Plumbers and heating engineers toolbox talk pack

This talk is about fire on this site, and about hot work: anything that makes heat, sparks or flame. HSE's construction fire FAQ says a fire needs three things: a source of ignition, a source of fuel, and oxygen. Ignition on a site includes heaters, lighting, naked flames, electrical equipment, hot processes such as welding or grinding, smokers' materials, and anything else that can get very hot or cause sparks. Fuel includes petrol, paint, varnish, white spirit, wood, paper, plastic, rubber or foam, LPG, acetylene, loose packaging, waste and furniture. If any one of those is in the way of the other, we deal with it before we start.

Duties are split, and both matter. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, HSE says clients, designers, principal designers, and contractors, including principal contractors and construction workers, have duties to eliminate and control fire risks. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, and the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, put duties on a responsible person or a dutyholder. That is usually the employer, the owner or the occupier. They assess the risk and put measures in place, such as escape routes and warning systems. HSE's process-fire page says the Fire Safety Order sets the law on general fire safety on a construction site, including means of escape, and that CDM 2015 also requires the risk from fire to be prevented. Timber-frame building needs more than the ordinary precautions. HSE points that work to HSG168 and to timber-frame guidance. This talk is not that extra set.

The aim is that people can get out, quickly, to a place of safety. What you need depends on the risk. A timber-frame or multi-storey site needs more. HSE's list of measures is emergency plans, raising the alarm, limiting spread by compartmentation, escape routes and fire exits, and firefighting. On a small low-risk site the alarm may be raised by shouting. On a high-risk or larger site you need a fixed, interconnected system of call points and sounders. The signal has to be distinctive and heard above the site noise. Everyone here needs to know what the alarm sounds like, how to raise it, which route is clear, and where to assemble. Escape routes are kept clear. Rubbish in a corridor is a fire problem and an escape problem.

HSE says each year there are serious fires on construction sites and in buildings being refurbished, and that many could be avoided by planning and control. Refurbishment is a particular risk when there is a lot of dry timber, and later in a job when adhesives, insulation and soft furnishings are present. Keep the amount of combustible material in the work area down until it is needed. Store it outside where you can, especially LPG and other volatile materials. If it has to be inside, plan the place so it does not put people at risk. Specify less combustible materials where that is possible, and remember that working on a material can make it easier to ignite, for example when a solid becomes dust. Protective coverings and scaffold sheeting can add to the risk. Flame-retardant materials reduce that. Bonfires should not normally be allowed. Have another way to get rid of waste. Secure the site against arson, especially at night and at weekends. High fire-loading sites, or sites with a history of vandalism, may need extra lighting, out-of-hours security or CCTV. Nobody sleeps in a building under construction or refurbishment. HSE is clear on that.

Hot work is the part people rush. HSE's process-fire page says all hot work that generates heat, sparks or flame can cause a fire. The precautions on that page are: clear the area of combustible materials, have suitable fire extinguishers, and keep a careful watch throughout the work. A permit to work can help manage the risk on larger projects. HSG168, HSE's fire safety in construction book, defines hot work as any process that generates flame, sparks or heat, including oxy-fuel cutting and welding, grinding and cutting metal, torch-applied roofing, heat guns and soldering irons. It says hot works should be designed out where practicable and replaced with cold methods, and that where combustible material is present you use alternatives. The book then sets the precautions I want read out, because the short page does not give the times.

Before the work, look at the area, especially on a refurbishment where you may not know what is in the fabric. Remove loose combustible materials in and around the work, inside any gap in a wall, floor or ceiling where heat or sparks could go, in the area underneath, and on the other side of a wall if you are only working one side. Protect what you cannot remove, and any openings, with non-combustible board. Have at least two suitable fire extinguishers within reach of the hot work and of any fire-watch position. Keep a watch while the work is going on, and during breaks, including spaces you cannot see if the heat can pass through. HSG168 says there should be a continuous fire watch for at least an hour after the hot work ends, then at least one more check two hours after it ends. Some materials can smoulder for a long time before they ignite. All hot works should be finished two hours before the end of the working day, so those checks can be done. Closing a permit includes a visual inspection of the area. If the site has security staff, they should be told to keep checking former hot-work areas.

