A HOLISTIC APPROACH ON FALL PREVENTION AND
PROTECTION IN HONG KONG
Alan CHAN and Wah-Shing TANG
Occupational Safety and Health Council, Hong Kong SAR, China
19/F, China United Centre, 28 Marble Road, North Point, Hong Kong SAR

Fall of person from height continues to be one of the leading causes of work-related
injury and deaths among all occupations in Hong Kong, especially constructionindustry. As the major organization with statutory responsibilities in Hong Kong,
the Hong Kong Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) has madeenormous efforts to protect the safety and health of the working population. OSHC
has adopted a holistic approach to promote fall prevention and protection in theworkplace, which involves scientific research, partnership with industries,
promotional campaigns and education and training. By adopted this holistic
approach, the number of fall of person from height accident decreased significantly
in recent 15 years.

Introduction
In Hong Kong, fall of person from height continues to be one of the leading causes of work-related
injury and deaths among all occupations in recent years. According to the accident statistics by theHong Kong Labour Department, construction industry was the major industry that contributed tothe accidents. As the major organization with statutory responsibilities, the Hong Kong
Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) has made enormous efforts to protect the safety
and health of the working population. In order to prevent fall from height accidents, OSHC has
adopted a holistic approach, as the major strategies to protect those workers need to work at heightin Hong Kong.

Strategies on promoting fall prevention and protection – a holistic approach
The holistic approach for promoting fall prevention and protection includes four aspects – scientificresearch, partnership with industries, promotional campaigns and education and training (Figure 1).
Each aspect in the holistic approach is related with the other aspects, in order to create an all-roundand effective influence for fall prevention and protection.

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Figure 1. Holistic approach for promoting fall prevention and protection

Scientific Research
Scientific research is a key aspect to create knowledge for fall prevention and protection. Since
the early 2000s, OSHC has been conducting research on working at height safety. Major research
topics are listed in Table 1 below:
Table 1. Major research works on working at height safety
YearTopics

Remarks

2000

Safety Attitudes, Safety Climate, andEmployee Health Among Older and Younger
Workers Working at Height in Construction
Industry: A Facet Approach2002

An Engineering Study for Improving Safety
and Reliability of Bamboo Scaffoldings

Joint research with university

2006

An Engineering Study for Safety & Reliabilityof Truss-out Metal Bracket Bamboo
Scaffolding

Joint research with university

2010

Evaluating OSH Awareness amongst RMAA
Contractors and Workers and in General Public

Evaluation also focused onsafety knowledge and attitude ofworkers for working at height2012

Follow up evaluation of OSH Awarenessamongst RMAA Contractors and Workers andin General Public

Evaluation also focused onsafety knowledge and attitude ofworkers for working at height- 14 -

Findings of these researches were applied to partnership program, education and training, andpromotional campaigns for fall prevention and protection. For example, the study on truss-out
metal bracket bamboo scaffoldings at 2006, found out that the use of T-metal bracket has several
advantages over the conventional I-metal bracket, including the ease for installation and bettersupporting to the scaffold (HK Occupational Safety and Health Council, 2006). Therefore OSHC
has develop a sponsorship scheme to subsidy small and medium size construction companies topurchase T-metal bracket, and promote the advantages of T-metal bracket in the industry. What’smore, the evaluation of safety knowledge and attitude of workers for working at height from2010 to 2012, has identified the needs of these workers and help OSHC to determine the focus
and most appropriate methods for working at height safety promotion.

Partnership with small and medium size enterprises
Partnership with Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) is another important approach for
fall prevention. Most SMEs suffered from financial constraints to improve work safety, therefore
OSHC has formed strategic partners with SMEs to improve their safety performance by offering
financial assistance and professional guidance. In 2005, OSHC launched sponsorship scheme for
SMEs in construction industry to purchase safety harness, Transportable Temporary Anchorage
Device (TTAD) and other fall arresting equipment (T-metal bracket as well started from 2006).
The scheme not only provides safety devices, but also training for working at height safety andproper use of these devices. Up to mid 2013, there are more than 300 SMEs in Hong Kong
participated the scheme. In 2013, OSHC also launched the sponsorship scheme for SMEs topurchase mobile working platform, and initiate a safety campaign on working at height toadvocate the proper use of safe working platforms
Workers involved in Renovation, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition (RMAA) works arethose exposing in high risk of fall from height, reflected by the fall from height accident caseinformation issued by the Hong Kong Labour Department (Hong Kong Labour Department,2013). In 2012, an “OSH Star Enterprise - Pilot Scheme on Safety Accreditation for theRenovation, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition (RMAA) Industry” was launched to augment
supports on safety training, safety devices, as well as safety audit to improve the RMAA
contractors’ safety performance, and to offer premium discounts to the enterprises by theinsurance companies.
The above partnership schemes not only offer financial assistance to purchase safety devices, butalso promote the use of safety devices for fall prevention in the industry. Participating enterprises
are required to assist OSHC to promote fall prevention and protection, by sharing their successful
experience for using safety devices among other practitioners.

