What are the do's and don'ts for work at height activity.
Not a question as such, but very relevant. The first thing to do is to consider The Work at Height Regulations 2005 especially regulation 6 and apply a three-stage hierarchy to all work which is to be carried out at height.
-
First try to AVOID Working at Height - Do as much work as possible from the ground level.
-
Then try to PREVENT a fall from occurring.
-
Lastly MINIMISE the distance and/or consequence of a fall.
If work at height cannot be avoided, then a risk assessment must be carried out, this is a legal duty. The risk assessment must take into account the following factors:
-
The nature and duration of the work;
-
The ability of the worker;
-
Influences such as the weather condition, or a fragile surface:
-
The required level of supervision;
-
Required personal protective equipment;
-
The presence of fall arrest systems, such as netting or soft landing systems;
-
The need for emergency and rescue procedures.
The ability of the worker would also include ensuring that all people involved in the task have undertaken safety awareness training for working at height as well as any other hazardous activities involved such as manual handling.
Do plan the activity and when planning and undertaking work at height you are required by law to:
-
Take account of weather conditions, or fragile surfaces that could compromise worker safety.
-
Check that the place where work at height is to be undertaken is safe every time before use.
-
Stop objects from falling or, if this is not reasonably practicable, take measures to prevent injury if an object does fall.
-
Store materials and objects safely so they will not cause injury if they are disturbed or collapse.
-
Plan for emergencies and rescue, for example, agree on a set procedure for evacuation.
Do consider collective protection measures that protect everyone who is at risk rather than personal protection measures that protect only the individual. Do consider collective fall arrest equipment, edge protection, individual fall arrest equipment and fall protection equipment.
Do consider the type of access equipment to be used such as whether high-risk equipment that includes ladders, stepladders, trestles and staging is to be used. Or can lower-risk equipment, such as prefabricated scaffolding, mobile elevated platforms and working platforms be used.
Don’t fail to do any of the do’s and don’t take unnecessary risks, a sensible, pragmatic approach should be taken when considering precautions. There will be certain low-risk situations where common sense tells you that no particular precautions are necessary.