Extinguishers are not a reason to fight a fire you are not trained for. HSE says the number and type depend on the hazard, and that the primary purpose is to aid escape. In some limited circumstances a trained person may tackle a fire in the early stages. The FAQ matches types to fires: water for wood, paper, textile and solid material; powder for liquid and electrical fires; foam for liquid fires; carbon dioxide for liquid and electrical fires. They sit at identifiable fire points on each storey exit, and they are serviced. Hot work needs its own extinguishers as well. Know which one is for this fuel before you need it.

What we do on this job: what can burn within reach of the spark, who is watching, including the other side of the wall and the floor below, where the extinguishers are, how we raise the alarm, and who is still here for the hour after we stop, and for the check two hours after. If we cannot finish in time to do those checks before the site empties, we do not start the hot work.

This talk is about a space that is enclosed, or largely enclosed, where someone could be seriously hurt by what is in the air or by what can flood in. HSE's definition is specific. A confined space is both enclosed or largely enclosed and has a reasonably foreseeable specified risk to workers of fire, explosion, loss of consciousness, asphyxiation, or drowning. It can be small and restrictive. It can also be large. HSE's example of a large one is a grain storage silo. A loft, a cupboard or a plant room is not a confined space just because it is awkward. It becomes this talk when it is enclosed and one of those risks is reasonably foreseeable. I read HSE's introduction, the legislation page, and leaflet INDG258 on 20 October 2026.

The danger is not the squeeze. HSE says working in a confined space is dangerous because of noxious fumes, reduced oxygen, or a risk of fire. Other dangers include flooding, drowning, or asphyxiation from dust, grain or another contaminant. INDG258 describes the same idea as any space of an enclosed nature where there is a risk of death or serious injury from hazardous substances or dangerous conditions, for example a lack of oxygen. Some spaces are obvious. INDG258 lists storage tanks, silos, reaction vessels, enclosed drains and sewers. Others are easier to miss and can be just as dangerous: open-topped chambers, vats, ductwork, and unventilated or poorly ventilated rooms. HSE says it is not possible to list every confined space. Some places become confined spaces when work is carried out in them, or during construction, fabrication, or later modification. A chamber that was safe to look into yesterday is not a method for today.

The law splits into two steps I want read out. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks, so you can decide the measures. For this work, INDG258 says that assessment usually takes in the task, the working environment, the materials and tools, whether the people doing it are suitable, and the arrangements for emergency rescue. You may need a competent person to help, and the people doing the work have to be trained and instructed. If that assessment finds a risk of serious injury from work in a confined space, the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 apply. HSE's legislation page sets out the three duties: avoid entry, for example by doing the work from outside; if entry cannot be avoided, follow a safe system of work; and put adequate emergency arrangements in place before the work starts.

Avoiding entry is the duty, not a preference. Ask whether the job has to be done in there at all. INDG258 says you can modify the space so entry is unnecessary, or do the work from outside. Its examples are clearing a blockage from outside, and using a remote camera to inspect a vessel. On our work, that question comes before anyone drops into a tank, a sealed void, a duct, a sewer, a manhole or an open-topped chamber. If we can see what we need to see, or clear what we need to clear, from outside, we stay outside.

If entry cannot be avoided, the controls are for this space, not for a generic tank. HSE's introduction says: if there are harmful fumes, consider how to ventilate them or remove them; if liquids or gases could flood in, establish whether the valves can be locked shut; if there is not enough oxygen to breathe properly, provide breathing apparatus or ventilate the space to increase the oxygen before anyone enters. INDG258 says mechanical and electrical equipment that could otherwise operate has to be isolated, and pipework has to be isolated if gas, fume or vapour could enter. In every case, check that the isolation has worked. The person who goes in has to be capable, and trained in the work and in the emergency equipment. Do not do this work unless it is essential. Do not ignore the risk because the space was safe on another day. Do not let the next person in until you are sure it is safe. Everyone involved needs to be trained and instructed in the safe system, and that system has to be put into practice, not left on a sheet in the van.

HSE's introduction gives an example I am not softening. Two men went into a closed crane compartment to look at a hydraulic fault. Within a minute, one had passed out and the other felt lightheaded but got out. Two others went in to help and were overcome. The emergency service got the three men out. Two of them died. Water in the compartment had caused rusting, which depleted the oxygen. HSE says that if the oxygen had been checked, the space could have been ventilated and the deaths avoided. The point for us is the rescue, not the crane. You need to know the person inside is all right and has not been overcome by fumes. You need a way to get them out. HSE says it is not enough to rely on the emergency services for that.

