary measure is called and if you keep an eye out for construction sites in Malta you notice a lot of different measures put in place as edge protection.
Thin timber connected with screws and nails (picture 1), timber guardrails with intermediate guardrails and horizontal timber posts (picture 2), timber guardrails with metal clamp horizontal posts (picture 3) and timber guardrails fixed to the adjacent wall (roof picture 4).
Which of these are adequate? which ones do actually provide protection? and which ones are legally compliant and follow standards and/or good practice?
Edge protection is mentioned in the Maltese legislation in S.L. 424.36 which outline the minimum requirements for construction sites. There is one article in this legislation which states that edge protection must be installed in areas where a person may be liable for a fall and that edge protection must be suitable for its intended use, strong and of adequate height.
Further guidance is provided in a document published by the OHSA called “OHSA Guidance L-Armar għall-Bini”. In this document, it is stated that there should be a guard rail set at 115cm from the ground up and an intermediate guard rail set at 90cm. Furthermore, toeboards are to be implemented if works are ongoing to prevent falling tools which are to be a minimum of 15cm.
A BS EN Standard categories edge protection under three different classes depending on the degree of the slope of the floor. As most Maltese buildings have a flat rooftop, the majority of Maltese buildings would require class A edge protection. The standard states that such edge protection shall withstand a horizontal force of 0.3kN and a vertical force of 1.25Kn. These systems may be supported by clamps, anchors and friction posts. The standard also states that the principal guard rail is to be continuous.
To put the above in perspective, a person of 60Kg who falls for a distance of just 1m will have an impact of approximately 0.8kN.
These standards show that edge protection should not only be there to warn a person of the upcoming drop but to actually arrest the person should he stumble against the same edge protection.
Edge protection from picture 1 has a principal guardrail which is made up of different pieces of timber.
This edge protection is not in compliance with local law and does not follow any guidance. The principal guard rail is not continuous, it is missing an intermediate guardrail. It is unlikely that this system will stop a person from falling down.
Edge protection from pictures 2,3 and 4 all have a principal guard rail and intermediate guards as per local guidelines. They also look structurally sound, either screwed directly to the wall, fixed to metal beams or using horizontal clamps.
Three out of four buildings observed, follow the local guidelines. However how many employers go that extra step and test the guardrails as per the BS EN standard? Do you ever see construction sites and ask yourself “will that actually save my life?”