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The Danger of Falls from Height
Falls from height remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury. This section tells you what you need to do to comply with the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury.
What is Work at Height?
Work at height is work in any place, including a place at, above or below ground level, where a person could be injured if they fell from that place. Access and egress to a place of work can also be work at height.
Examples of work activities that are classified as working at height include:
• Working off bandstands.
• Working on a flat roof.
• Erecting falsework and formwork.
• Working from a ladder.
• Working at ground level adjacent to an open excavation.
• Working on formwork within an excavation.
• Working near or adjacent to fragile materials.
Some examples of where the regulations will not apply:
• Walking up and down a staircase in an office.
• Working in the upper floors of an office block or a portacabin.
• An operator sitting in a seat on an excavator.
• Sitting in a chair.
What the Law Says
The regulations place duties on employers, the self-employed, employees and anyone who controls the way work at height is undertaken, for example a principal contractor, a client, contractors, or factory owner, etc. Existing requirements covering work at height in the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 are revoked, such as Regulations 6 to 8 and Schedules 1 to 5. For further information see Schedule 8 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (see link below)
The regulations require dutyholders to ensure:
• All work at height is properly planned and organised.
• Those involved in work at height are competent.
• The risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used.
• The risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled.
• Equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.
The Work at Height Regulations are based on a risk assessment approach. The requirement under the Management Regulations for a risk assessment is no different from the requirement for one under the Work at Height Regulations. However, the risk assessment under the Work at Height Regulations is focused upon controlling the risks associated with working at height and the selection and use of work equipment for working at height.
When considering work at height, a risk assessment should be undertaken in order to identify what the hazard is and the degree of risk present. A risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people as a result of a work activity, and it allows you to take the necessary precautions to prevent the harm occurring. In a risk assessment you need to:
1. Look for the hazards.
2. Decide who might be harmed and how.
3. Evaluate the risks and decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.
4. Record your findings where necessary.
5. Review your assessment.
Examples of what to consider in a risk assessment:
• The work activity.
• The equipment to be used.
• The duration of the work.
• The location where the work activity is due to take place, i.e. presence of hazards such as overhead power lines, open excavations, underground services, etc.
• The working environment, e.g. weather conditions, lighting.
• Condition and stability of existing work surfaces.
• Physical capabilities of the workers, e.g. pregnancy, vertigo sufferers.
The Hierarchy in Regulation 6
Under Regulation 6 of the Work at Height Regulations, there is a hierarchy of control for determining how to work at height safely. The hierarchy has to be followed systematically and only when one level is not reasonably practicable may the next level be considered. It is not acceptable to select work equipment from lower down the hierarchy (e.g. personal fall arrest, such as harnesses and lanyards) in the first instance.
Duty holders must:
• Avoid work at height where they can.
• Use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height.
• Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.
It is not necessary to implement all parts of the hierarchy, e.g. in the case of a fully boarded and guarded scaffold, workers would not be expected to wear personal fall-arrest equipment in addition.
Falls at 2 metres or more
Where the fall height is 2m or more, HSE inspectors will always expect action to be taken to prevent falls. When selecting work equipment, the expectation is that guardrails and working platforms will be used. These are always the preferred measures to protect from falls unless a risk assessment clearly identifies other equipment as providing better protection given the nature and duration of the task. There will be no dilution in existing standards for work at height above 2m.
Falls below 2 metres
There has always been a duty for a safe system of work and to prevent people from falling from any height. Under the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 all falls were required to be prevented. For falls under 2m, how this was done was determined by the risk, while for over 2m, there was a hierarchy that had to be followed that specified the use of guardrails and working platforms (or other similar equipment) to prevent falls.
The Work at Height Regulations require the risk of a fall to be prevented wherever a fall is liable to cause personal injury. This means that for any height where there is a risk of a fall causing personal injury then measures should be taken to prevent injury. The old division between low and high falls has gone. The duty is to prevent falls. It is worth noting that there are almost as many low-fall injuries as high-fall injuries.
Using Ladders and Stepladders
These regulations do not ban ladders but require consideration to be given to their use. They require that ladders should only be considered where the use of other more suitable work equipment is not appropriate, such a tower scaffold, podium steps or temporary stairs. For example ladders are frequently used during fit-out installations, but in most cases other work equipment is more appropriate. Where ladders and stepladders are used they should only be used as a work place for light work of short duration. Specific guidance on ladders and stepladders is due to be issued by the HSE.
Ladders should always be secured if possible, and be primarily used for access and only be used at workplaces to do light work of short duration, and then only if it is safe to do so. It is generally safer to use a tower scaffold or MEWP, even for short-term work. Heavy work activity carrying heavy loads should never be carried out from a ladder. When using a ladder ensure that the person on the ladder always has three points of contact, i.e. two legs
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