What we decide before anyone goes in today: is this space enclosed, and is fire, explosion, loss of consciousness, asphyxiation or drowning reasonably foreseeable? Can the job be done from outside? If not, what is isolated, what has been done to the air, who is trained to go in, who is staying outside, and how we get a person out without waiting only on the emergency services. If we cannot answer, we do not go in.

This is an awareness talk. It is not training to work on asbestos. HSE says asbestos awareness training does not allow you to work on asbestos. If you have not had the training for the work, you do not start.

HSE says asbestos is the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. Around 5,000 people die every year from asbestos-related diseases. Those diseases typically take decades to develop, and they cannot be cured. The fibres are too small to see, smell, or feel, in the air or on your clothes. You will not know they are there.

Asbestos was used in many buildings until it was banned in 1999. Buildings constructed after 2000 are unlikely to contain it. A lot of it is still in place. People who work on the structure of older buildings can still be exposed if it is damaged or disturbed. HSE names drilling into a wall, refurbishment, demolition, and installation work. You are more likely to meet it if the building was built or refurbished before 2000, if nobody inspected the area, or if the information was not passed on.

Left alone and in good condition, HSE says the risk is low. Once it is disturbed, fibres can be released and breathed in. That can cause lung disease and cancer, which could prove fatal. Do not sand it, break it, drill it, or sweep dust you cannot account for, to 'see what it is'. You cannot identify it as safe by looking at it.

If you come across any material you think may contain asbestos, HSE's instruction to workers is: stop work, and speak to your employer, or the building owner, to find out if asbestos is in the building. Your employer should ask to see the asbestos register or survey, and check there is enough information to do the work. If you are breaking into the fabric, a refurbishment survey may be required. Do not do any work until that has been completed. Even if a survey exists, it might not have found every location. Assume it can still be hidden.

If asbestos is disturbed, stop work immediately. HSE says it must be dealt with quickly, and points workers to the guidance on what to do if you discover or accidentally disturb asbestos, the sheet EM1. Follow that. Do not try to tidy it, bag it, or carry on with a dust mask from the van because you want to finish the room.

Some work has to be done by a licensed asbestos contractor. HSE's worker page says: if in doubt, assume the work is licensed and stop until you are told otherwise.

If you are self-employed, HSE's worker page says you are responsible. The introduction to the same guidance says a self-employed person has the same responsibilities under the law as an employer and a worker. That does not mean you assess the material yourself and carry on. It means the duty to stop, and to get the right information and the right people, sits with you.

On a domestic job, contractors still have to protect people from the risks of their work, including asbestos-containing materials. The homeowner being in the house is not a reason to take a chance on a cupboard, a soffit, a floor tile, or a heating flue. Ask what the building is, and what year the part you are opening was built or refurbished. If nobody knows, stop and find out before you open it.

What you do today, if you are unsure: stop, tell the person in charge of this site, and do not let anyone else start the same hole. Show them the HSE pages linked under this talk if they want the source. Do not photograph it and ask a chat tool whether it is asbestos. A photo is not a survey.

This talk is about moving things by hand on this site. Manual handling, in HSE's words, means transporting or supporting a load by hand or bodily force. It includes lifting, putting down, pushing, pulling, carrying, or moving loads. A load can be an object, a person, or an animal. On our jobs it is usually boards, bags, a boiler, a length of timber, or a skip that should have been moved with a barrow.

HSE's page is written for employers. It says you must protect workers from the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling. The law sets out three steps. Avoid hazardous manual handling, so far as reasonably practicable. Assess the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that cannot be avoided. Reduce the risk of injury to as low as reasonably practicable. The weight of a load is important. The law does not set specific weight limits. Do not let anyone on this site invent a kilogram figure and call it the legal maximum. There isn't one on that page.

In some cases you must provide information about the weight, and the position of the centre of gravity, of each load, if there is a risk of injury and it is reasonably practicable to do this. If the bag or the board has the weight on it, read it out before someone picks it up. If it does not, say that we do not know, and treat that as a reason to be careful, not as a reason to guess.

Good handling technique is not a substitute for the other steps. HSE says that plainly. Lifting aids, a lighter load, a shorter carry, a clear route, and a second person come first. The technique is an addition to those measures, not a replacement.

When a lift still has to be done by hand, HSE describes a basic lift with both hands, the load in front of the body and close to it, without twisting. Think before you lift. Where is it going? Can a handling aid do it? Do you need help? Clear the wrapping and the offcuts. For a long lift, from the floor to shoulder height, think about resting it mid-way so you can change your grip.

