New work at height regulations in force
On 6 April 2005, the
The
Work at Height Regulations 2005 came into force, consolidating
previous UK and European legislation on work at heights. The
Regulations apply to any work at a height where there is a risk of
a fall liable to cause injury. This includes work below ground
level and at a low height. The Regulations place duties on
employers, the self-employed, and any person that controls the work
of others (for example facilities managers or building owners who
may contract others to work at height).
As part of the Regulations, duty
holders must ensure:
- all work at height is properly planned and
organised;
- those involved in work at height are
competent;
- the risks from work at height are assessed and
appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
- the risks from fragile surfaces are properly
controlled; and
- equipment for work at height is properly
inspected and maintained.
The HSE has determined a
simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at
height. In this, 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.
In 2003/4 there were 67 fatal
accidents and 4,000 major injuries resulting from falls from height
at work. Falls from height are the biggest cause of workplace
fatalities and one of the main causes of major injury.
According to the HSE,
common factors resulting in falls from height
include:
- Failure to recognise a problem.
- Failure to provide safe systems of work.
- Failure to ensure that safe systems of work
are followed.
- Inadequate information, instruction, training
or supervision provided.
- Failure to use appropriate equipment;
- Failure to provide safe plant/equipment.
The HSE's key messages on preventing
falls from height are:
- Follow good practice for work at height
- Follow your risk assessment; plan and organise
your work properly; and make sure everyone involved is competent to
their level or responsibility;
- Try to avoid the need for work at height where
you can; where you can't, take steps to prevent falls; where you
cannot prevent a fall then you must mitigate the risk of injury
should a fall occur.
- Always select collective measures to prevent
falls (such as guardrails and working platforms) before other
measures which may only mitigate the distance and consequences of a
fall (such as nets or airbags) or which may only provide personal
protection from a fall.
For more details, see the HSE's
guidance [PDF
152kb]
Falls from height are a
particular problem in the construction industry, where they are the
main cause of injury and death. The HSE has produced a
briefing
on the new regulations, specific to the construction industry. This
can be downloaded
here (pdf,
320KB).
What about falls at 2 m or more?
Where the fall height is 2m or more, HSE inspectors will
always expect action to be taken to prevent falls. When selecting
work equipment, the expectation is that guardrails and working
platforms will be used. These are always the preferred measures to
protect from falls unless a risk assessment clearly identifies
other equipment as providing better protection given the nature and
duration of the task. There will be no dilution in existing
standards for work at height above 2 m.
This is the one piece of guidance from the HSE where they have
taken note of the concerns and position of Unite and
other unions regarding the 2 metre rule. If any Unite
reps or members have evidence of any relaxation of existing
standards above 2 metres as a result of the new Regulations
please
email
us to let us know.
ECA,
Practical alternatives to using
stepladders
