Falls from height are a major cause of construction fatalities. The Work at Height Regulations require employers to plan work, use the right equipment like scaffolds or cherry pickers, and ensure workers are competent to safely complete tasks and prevent falls. Collective fall protection like nets or air bags should be prioritized over personal measures like harnesses. Ladders should only be used for light, short-duration work when no safer option is available. Fragile roofs require special precautions like working from below using a mobile elevating work platform.

1. Health and Safety
Executive
Health and Safety
Executive
Safe working on or near
roofs

2. Summary
• Why
• The law
• In practice
• Ladders
• Golden rules

3. WHY
• Gravity kills
• More fatal accidents in construction
caused by falls than anything else
• Two biggest classes of fatal falls
– are domestic roof level repairs (7 off
ladders, 6 other causes)
– through fragile roof (5 last year), even
more this)
Numbers are provisional 2008/9 stats and typical

4. Fatal Accidents in construction (all
causes)
Where Fatal accidents occurred 2008/09 - Fatal database
99/00 - 06/07 (615) 07/08 (72) 08/09p (53)
27%
22%
13%
10%
10%
4%
3%
9%
3%
6%
7%
7% 8% 7%
29% 26%
26%
23%
10%
11%
19%
2%
13%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Other/demolition
Civil Engineering
Roadworks
New build-
industrial
New build-
commercial
New build-housing
Refurb/Rep/Maint-
domestic
Refurb/Rep/Maint-
non domestic

5. Accident triangle
Fatals
Serious
Minor

6. The Law
Work at Height Regulations 2005
• Apply to all work activities in all industries
• Apply to all at work by employees,
employers or self employed
• Plan work
• Use the right equipment
• Use competent people
PREVENT FALLS, REDUCE INJURY

7. The Regulations Hierarchy
• AVOID work at height if you can
• PREVENT falls by using the proper gear,
such as scaffolds or cherry pickers
• MINIMISE the chances of being hurt if
you fall
Applies even to small, quick jobs
Doing nothing is dangerous and illegal

8. Planned/right equipment/competent?

9. Planned/right equipment/competent?

10. Risk Assessment
Examples of what to consider include:
• the work activity
• equipment to be used
• location of the work and any hazards
• working environment (weather, lighting)
• condition of existing work surfaces
• duration of the work
• physical capabilities of workers

11. Avoid work at height

12. Prevent Falls
• Use an existing or ‘safe’ place of work
where no additional measures are
required
• Use working platforms with guardrails or
powered access platforms
• Use a work restraint system (preventing
someone getting into a position from
which he can fall)

13. MEWP
Collective Fall Prevention

14. Minimise the distance and
consequences
• Collective control measures should
always take priority over personal control
measures.
• Collective measures e.g. airbags, nets
etc. are usually passive and require no
action by the user
• Personal protection measures e.g. fall
arrest harnesses are ‘active’ and require
the user to do clip on for them to work
effectively

15. Minimise the risks using
collective measures
Nets
Air bags

16. Select the right gear
Think about
• Where you are going to be working (ground
conditions, space, public)
• How far you could fall and how likely you are to
be injured
• How long will the job take and how often will it
need to be done
• What you need to do to rescue someone should
they fall
• Can the building or scaffold etc take the weight
of the workforce and materials need for the job
• Is it the best piece of kit for the job

17. Select the right equipment

18. Select the right equipment

19. Use of ladders
Not banned but should only work from a ladder
(including step ladder)
• when other equipment such as a tower scaffold
is not suitable
• for light work that takes a few minutes
• of the correct type and in good condition
• placed on firm level ground and properly secured
• and set at the correct length and angle for the
job

20. Appropriate use of ladders?

21. Use work equipment to prevent a
fall

22. Other things to think about
• Prevent tools and materials falling
– Throwing materials or debris (bombing) never
acceptable
• Warn employees about danger areas
• You need to make sure that equipment such as
scaffolds are checked
• After assembly or installation
• At suitable intervals or after exceptional
circumstances
• Scaffold and tower scaffold inspection in each
new position and then every 7 days
• MEWP on site within previous 7 days

23. Fragile Roofs
• Sheet materials including asbestos
cement or skylights
– Will not support weight
• Walking the bolts not acceptable
• Work from underneath from a mewp
wherever possible (special roof fixings
available to allow this)

24. Golden rules
• Plan
• Choose right equipment to
– Prevent falls
– Reduce injury
• Competent workers
Don’t chance it