Keep the load close to your waist for as long as possible. Keep the heaviest side next to your body. If you cannot get close, slide it towards you before you try to lift it. Feet apart, one leg in front of the other, so you can move your feet during the lift. Hug the load close. A slight bend of the back, hips, and knees at the start is preferable to stooping, or to a full deep squat. Do not flex your back any further while lifting. That happens if the legs straighten before the load starts to rise. Do not twist or lean sideways, especially while the back is bent. Turn by moving your feet. Keep your head up and look ahead once the load is secure. Move smoothly. Do not jerk. Do not lift more than you can easily manage. HSE says there is a difference between what people are able to lift and what they can safely lift. If in doubt, get help. If you need to position it precisely, put it down, then slide it.

If the route is wet, dark, or blocked, that is part of the risk, not a reason to hurry. The slips talk covers the floor. This talk covers the load. If today's method says two people, it stays two people.

This talk is about electricity on this job: the building we are opening up, the tools we plug in, and any overhead line or buried cable we could reach. HSE's page on electrical systems in buildings says electricity can kill, and that unlike most other hazards you cannot see it, feel it, hear it or smell it, so there is no warning. The law says you must take precautions against death or injury from electricity during construction work. Refurbishment is the greatest risk, and it has to be planned, managed and monitored. Specialist electrical work is only for people who are trained and competent, following strict procedures. The equipment has to be safe and maintained.

HSE says about three workers are electrocuted each year during refurbishment on commercial and domestic buildings. Further deaths happen in incidents with overhead power lines and underground cables. I am using that figure as HSE states it. I have not updated it. Incidents inside buildings involve electricians and other trades. They happen when equipment was assumed to be dead but was live, or was known to be live and the precautions were not enough. Plumbers and joiners are named, not only electricians. Electricians are not immune either. HSE says a number of the electrocutions involve qualified electricians.

The people planning a refurbishment have to understand the electrical system and talk to the occupier, so the work does not compromise the system or the people. If the work, including labouring, joinery or plumbing, is liable to disturb or damage the existing system, the relevant parts should be isolated. Electrical contractors should not work live if it can be avoided, and they should not make a system live before the work is finished and everything is installed correctly. Safe isolation procedures must be followed at all times. A chat photo of a consumer unit is not isolation. If we do not know whether it is dead, we treat it as live and we stop until someone competent has isolated it and proved it.

Tools are the everyday risk. HSE says tools, plugs and cables designed for DIY and domestic use are not suitable for site conditions. Use cordless tools, or tools on a 110 volt centre-tapped-to-earth supply, so the maximum voltage to earth does not exceed 55 volts. Inspect power tools regularly and take them out of service if they are damaged. A qualified electrician services them. No makeshift repairs. Where 230 volt mains equipment is used, the risk is high if a tool, a lead or the equipment is damaged or faulty. HSE's checks for 230 volt equipment are a visual check for damage every shift, a visual inspection every week, and a combined inspection and test before first use on a site and then every month. Records of those checks should be kept. An RCD detects some faults, not all of them, and switches the supply off quickly. It has to be properly installed and enclosed, checked daily, treated with care, kept free of moisture and dirt, and protected against vibration and mechanical damage. An RCD is not a reason to leave a damaged lead in use.

Lighting on a temporary system needs the same care. Protect cabling and bulbs. A broken bulb can leave a live filament. Check bulbs so the site stays both electrically safe and well lit. The fire talk covers lamps as an ignition source. This talk covers the shock.

Overhead lines are a separate hazard, and ladders, scaffold tubes, tippers, lorry-mounted cranes and MEWPs are on HSE's list of what reaches them. Accidental contact kills people and causes serious injuries. So does a flashover, when a person or an object gets too close without touching the line. Going close can be enough. Voltages lower than 230 volts can kill. Do not mistake a line on a wooden pole for a telephone wire. Electricity can bypass wood, plastic or rubber if it is damp or dirty. Do not rely on gloves or rubber boots. Assume a line is live unless the owner has proved otherwise. Find out whether a line crosses the work or the access before you arrive with a high vehicle. The information comes from the distribution network operator. If a line is there, talk to the owner in time for it to be diverted or made dead, or for other precautions.

