{"id":4801,"date":"2026-05-15T01:56:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T01:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/?p=4801"},"modified":"2026-05-12T02:16:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T02:16:07","slug":"heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Falling objects are one of the most serious dangers on construction sites. A dropped hammer, loose roof tile or piece of timber might not seem heavy, but when it falls from height, it can cause severe injuries or even death.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Safe Work Australia, being <\/span><b>hit by moving or falling objects<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is one of the leading causes of injury in the construction industry. Every year, thousands of serious workers\u2019 compensation claims in construction involve workers being struck by objects. These incidents are preventable, yet they continue to occur across Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Falling object incidents commonly happen when:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tools are dropped from ladders or scaffolds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Materials are stacked too close to edges<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Debris is left loose and blown by wind<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Loads shift while being lifted<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Equipment parts are not properly secured<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The higher an object falls from, the greater the impact force. Even small items can cause life-changing injuries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Prevention: How to Reduce the Risk<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Effective control starts before work begins. Tasks involving height should be planned so the risk of objects falling is either removed or reduced as much as possible. Where feasible, work can be completed at ground level to eliminate the hazard altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Effective prevention measures include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Installing <\/span><b>guardrails and toe boards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on elevated areas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Using <\/span><b>debris netting or containment screens<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Securing and properly stacking materials away from edges<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Using <\/span><b>tool lanyards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> when working at height<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Setting up <\/span><b>exclusion zones<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> below overhead work<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keeping the site clean and free of loose materials<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Regularly inspecting scaffolding and stored materials<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Materials should be stored securely, stacked away from edges and positioned so they cannot shift due to movement or wind. Platforms and scaffolds should never be overloaded.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tools and equipment used at height should be secured to prevent accidental drops. Loose materials and offcuts should be cleared regularly to prevent build-up.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Bottom Line<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If something can fall, it presents a real risk. Falling objects continue to cause serious injuries across Australia, but strong planning, physical controls and consistent housekeeping significantly reduce the danger. A well-managed site treats overhead work with care, because prevention is always easier than dealing with the consequences of an incident.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0If you need further information or help, feel free to call the advisory team on 1800 954 702<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Falling objects are one of the most serious dangers on construction sites. A dropped hammer, loose roof tile or piece of timber might not seem heavy, but when it falls from height, it can cause severe injuries or even death. According to Safe Work Australia, being hit by moving or falling objects is one of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Working at height isn&#039;t just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Working at height isn&#039;t just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HazardCo AU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"585\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ruby\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ruby\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ruby\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391\"},\"headline\":\"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":378,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/12021202\\\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/\",\"name\":\"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/12021202\\\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391\"},\"description\":\"Working at height isn't just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/12021202\\\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/12021202\\\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png\",\"width\":780,\"height\":585,\"caption\":\"Danger sign for construction site\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/\",\"name\":\"HazardCo AU\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391\",\"name\":\"ruby\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ruby\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hazardco.com\\\/au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/ruby\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU","description":"Working at height isn't just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU","og_description":"Working at height isn't just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/","og_site_name":"HazardCo AU","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":585,"url":"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"ruby","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ruby","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/"},"author":{"name":"ruby","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/#\/schema\/person\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391"},"headline":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects","datePublished":"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/"},"wordCount":378,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/","name":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects - HazardCo AU","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png","datePublished":"2026-05-15T01:56:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/#\/schema\/person\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391"},"description":"Working at height isn't just about you falling\u2014it\u2019s about what you drop. Keep your team safe with these simple tips to manage falling objects","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d1sukno5368t83.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/12021202\/Website-blog-image-size-780x585-7.png","width":780,"height":585,"caption":"Danger sign for construction site"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/heads-up-the-real-risk-of-falling-objects\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heads up! The real risk of falling objects"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/","name":"HazardCo AU","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/#\/schema\/person\/75a3e4c19b6f6b3540a9821e1d168391","name":"ruby","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5b63141db0dc124d4a5c88fca08f56ef7122db1cdd861a907413ff9fb9ce86de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ruby"},"url":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/blog\/author\/ruby\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4801"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4804,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4801\/revisions\/4804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hazardco.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}