Wellbeing: Working at height

Working at height refers to work being carried out in any place where, if no precautions are in place, someone could fall a distance which is liable to cause personal injury. According to the Health and Safety Executive, working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries in the UK, with falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces most common.

Although most heating and plumbing engineering jobs don’t involve working at height, there may be times where it is necessary, so make sure you know how to stay safe on those occasions.

Planning ahead

Practical measures that employers need to take to reduce the risk of workers falling while working at height start with training and planning. Only competent employees with the knowledge and experience to carry out the task should work at height and they must be supervised at all times.

“We have spent many years carrying out lead roofing projects to historic buildings and monuments, often involving working at extreme height,” says Quinn Bytheway, a member of the CIPHE. “Our operatives have always received training via the Working at Height Health and Safety course, which is a mandatory requirement of most main contractors.”

Assessing the risks

First assess the risks, considering the:

• height of the task

• duration and frequency

• condition of the surface worked on

Then follow these simple steps:

• avoid work at height where it’s reasonably practicable to do so

• where work at height cannot be easily avoided, prevent falls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment

• where the risk cannot be eliminated, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall by using the right type of equipment

For each step, consider measures that protect everyone (collective protection) before measures that only protect the individual (personal protection):

Collective protection is equipment that does not require the person working at height to act for it to be effective. Examples are:

• permanent or temporary guardrails

• scissor lifts

• tower scaffolds

Personal protection is equipment that requires the individual to act for it to be effective. An example is putting on a safety harness correctly and connecting it, with an energy-absorbing lanyard, to a suitable anchor point.

“We take every precaution necessary to ensure safety while working at height,” says Bytheway. “We use bona fide subcontractors to provide scaffolding to meet our requirements on a job specific basis. We will not work from any unstable platforms, like trestles, H-frame scaffold towers or unsatisfactory scaffolding. We do not work from ladders unless absolutely necessary and then only if safe to do so and securely set up.

“We carry out a job-specific risk assessment for each project. We have daily toolbox talks at the start of the day and during the course of the day’s work as necessary. Inexperienced operatives and apprentices will be supervised at all times and instructed individually if a task involves particular care.”

When working at height you should:

• work from the ground when possible

• ensure safe passage for workers to and from the work at height

• ensure equipment is fit for purpose, maintained and checked regularly

• take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces

• provide protection from falling objects

• consider emergency evacuation and rescue procedures

To prevent accidents and injuries do not:

• overload ladders – check the label

• overreach on ladders or stepladders

• rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces, for example glazing or gutters

• use ladders or stepladders for strenuous or heavy tasks, only use them for light work of short duration (a maximum of 30 minutes at a time)

• let anyone who is not competent to work at height

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

• Follow the HSE’s simple step-by-step guide here to help you control risks when working at height.

THE LAW

If you are an employer or you control work at height (for example if you are a contractor or a factory owner), The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to you. Find more information here.