The presentation is from Mark Sutton For SAFEHANDS Health & Safety Consultants Ltd

A Free Resource From www.safetyphoto.co.uk

How to comply with the new Regulations

Working at Height
Mark Sutton
For SAFEHANDS Health & Safety Consultants Ltd

Why introduce these New Regulations?

  

Biggest Killer 67 Fatal Accidents 2003/04 3884 Major Accidents 2003/04 The single biggest cause of Workplace Deaths One of the biggest causes of major accidents 2/3 of all major injuries caused by low falls

 

Why are these rules important?



These regulations have been made to prevent the Deaths and Injuries caused each year by falls at work They REPLACE all the earlier regulations about working at height and implement European Council Directive 2001/45/EC concerning safety and health for use of equipment for work at height (the Temporary Work at Height Directive).

What is Work at Height?

Regulation 2

Explains for the purposes of the Regulations, certain words and phrases that will crop up throughout the document which unless defined could be interpreted differently from one industry to another.

Work at Height

Work in any place, including a place in:  the course of obtaining access to or egress from any place except by a staircase in a permanent workplace or;  At or below ground level from which a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury and any reference to working at height will include access to or egress from such places whilst at work.

Working at height  Working on a scaffold or MEWP  Working on the back of a lorry  Using cradles or ropes to gain access  Climbing permanent structures such as gantries  Working close to excavations, cellars or other openings.  Staging or trestles (concerts filming etc)

Not working at height  Activities carried out by private individuals (even if the equipment used is from work). Trips and slips on the level surface  Falls on permanent stairways (unless under structural maintenance)  Working in a building (e.g. office) with multiple floors where there is no risk of falling (except if the staff use a stepladder to change the bulbs within the office)

Access and egress

Includes ascent and descent

Working Platform

Any platform used as a place of work, or as a means of access to or egress from a place of work. Any scaffold, suspended scaffold, cradle, mobile platform, trestle, gangway, gantry or stairway which is so used But does not include a building or other permanent structure

Work equipment

Any machinery, appliance, apparatus, tool or installation for use at work and includes anything to which Regulation 8 and schedules 2 to 6 of the WAHR apply.

Ladder

Includes a fixed ladder and a step ladder Includes rope, chain or webbing

Line

Competence

Every employer shall ensure that no person engages in activity, including organisation, planning or supervision, in relation to work at height or work equipment for use in such work unless he is competent to do so or, if being trained, is being supervised by a competent person

Personal fall protection

A fall prevention, work restraint, work positioning, fall arrest or rescue system other than a system in which the only safeguards are collective safeguards or:  Rope access and positioning techniques. (terminology adopted from BS 7985:2002 Code of Practice for the use of rope access methods for industrial purposes)
 

Fragile surface

A surface which would be liable to fail if any reasonably foreseeable loading were to be applied to it

What do the Schedules to the regulations cover?

               

Schedule 1 Existing places of work and means of access for work at height Schedule 2 Collective fall prevention (e.g. guard rails and toe boards) Schedule 3 Working platforms Schedule 4 Collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc) Schedule 5 Personal fall protection Schedule 6 Ladders and step ladders Schedule 7 Inspection reports Schedule 8 Revocations (cancellations, dissolution)

Do the Rules apply to you?



The Regulations apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. They place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person selfwho controls the work of others. If you are an employee or working under someone else's control, regulation 14 says you must:  Report any safety hazard to them.  Use the equipment supplied (including safety devices) properly, following any training and instructions (unless you think that would be unsafe, in which case you should seek further instructions before continuing).

What you must do if you as an Employer



Duty holders must:

 

Avoid work at height where they can Use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur

Duty Holders Responsibilities



The regulations require  All work at height is properly planned & organised  All work at height takes account of weather conditions that could endanger health & safety  Those involved in work at height are trained and competent  The place where work at height is done is safe  Equipment for work at height is appropriately inspected and controlled  The risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and  The risk from falling objects are properly controlled.

Just remember a risk assessment is to be written to control the hazards.

Do the Work at Height Regulations ban the use of Ladders?

 

Short answer for that is NO! But they require that ladders should only be considered where a risk assessment has shown that the use of other more suitable work equipment is not appropriate because of the low risk, and short duration of the task or consideration of where the work is located

A few Correct ways of Working at Height

Why is this correct?

Again

A piece of Equipment that can be used

Bosun`s Chair

Any Questions? If you are unsure about anything now, it will be far to late to come and ask me when you are 30ft up or 30ft below the surface and you don't have a Harness
 

Remember

There is no such thing as a stupid or daft Health and Safety Question!

The presentation is from Mark Sutton For SAFEHANDS Health & Safety Consultants Ltd
A Free Resource From www.safetyphoto.co.uk