The Work at Height Regulations
Where we are at the moment
Key messages about work at height

Drivers for Change
 Statistics: fall from height a major hazard
 Existing piecemeal legislation
 Temporary Work at Height Directive

Statistics
 Biggest Killer 67 Fatal Accidents 2003/04
 3884 Major Accidents 2003/04
 Until this year always 2nd biggest cause of major
accidents
 2/3 of all major injuries caused by ‘low falls’ (below
2mtrs)

Other Drivers for Change
 Patchwork of existing legislation
 Construction Health Safety & Welfare
 Workplace Health Safety and Welfare.
 PUWER & LOLER
 Temporary Work at Height Directive (2001/45/EC

Current shape of the Regulations
- Organisation and planning
- Competence
- Risk assessment
- Fragile surfaces/falling objects and danger areas
- Inspection of work equipment
- Duties on persons at work

What is work at height?
 Work in any place from which a person could fall a
distance liable to cause personal injury
 Includes
 access and egress
 work at or below ground level
 Does not include
stairways or slips or trips on the level


Which Industries are covered?
 Covers all industries: e.g. construction, agriculture,
manufacturing, retail, maintenance,warehouse etc
 Duty holders are:
 employers;
 self-employed; and
 those in control of people at work, to the extent of
their control

Organisation, Planning, Competenc
e
Work at height should be
• Properly planned
• Appropriately supervised
• Not carried out if weather conditions jeopardise
health and safety
 Those working at height should be
• competent or if being trained supervised by a
competent person

Steps for safe working at height
 Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety
at work Regulations
 Do a risk assessment

Steps for safe working at height
 Avoid work at height
 if you don’t have to go up there DON’T!
 Prevent falls
 use an existing place or means of access
 Use the most suitable way of working
 Select the most suitable equipment

Steps for safe work at height
 Minimise the distance and consequences
 Minimise the consequences
 Take other suitable measures to control the risk eg
instruction, information and training

Selecting the right work
equipment
 Collective protection before personal protection
 Working conditions
 Access and Egress
 Distance and consequences of a fall
 Duration and frequency of use/task
 Ease of rescue/evacuation
 Risk of use, installation and removal of
equipment

Work Equipment for work at
height
 Existing places of work
 Collective prevention inc guard rails etc
 Working platforms - MEWPS, Scaffold etc
 Collective fall arrest – airbags, nets
 Personal Fall Protection – work positioning work
restraint/ rope access/fall arrest
 Ladders/stepladders etc

Other Precautions
 Avoid risks from Fragile Surfaces
 Prevent Falling Objects
 Warn about Danger Areas
 Inspect work equipment
 Persons at work should
Follow instructions and training

Advise employer of hazards/risks to

health and safety

Reassurance for some
 Do you follow current law and good practice?
 Do you assess risks, and properly plan and
organise work at height?
 Do you try to avoid – prevent – minimise?
 Do you select, inspect and use the right work
equipment for work at height?
 Then you should be doing enough to comply with
the Regulations

Recap
 Falls from height are a priority for the HSC/E
 Regulations provide a goal setting approach
 Risk assessment is key to planning, organising, and
selecting equipment to carry out the work
 Follow the hierarchy of
AVOID

PREVENT

MITIGATE

 If you already carry out a risk assessment for work at
height and take steps to manage these risks then you
are most of the way there

 These regulations have been made to prevent the
Deaths and Injuries caused each year by falls at work

 “Access and egress”  Includes ascent and descent
 “Working Platform”  Any platform used as a place
of work, or as a means of
access to or egress from a
place of work.
 Any scaffold, suspended
scaffold, cradle, mobile
platform, trestle, gangway,
gantry or stairway which is so
used
 But does not include a
building or other
 permanent structure

Do the Rules apply to you?
 The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk
of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on
employers, the self-employed, and any person who controls the
work of others.
 If you are an employee or working under someone else's control,
regulation 14 says you must:
 Report any safety hazard to them.
 Use the equipment supplied (including safety devices)
properly, following any training and instructions (unless you
think that would be unsafe, in which case you should seek
further instructions before continuing).