Promotional campaigns
OSHC has also launched many promotional campaigns to promote fall prevention. Thesecampaigns focus on practitioners and promote the importance of safe working at height, the useof safe working platform, safety harness and other safety devices, and the latest technology for
fall prevention. For example, the Construction Safety Promotional Campaign is a large scaleannual promotional activity to promote fall prevention and workplace safety. The campaign
includes competitions of “Outstanding Scaffolder in OSH" and “Best Fall Arresting Safety
Enhancement Program" to recognize safe scaffolders and enterprises that implemented effective
program for safe working at height. In addition, the Hong Kong OSH Award includes the “SafeEnhancement Program Award” to recognize outstanding fall protection and accident prevention
innovations from the industries. All finalists of these awards are required to present their accident- 15 -prevention programs / innovations in front of other practitioners, so that effective fall protection
measures can be promoted and benchmarked.
In 2010, OSHC and the Hong Kong Labour Department launched a two-year large scale
promotional campaign on RMAA and working at height safety. This program involves alaunching ceremony, site visits, seminars, exhibitions, television and radio programs,advertisements, posters and leaflets, etc., in order to promote RMAA and working at heightsafety by an all-round approach. According to the evaluation results of this campaign, more than
80% interviewees, which are all RMAA workers, agreed that this campaign has a positiveeffective on their safety attitude and behaviour at work (HK Occupational Safety and HealthCouncil, 2013).

Education and training
OSHC pays attention to education and training in workplace safety and fall prevention throughvarious training courses and workshops. Apartment mock-up with truss-out scaffold is set up at
OSH Academy of OSHC, in order to demonstrate safe truss-out scaffold and the use of fallarresting devices such as TTAD. The OSH Academy also provides safe working platforms,
ladders and fall arresting systems, which enable course and workshop participants to havepractical experience for using these devices and systems.
To educate the workers for the safety measures in working at height, various publications such as
posters, leaflets, bulletins and articles are published. OSHC also conduct the education in several
interactive means, including the “Life on the Line” exhibit in OSH Gallery in Hong Kong
Science Museum which shows the consequence of falling from height without safety harness; the“Construction Industry Accident Analysis” interactive software which enable users to learn thecauses of fall from height accidents by participating the accident investigation; and the OSH elearning system which provide on-line learning opportunity for the use of personal protective
equipment including safety harness.
The education of the importance of fall prevention not only focuses on industrial practitioners,
but also extends to youths. OSHC provides OSH workshop for secondary school students anddesigned tailor-made training kit to equip students with safe working at height and other OSH
knowledge, in order to well prepare them to work safely in their future careers.

Achievement
Through the holistic approach on the fall prevention in the workplace which incorporates withresearch, industries partnership, promotional campaigns and education and training, the numberof fall from height accident has been decreased in recent years. According to the statistics
provided by the Hong Kong Labour Department, the number of fall from height accident has
reduced 55% from 1998 to 2012 (Figure 2), and the number of fatal cases has reduced 35% in
the same period. It is encouraging to see that the promotion of safe working at height and theprovision of safe working equipment and training to the SMEs, have effectively reinforce theadoption of safe working methods among front-line workers and to enhance the safety awarenessof both the enterprises and employees. According to the evaluation results of OSH awarenessamongst RMAA contractors and workers, the percentage of RMAA workers those have heard
about and used TTAD, has increased 40.4% from 2010 to 2012; and the Safety Climate Index on“perception of safety rules and procedures” has increased 4.4 in the same period (HKOccupational Safety and Health Council, 2013).

- 16 -Figure 2. Number of fall from height accidents in Hong Kong(data source: Hong Kong Labour Department)

Conclusion
Proofed by the accident statistics and evaluation results of OSH awareness amongst RMAA
contractors and workers, the holistic approach used by OSHC for the fall prevention andprotection can effectively reduce the number of fall from height accident cases and improve theOSH awareness of workers in Hong Kong. With the joint efforts of employers, employees, thegovernment and insurance industry on fall prevention, we believe the fall accidents will continueto be reduced in the future.

Reference list
BookHong Kong Labour Department (2013). A Casebook of Occupational Fatalities related toWorking at Height. Labour Deparment of Hong Kong SAR.
Research report
HK Occupational Safety and Health Council (2006). Summary Report on an Engineering Study
for Safety & Reliability of Truss-out Metal Bracket Bamboo Scaffolding. Hong Kong
Occupational Safety and Health Council.
HK Occupational Safety and Health Council (2013). Summary Report on Follow up evaluationof OSH Awareness amongst RMAA Contractors and Workers and in General Public. HongKong Occupational Safety and Health Council.
Statistic report
Hong Kong Labour Department (1999 – 2013). Statistics on Occupational Injuries. Hong Kong
Occupational Safety and Health Council.

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