Safety Guidance for Working at Height
A new study found that falls from a height between 2021 and 2022 were the main cause of fatal workplace injuries. This health and safety advice may be especially helpful to people who work in the construction industry, which in the UK in recent years has been the source of the majority of fatal workplace injuries.
Assessing the Risks
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require employers and contractors to undergo a risk assessment when working at height.
Over 60% of deaths working at height involve falling:
- From ladders
- From scaffolds
- From platforms
- From roof edges
- Through fragile roofs
- Through roof lights
Before working at height, you must work through these simple steps:
- Avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so.
- Where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment.
- Minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of equipment.
When considering working at height, you should:
- Do as much work as possible from the ground.
- Ensure workers can get safely to and from where they work at height.
- Ensure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job, maintained and checked regularly.
- Make sure you don’t overload or overreach when working at height.
- Take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces.
- Provide protection from falling objects.
- Consider your emergency evacuation and rescue procedures.
Complying with Regulations
Employers and anyone in charge of any work at height activity must ensure that the task is carefully planned, overseen, and completed by qualified individuals. Simple, low-risk jobs will take less work to plan than more complex ones. First, employers and individuals who are responsible must evaluate the dangers. When thinking about safety measures for work at height, be reasonable and practical. There will also be some low-risk circumstances in which common sense tells you that no special measures are required.
Determining Who is a Competent Person
Make sure that the task is performed by persons who have the necessary training, knowledge, and experience, or, if trainees are involved, that they are supervised by a qualified individual. Ladder-related low-risk, brief-duration tasks may only require that personnel undergo training on how to use the equipment safely. Competency requirements may not extend beyond this. When a higher degree of technical skill is required, such as drawing out a plan for erecting a complex scaffold, existing training and certification programmes developed by trade associations and industry can help demonstrate expertise.
Working at Height Training
Eurosafe has been a market leader in the fall protection industry and, as a result of this experience, can offer a variety of market-leading height safety training courses that are structured around workers’ specific needs and developed to provide them with an appropriate level of training.
The ultimate result is a considerably safer working environment where hazards are reduced and the building owner, manager, and employer have much more peace of mind.
