Introduction
The HSEs view is “Falls frequently occur because no precautions are taken, or any equipment used is defective, not appropriate, or used incorrectly. Often people about to do a job believe it will ‘only take a few minutes’, and take a risk in the hope that simply being careful will be enough.”
New Work at Heights Regulations were introduced in the UK in 2005. Although these new regulations are often perceived as new construction related legislation, they will apply to all working at height activities in all work places, including manufacturing areas, storage areas, fabrication areas, mixing area, silos, walkways, gantries, the tops of vehicles, etc. As with the vast majority of modern health and safety legislation, risk assessment lies at the heart of these new Work at Heights Regulations. The aim of the risk assessment process is to avoid the need for working at height where this is reasonably practicable, but where this is not reasonably practicable, to introduce measures to prevent falls and to mitigate the effects of such falls.
In the new Work at Heights Regulations, work at height will mean:
(a) work in any place, including a place at or below ground level;
(b) obtaining access to or egress from such place while at work, except by a staircase in a permanent workplace, where, if measures required by these Regulations were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. There is no minimum height requirement before these regulations apply (such as the two-metre rule) This means that not only must the employer consider elevated work places, but any workplace where there is a risk on injury from falling further. This includes areas around ground level openings into vehicle inspection pits and sumps, etc., it also includes areas below ground level where there is a risk on injury from falling.
The duties imposed on an employer by the Work at Heights Regulations will with respect to the employer’s employees and also to any other person under their control.
Employers’ duties under the Work at Heights Regulations
Under the new Regulations, every employer must ensure that all work at height is:
- planned properly;
- supervised appropriately; and
- carried out in a manner which is, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe.
Planning shall include:
- selection of suitable work equipment;
- provisions for dealing with emergencies and rescue; and
- regard for weather conditions (where appropriate).
The employer shall ensure that no person engages in any activity (including organisation, planning and supervision) in relation to work at height or work equipment for use in such work unless they are competent to do so or, if being trained, is being supervised by a competent person.
Avoidance of risks from work at height
Regulation 6(1) requires the employer to carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks arising from any work at heights:
“In identifying the measures required by this regulation, every employer shall take account of a risk assessment under regulation 3 of the Management Regulations.”
There will be no need for a specific risk assessment dealing with working at height if this subject has been dealt with fully and satisfactorily in the risk assessments already completed for compliance with Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. For many employers, it will be necessary to revisit these assessments or to complete new “working at height” risk assessments to ensure compliance with the new regulations.
Regulation 6(2) places a duty on the employer to avoid the need for working at a height where it is reasonably practicable to do so:
“Every employer shall ensure that work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely otherwise than at height.”
Work must be carried out in a manner such employees are not placed at risks of injury from falling from a height if this is reasonably practicable. Where reasonably practicable, work should be carried out at ground level rather than at a height. This applies to maintenance activities as well as to assembly and production activities.
The requirement for prevention of employees working at a height from falling is introduced in Regulation 6(3):
“Where work is carried out at height, every employer shall take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.”
Where work involves access to areas from where a person may fall, access to that area must be prevented in some way. This may involve several solutions, such as:
- the use of suitable scaffolding systems,
- the use of mobile elevated work platforms and similar equipment,
- the construction of suitable walls or guard-rails (including intermediary guard-rails and toe-boards),
- the use of a harness and anchored lanyard that stops the person reaching the point from which they may fall (such as a 2m lanyard anchored 2.5 m from a fall, i.e. it is too short all allow the person wearing it to reach the edge over which they may fall).
Regulation 6(5) places the employer under a duty to mitigate the effects of falling from a height where it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks of the employee falling.
“Where the measures taken under paragraph (4) do not eliminate the risk of a fall occurring, every employer shall take—
(a) suitable and sufficient measures, including the provision of work equipment, to minimise—
(i) the distance and consequences; or
(ii) where it is not reasonably practicable to minimise the distance, the consequences, of a fall; and
(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3), such additional training and instruction or other additional suitable and sufficient measures to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury
There are several ways of mitigating the effects of a fall from a height, these include:
- the use of a suitable fall arrest system,
- the use of suitably positioned and secured safety nets,
- the use of rail lock systems on vertical ladders,
- the use of suitably sited, specially designed airbags (note, there are, currently, no British or European Standards for such equipment),
- etc.
The specific requirements relating to suitable fall arrest systems are outlined in Schedule 5 to the Working at Height Regulations.
Where a risk on a person being injured by a fall exists, the regulations require the use of suitable falls prevention measures and fall mitigation measures. This is a case of both, not either/or.
Falling Objects
Regulation 10 establishes a statutory duty on the employer to take suitable and sufficient steps to prevent, so far as is reasonably practicable, injury to any person arising from falling objects.
In the case of elevated work and storage areas (such as mezzanine floors), this may mean the provision of
- suitable, secure storage facilities
- suitable toe boards
- suitable fencing or netting
- solid walls in place of guard railings,
- etc.
Danger areas
Without diminishing any of the other regulations, Regulation 11 places a duty of the employer to ensure that an area where there remains a residual risk of any person being injured as a result of either a fall or as a result of being struck by a falling object is indicated clearly. As a minimum standard, suitable warning signs (complying with the provisions of the Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996) must be displayed.
Ladders
There has been a great deal of discussion on the how the Work at Heights Regulations will affect the use of ladders (note that under the Work at Heights Regulations, ladders includes a fixed ladder and a stepladder). Under Schedule 6 to the Regulations, the position is clarified. The use of ladders will be permissible only if the risk assessment has demonstrated that the use of more suitable work equipment is not justified because of the low risk and there is a short duration of use or the existence on site of features which the employer cannot alter.
The above will have the effect of making it very difficult to justify the use of ladders for many tasks. Employers will need to consider suitable alternatives, which could include the appropriate use of tower scaffolding and the use of podium steps. Where ladders are used to gain access to elevated work levels, consideration should be given to the provision of a suitable stairway as the primary means of access and egress.
Inspection
The employer must suitable arrangements for all places of work at height and all equipment used for working at heights to be checked/inspected.
Summary
People continue to be killed and seriously injured as a result of falling from a height. The government is committed to reducing these fatalities and injuries. The new Work at Heights Regulations will affect a great many workplaces outside of the construction industry. The regulations are centred on risk assessments and the avoidance of the risk of injury arising from falling from a height. Where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the risk of falling from a height, then arrangements need to be put in place to prevent falls and to mitigate the effects of any falls. Further advice, information and clarification is available in the Approved Codes of Practice that accompany these Regulations.
What can go wrong working at height?
An Evesham horticultural nursery has been fined after a worker suffered serious head injuries and fractured his hand when he fell through a glasshouse roof.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the company following the incident at the company's premises on 4 December 2009.
Worcester Magistrates' Court heard how the 21-year-old man, who does not want to be named, was cleaning a valley gutter between two roofs on a glasshouse when he fell about three metres through the glass, landing on a concrete floor.
He suffered concussion with blood on the brain, fractured his hand and sustained other cuts and bruises, and could not work for three months after the incident.
HSE's investigation into the incident found the company had taken no measures to prevent workers falling from the glasshouse roofs and did not understand the risks involved when working at height.
In addition, the injured man had been inadequately trained, by an employee who was not trained in working at height himself.
The company pleaded guilty today to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £6,835 costs.