HSE's order is to eliminate the danger where you can: do the work somewhere else, have the line diverted, or have it made dead. If you cannot, control the access and the work. Barriers go at the clearance distance the distribution network operator gives you. Passageways under a line should be as narrow as the plant needs and should cross at right angles where possible. If work under a live line cannot be avoided, use barriers, goal posts and warning notices, keep anything that could reach past the safe clearance out of the area, and put physical restraints on cranes, excavators and telehandlers so they cannot be altered on the day. Someone suitable supervises the plant. The ladder talk includes HSE's rule: do not work within 6 metres horizontally of an overhead line unless it has been made dead or protected with insulation.

If a vehicle or a load touches a line, HSE says stay in the cab and tell the distribution network operator immediately. Warn everyone else to stay clear. Try to drive clear. If you have to get out because of fire, jump clear. Do not climb down the steps. Never try to untangle the equipment until the owner of the line has confirmed it is dead and safe. A line can trip out and then re-energise on its own, without warning. Keep the operator's number in the cab and on the phone before you need it.

Buried cables are on the same HSE page as a cause of further deaths. This talk does not invent a scanning method. If we do not know where the services are, from the occupier, the drawings, or the operator, we do not dig, drill or drive a pin through them. We stop and find out. Today: what is live, what has been isolated and proved, what voltage the tools are on, and where any line crosses the access. If the answer is that we are not sure, we do not start.

This talk is about lead in the paint, the flashings and the old pipework on this job. HSE's construction page on lead says lead is used as a specialist material, for example roof flashings, and it is present in older buildings, for example in paint or pipework. Breathing or ingesting lead dust or fume is the harm. HSE's page says lead can cause serious health problems such as anaemia or kidney disease, and that published research has linked exposure to a small number of occupational cancers. The busy-builder sheet CIS79 says breathing or ingesting lead dust or fume can cause serious problems such as kidney, nerve and brain damage, or infertility. I am using those words. I have not added a count of my own. I read the construction lead page, CIS79 and HSE's lead FAQ on 20 October 2026.

The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 say employers must protect employees against the risks from lead. HSE's model is assess, control, then review. The assessment has to find the tasks that use lead or create lead dust or fume, and pay attention where significant exposure is expected. HSE's list includes stripping or preparing leaded paint on doors, windows and similar; working with lead on roofs; hot cutting of lead or leaded paint in demolition and dismantling; and blast removal of old leaded paint. Lead pigments were widely used in paints for homes, schools and offices until the 1960s. They were not removed from all commonly used paint until the early 1980s. Lead paint can sit underneath the paint you can see, in an older building. CIS79 says you are most at risk if you regularly remove existing paint in properties built before the 1980s, strip old paint with blow lamps or gas torches, or dry sand old paint.

The first control is to stop making the dust and the fume. Where you can, use a different material, or a different method. HSE says leave paint in place when it is in good condition, or when it is covered by paint that does not contain lead. Make a key for the new coat with wet abrasive paper. Only strip old paint if it is flaking, chipping, giving off dust or particles, or it is a risk to children. CIS79 says the same plan in a shorter line: only strip back old paint if it is flaking, chipping, or a risk to children. If the paint is in good condition, wet abrasive paper is the key, not a dry sanding disc. Cold or mechanical cutting comes before hot cutting. Do not overheat leaded paint with a blow lamp or a gas torch. HSE says keep hot air guns and infrared equipment below 500 degrees Celsius. That figure is HSE's. It is not a target to work up to.

If the paint is in poor condition and it has to come off, HSE's methods are a chemical paint stripper, wet abrasive paper and a scraper, on-tool extraction with an H or M class unit, and an infrared tool or a hot air gun used with a scraper, kept below that 500 degree line. CIS79 says use a combination of chemical paint stripper, wet abrasive paper and on-tool extraction, and it says passive capture bags on tools are less effective. A general vacuum is not the unit this page is describing. The silica talk on this site is the one for bricks, concrete and plaster dust. This talk is lead. The extraction class HSE names here is still H or M.

Respiratory protection is often still required. HSE says wear RPE with an assigned protection factor of 20, for example an FFP3 disposable mask or a half mask with a P3 filter. For longer work, consider powered RPE with the same protection, for example a TH2 powered hood or helmet. It has to be compatible with the other kit. Tight-fitting masks need a face-fit test. Stop the dust spreading. HSE says use plastic sheeting to separate the work and cover surfaces, remove or protect soft furnishings, wash the surfaces, and dispose of contaminated waste safely. Pay particular attention to keeping children and pregnant women away from the work area. CIS79 says put debris, cloths and abrasive paper in a plastic bag, and remove debris with a damp cloth. Wear disposable coveralls, and washable gloves such as PVC, or disposable gloves, if lead dust is likely to contaminate them. Take them off when you leave the work area. Do not wear them in the rest area. Keep them away from the clothes you wear home. Avoid washing contaminated clothing at home.

