Working at height is the biggest cause of fatal and serious injuries in the construction industry. To avoid serious accidents, appropriate working at height precautions must be taken to ensure the work is properly planned, that everyone has the right equipment and that risks are minimised as much as possible.
Whether you work at height every day or only occasionally, taking appropriate working at height precautions and minimising risk should always be your top priority.
What Are Working at Height Precautions?
Working at height precautions are steps that must be taken before you work at height. 'Work at height' is a term that refers to any scenario in which an individual might fall a distance that could result in serious harm. You are working at height if you:
- Work above ground level
- Could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface
- Could fall from ground level into an opening in the floor/hole in the ground
Whether you're an employee or an employer, take a look at the following precautions you can put in place to avoid accidents in your workplace.
Plan Properly
When working at height, you must ensure that the task is adequately planned, overseen, and carried out by qualified employees who have the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to do the job. Make sure that you consider all aspects of the work in your plan including the height, duration, frequency and condition of surfaces.
When planning, also remember that working at height should be avoided wherever possible and only completed if totally necessary and all reasonable preventative measures have been considered.
Assess Risks
Another crucial working at height precaution is to ensure you are carrying out continual risk assessments to identify hazards and plan the safest method for the task. Once a risk assessment has been carried out, you must decide on the precautions required, record the significant findings and once again, continually review the assessment as necessary.
During a risk assessment you must ensure:
- All work takes account of any weather conditions that could infringe on health and safety
- All equipment is strong and suitable for the task, maintained and check regularly
- Those involved in the work at height are trained and competent
- The risks from fragile surfaces and falling objects are controlled
- There are emergency and rescue plans in place in case an accident does happen
- There are measures in place to minimise the consequences of a fall e.g. airbags or nets
Use Appropriate PPE
One of the most important working at height precautions is to wear appropriate PPE. PPE (or personal protective equipment) is wearable equipment designed to protect the wearer from harm. When working from height, a combination of at least three pieces of PPE is required in order to adequately protect the worker from the risk of falling and injury.
At Safety Harness Direct, we offer an extensive selection of personal protective equipment for working at height, ranging from helmets, tool safety belts, energy absorbing lanyards, harnesses, fall arresters and landing bags.
For more information on what PPE is needed for working at height visit our blog on working at height PPE guidelines or browse our range of safety gear by clicking the button below.
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What Not To Do
In some cases, working at height can be as simple as climbing a ladder - but this doesn't mean you shouldn't have working at height precautions in place. To prevent accidents and injuries when working at height, do not:
- Overload ladders with equipment or materials (check the ladder's pictogram or label for information).
- Overreach on ladders or stepladders – you should maintain three points of contact at all times!
- Rest a ladder up against a weak or moving surface.
- Use a ladder for periods of longer than 30 minutes or for strenuous or heavy tasks.
- Allow inexperienced workers to work at height.
The Law
If you are an employer or have an influence over work at height, we recommend staying aware of the changing regulations by following the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
Our main aim at Safety Harness Direct is to keep you and others around you safe in the workplace. If you have any questions about which working at height precautions you should take, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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