Work at Height Regulations
Released 21st Mar, 2011
We offer professional advice and the safest equipment to help you work at height. Below is a brief summary of the Work at Height regulations (WAHR) 2005. For more information visit the Falls From Height in the Workplace section on the HSE website.
In 2007/08 falls from height accounted for 58 fatal accidents at work and 3,623 major injuries. They remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes for major injury.
What is ‘Work at Height’?
A place is "at height" if, unless the WAHR’s are followed, a person could be injured from falling from it, even if it is at or below ground level. The term "Work" includes moving around at a place or work, except by a staircase in a permanent workplace, but not travel to or from a place of work. For instance, a Sales Assistant on a stepladder would be working at height but we would not be inclined to apply the regulations to a mounted Police Officer on patrol.
Do the rules apply to you?
The Work at Height 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 who controls the work of others, for example Facilities Managers or Building Owners who may contract others to work at height, to the extent they control the work.
If you are an employee or working under someone else’s control 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 this in itself would be unsafe, in which case you should seek further instructions before continuing usage.
What you must do as an employer
You must do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone falling. The regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height.
Duty Holders must:
- Avoid working at height where they can.
- Use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height.
- 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.
Planning
You must:
- Ensure that no work is done at height if it is safe and reasonably practicable to do it other than at height.
- Make sure that the work is properly planned, appropriately supervised, and carried out in as safe a way as is reasonably practicable.
- Plan for emergencies and rescue.
- Take account of the risk assessment carried out under regulation 3 of the management of Health and Safety at Work regulations.
Training
You must ensure that everyone involved in the work is competent, or, if being trained, is supervised by a competent person. This includes involvement in organisation, planning and supervision, and the supply and maintenance of the equipment. We offer a range of approved safety training courses. These are detailed at the end of this section to ensure you conform to these regulations.
The place where work is done
You must ensure that the place where work is done at height, including the means of access, is safe and has features to prevent a fall, unless this would mean that it is not reasonably practicable for the worker to carry out the work safely, taking into account the demands of the task, equipment and working environment.
Equipment, temporary structures and safety features
If the fixed place where the work is to be carried out is deemed unsafe, you must provide equipment for preventing, as far as is reasonably practicable, a fall occurring.
When selecting equipment for work at height you must:
- Use the most suitable equipment.
- Give collective protection measures (e.g. guard rails) priority over personal protection measures (e.g. safety harnesses).
You must also take account of:
- The working conditions.
- The risks to the safety of all those at the place where the work equipment is to be used.
Summary
Working at height must always be conducted in a safe and planned manner. The huge choice of machines we provide means that with powered access many jobs can be carried out quickly and safely. Our commitment to quality and safety through the most rigorous testing and servicing programme in the industry means that we help you conform to the Work at Height Regulations (2005). If you have any questions or need further assistance with working at height please do not hesitate to contact us on 0844 381 4478.
For further information, we recommend the following HSE publications:
- Work at Height Regulations 2005 INDG401REV1
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 ISBN 0717624889
- LOLER 1998: Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 98 ISBN0717624641
- PUWER 1998: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 ISBN 9780717662852