Work @ Height
Training
COURSE
CONTENTS
1. Work at height
2. What you should do for working at height
3. What to consider when planning working at height
4. What you should do as an employee
5. Use the Proper Equipment for Working at Heights
(Scaffold vs Lift vs Ladder)
Work at height
Work at height means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in
place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. For example
you are working at height if you:
■■ are working on a ladder or a flat roof;
■■ could fall through a fragile surface;
■■ could fall into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground.
Before working at height you must work through these simple steps:
■■ avoid work at height where it is reasonably practicable to do so;
■■ where work at height cannot be avoided, prevent falls using either an existing
place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment;
■■ minimise the distance and consequences of a fall, by using the right type of
equipment where the risk cannot be eliminated.
You should:
■■ do as much work as possible from the ground;
■■ ensure safe access to and from the site of work at height;
■■ ensure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job,
maintained and checked regularly;
■■ make sure you don’t overload or overreach when working at height;
■■ take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces;
■■ provide protection from falling objects;
■■ consider your emergency evacuation and rescue procedures.
What measures should you take to help protect people?
Always consider measures that protect everyone who is at risk (collective
protection) before measures that protect only the individual (personal protection).
What do you need to consider when planning work at height?
You must:
■■ Take account of weather conditions that could compromise worker safety;
■■ Check that the place (e.g. a roof) where work at height is to be undertaken is
safe. Each place where people will work at height needs to be checked every time,
before use;
■■ Stop materials or objects from falling or, if it is not reasonably practicable to
prevent objects falling, take suitable and sufficient measures to make sure no one
can be injured, e.g. use exclusion zones to keep people away or mesh on scaffold to
stop materials such as bricks falling off;
■■ Store materials and objects safely so they won’t cause injury if they are
disturbed or collapse;
■■ Plan for emergencies and rescue, e.g. agree a set procedure for evacuation.
Think about foreseeable situations and make sure employees know the emergency
procedures. Don’t just rely entirely on the emergency services for rescue in your
plan.
What must employees do?
Employees have general legal duties to take reasonable care of themselves and
others who may be affected by their actions, and to co-operate with their employer
to enable their health and safety duties and requirements to be complied with.
You must:
■■ report any safety hazard;
■■ use the equipment and safety devices properly.
■■ If you think it would be unsafe, seek further instructions before continuing.
You must consult your supervisor, in good time, on health and safety matters.
■■ risks arising from work;
■■ proposals to manage and/or control risks;
■■ the best ways of providing information and training.
Do as much work as You can do this by: If the risk of a person falling
possible from the ■■ Using an existing remains, you must take
ground. place of work that is sufficient measures to
Examples: already safe, e.g. a minimise the distance and/or
■■ Using nonfragile roof with a consequences of a fall.
extendable tools permanent perimeter
from ground level to guard rail or, if not Examples of collective
remove the need to ■■ Using work protection:
climb a ladder equipment to prevent ■■ safety nets and soft
■■ Installing cables people from falling landing systems, e.g. air bags,
at ground level installed close to the level of
■■ Lowering a Examples of collective the work
lighting mast to protection when using an
ground level existing place of work: Example of personal
■■ Ground level ■■ a guarded mezzanine protection:
assembly of edge floor, or plant or ■■ industrial rope access,
protection machinery with fixed e.g. working on a building
guard rails around it façade
■■ fall-arrest system using a
high anchor point
Minimum Fall Clearance
Consider Pendulum Effect While Using SRL/FBH
Use the Proper Equipment for Working at Heights (Scaffold vs
Lift vs Ladder)
Key Points for Fall Protection on Lifts:
•You must clip your lanyard to the approved anchor point
only.
•You must not wrap your lanyard around the rails and tie
back to your own lanyard, or tie off to the rail directly.
•You must keep your feet on the floor of the lift at all
times. It doesn’t matter which lift you’re using or what
fall protection you have.
•You must always stand firmly on the floor of the basket,
and shall not sit or climb on the edge of the basket or use
planks, ladders, or other devices for a work position.
•You must never tie-off to an adjacent structure or any
anchor point outside of your lift.
•If you are in the lift, you may tie-off to the lift
only.
Ladder
Ladders lie at the source of many industrial and
workplace accidents simply because we take their use
for granted.
Ladders are dangerous. When improperly used,
they’re REALLY dangerous.
For safe ladder handling, there are three main concepts
to consider:
•Have a 3’ extension of the ladder past the level to which
you are climbing.
•Have a 4:1 ratio of rise and run.
•Ensure you have three points of contact with the ladder
at all times.
When using a ladder to carry out a task:
■■ only carry light materials and tools;
■■ don’t overreach – make sure your belt buckle (navel) stays within the stiles;
■■ don’t overload it – consider workers’ weight and the equipment or materials they
are carrying before working at height.
■■ make sure the ladder angle is at 75° – you should use the 1 in 4 rule (i.e. 1 unit
out for every 4 units up);
■■ always grip the ladder and face the ladder rungs while climbing or descending –
don’t slide down the stiles;
■■ don’t try to move or extend ladders while standing on the rungs;
■■ don’t work off the top three rungs, and try to make sure the ladder extends at
least 1 m (three rungs) above where you are working;
■■ don’t stand ladders on moveable objects, such as pallets, bricks, lift trucks,
tower scaffolds, excavator buckets, vans, or mobile elevating work platforms;
When using a ladder to carry out a task:
■■ avoid holding items when climbing (consider using a tool belt);
■■ don’t work within 6 m horizontally of any overhead power line, unless it has been
made dead or it is protected with insulation. Use a non-conductive ladder (e.g.
fibreglass or timber) for any electrical work;
■■ maintain three points of contact when climbing (this means a hand and two feet)
■■ where you cannot maintain a handhold, other than for a brief period (e.g. to hold
a nail while starting to knock it in, starting a screw etc), you will need to take other
measures to prevent a fall or reduce the consequences if one happened;
■■ for a leaning ladder, you should secure it (e.g. by tying the ladder to prevent it
from slipping either outwards or sideways) and have a strong upper resting point, i.e.
do not rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces (e.g. glazing or plastic gutters);
■■ you could also use an effective stability device.
Factors contributing to injuries sustained from working at height include:
■■ lack of or inadequate planning and hazard assessment
■■ inadequate supervision
■■ insufficient training for the task being carried out
■■ incorrect protection or equipment choices
■■ incorrect use or set-up of equipment including personal protective equipment
■■ unwillingness to change the way a task is carried out when a safer alternative is
identified
■■ suitable equipment being unavailable.
Doing nothing is not an
option.
There are people who love you waiting
at home for your return!
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