Washing is a control, not a courtesy. HSE says standard site welfare is enough in many cases, and that people should wash hands and forearms before eating, drinking, smoking, using the telephone, or taking medication. Avoid hand-to-mouth contact in the contaminated area. Take breaks away from the work. CIS79 says the small sink is not suitable: provide a large sink, hot or warm running water, and soap. People need to know the coating can contain lead, and how to use the controls. If we do not know whether the old paint contains lead, we treat the stripping, the burning and the dry sanding as this talk until we do know. A photo is not an analysis.

What we do on this job: is the paint staying because it is sound; if it is coming off, are we using wet paper, stripper or H or M class extraction rather than a dry disc or a flame; is the hot air kit below 500 degrees Celsius; who is kept out, including children and anyone who is pregnant; where the waste bag goes; and where people wash their hands and forearms before they eat. If the plan is to burn it off because that is quick, we do not start.

This is a short talk about working at height on this site, today. Listen for the job in front of us, not for a generic roof.

HSE's meaning is plain. You are working at height if, without precautions, you could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. That includes work above the ground or the floor. It includes a fall from an edge, through an opening, or through a fragile surface. It also includes a fall from ground level into an opening in a floor, or a hole in the ground. A slip or a trip on the same level is not work at height. Walking up and down a permanent staircase in a building is not work at height either. Those are still hazards. They are a different talk.

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. HSE says the duties sit with employers, and with anyone who controls work at height, such as a contractor. The work has to be properly planned and organised. The people doing it have to be competent, or supervised by someone who is. The risks have to be assessed, and the equipment has to match the job. Risks from fragile surfaces have to be managed. Equipment used for work at height has to be inspected and maintained.

HSE's order is the order we use. First, can we avoid the work at height? Do as much as we can from the ground. An extendable tool, or putting the work together before it goes up, is better than climbing. If we cannot avoid it, we prevent the fall. Collective protection comes before a harness: an existing safe place with a permanent guard rail, a scaffold, a tower, or a MEWP. A work-restraint system that stops you reaching the edge is personal protection, and it comes after those collective measures. If a fall can still happen, we shorten the distance and the consequences: nets or soft-landing systems close to the work, or a fall-arrest system with a high anchor. For each step, HSE says consider what is reasonably practicable, and use collective protection before personal protection.

Plan how we would get someone down before anyone goes up. HSE says do not rely only on the emergency services for the rescue in that plan.

Ladders and stepladders are not banned. HSE says they can be a sensible and practical option for low-risk, short-duration tasks, and they should not automatically be the first choice. The regulations allow a ladder when a risk assessment has shown that equipment offering a higher level of fall protection is not justified, because of the low risk and short duration, or because there are existing workplace features which cannot be altered. Short duration is not the deciding factor on its own. Look at the risk first. As a guide, if the task would mean staying on a leaning ladder or a stepladder for more than 30 minutes at a time, HSE recommends you consider alternative equipment. Use a ladder only where it can be used safely: level and stable, and secured where it is reasonably practicable. Use the right type. The person on it needs to know how to use it. Do not overload it, and do not overreach.

On construction work, HSE says handrails have a minimum height of 950 millimetres, and any gap between the top rail and an intermediate rail should not exceed 470 millimetres. Toe boards have to be suitable and sufficient. HSE gives a toe board of a minimum 100 millimetres as an example that would be acceptable.

Roof work is high risk. HSE says falls from roofs, through fragile roofs, and through fragile roof lights are one of the most common causes of workplace death and serious injury. Treat these as likely to be fragile unless you know they are not: roof lights, liner panels on built-up sheeted roofs, non-reinforced fibre cement sheets, corroded metal sheets, glass including wired glass, rotted chipboard, and slates and tiles.

Before anyone goes up today, check the place. HSE says each place where people will work at height needs to be checked every time, before use. Weather that could compromise safety is a reason to stop. Stop materials or objects falling, or keep people out of the area if you cannot stop the fall. If the access is not what the method for this job says, we stop and change the method. We do not change it by climbing anyway.