Help & Advice
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Our team of expert technicians are always happy to offer assistance and advise
that is to hard to find today. Whether you simply require advice about which
type of Access Equipment should be used for a specific job or if you want a site
visit, simply contact our Access Technical Advisor, Carl Swain, on 01756 700205,
mobile : 07730 050 353 or email : carl.swain@shc.co.uk
Working at Height – The Basics
What Precautions do you need to take
Can you avoid the need to work at height in the first place
Can you prevent a fall?
Can you minimise the consequences of a fall?
What other additional measures do you need to take to reduce the risk of a fall?
Have you identified whether there are any fragile surfaces?
For more information contact
Working at Height means work in any place where, if precautions were not taken,
a person could fall down and injure themselves.
If you :
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Work above ground level
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Could fall from an edge, though an opening or fragile surface; or
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Could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or hole in the ground;
You will be working at height, because you can fall from one level to another.
Examples of work at height include :
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Using working platforms such as scaffolds, tower scaffolds, cherry pickers, scissor lifts and podium steps;
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Work on a roof, piece of plant or equipment;
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Using ladders of stepladders
What Precautions do you need to take
Remember work at height may be a one off or routine. You will need to make sure
you identify all tasks, which require work at heights so you can make sure they
are carried out safely.
The key to preventing injury form work at height is to carry our a risk assessment,
so you can choose the right precautions. This is a simple process, answering
the following questions will you do this.
Can you avoid the need to work at height in the first place
Long handled tools or other equipment can sometimes be used to carefully carry
out a task from ground level.
If you can’t avoid the need to work at height, you must try to make sure the
risk of a fall is prevented.
Can you prevent a fall?
You can do this by :
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Using an existing place of work. This is a place that is already safe, eg a roof with permanent guard rails or a parapet around the edges; or a piece of plant or equipment that has fixed, permanent guard rails around it;
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Using work equipment. If you cannot use an existing place of work, consider whether you can use work equipment to prevent people falling. Tower scaffolds, podium steps, cherry pickers and scissor lifts are some common examples of work equipment, which will do this because the working platforms have guard rails. If regular access is required, eg to an air conditioning unit on a roof, it may be reasonable for the client/building owner to create a safe place of work by installing permanent guard rails to and around the work area.
If you cannot put measures in place to prevent a fall, you must try to limit
the risk by minimising the distance and/or consequences of a fall.
Can you minimise the consequences of a fall?
You must first try to avoid and then prevent a fall before using measures that
will only minimise or limit the consequences.
What other additional measures do you need to take to reduce the risk of a fall?
When using any equipment for work at height, you also need to make sure :
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The people using it are trained to use it safely;
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It is regularly inspected and well maintained; and
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The work is supervised to check people are working safely.
The normal use of ladders or step ladders does not provide measure which either
prevent falls or minimise the consequences. So you must be able to show that
it was not reasonable to select alternative equipment because the task is low
risk and short duration.
Have you identified whether there are any fragile surfaces?
You need to be particularly aware of fragile materials when working at height
as their presence in, or near the working area, increases the risk. A fragile
surface is one, which would be liable to break if a person worked on it or fell
onto it. Common examples include, fibre and asbestos cement roof sheets and
many skylights, but could also include bridged materials in silos.
You should make sure you :
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Avoid the need to work on or near or pass across them by, eg repairing a skylight from underneath using a tower scaffold or from above using a cherry picker;
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Prevent a fall by using fixed walkways with guard rails to get across a fragile asbestos cement roof or use suitable working platforms with guard rails during work on or near a fragile surface;
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Minimise the consequences of a fall by using nets, airbags or fall arrest.
(this information was correct at the time of going to press)
www.investorsinpeople.co.uk
www.ipaf.org
www.chas.gov.uk
www.hae.org.uk
