Working at height

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.