Work at height

The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR) apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury.

The WAHR are relevant to the construction industry, as well as to window cleaning, industrial cleaning and maintenance, container top working in docks, working on the back of a lorry, erecting bill posters and arboriculture activities.

The Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007, extended the 2005 Regulations to workers who are paid to lead or train climbing and caving activities in the adventure sector.

The regulations require employers to ensure that:

• all work at height is properly planned and organised;

• those involved in work at height are competent;

• 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 fundamental principle is that work at height should be undertaken according to the staged process outlined in Regulation 6 — the “hierarchy” — so that safe systems of work are established, proper planning and organisation takes place and appropriate equipment is chosen and used correctly.

Regulation 6 says that employers must ensure work is not carried out at height where it is reasonably practicable to carry out the work safely other than at height.

Where work is carried out at height, employers must take suitable and sufficient measures to prevent any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury. Schedules contain requirements for scaffolding, ladders, rope access and positioning techniques.

HSE guidance on the Work at Height Regulations

The HSE review of the regulations, carried out in 2012 in response to the Löfstedt review (see page 19) concluded that “where problems remain with the application of WAHR they arise from misinterpretation of the requirements of the regulations, rather than from the regulations themselves. This misinterpretation leads some to ‘go beyond’ legal requirements, while others, such as contractors and insurers, appear to be demanding a greater level of compliance than strictly necessary in order, we think, to reduce the risk of civil litigation.”

It published new online guidance on the WAHR, Work at Height Regulations 2005 — a brief guide, available free from HSE Books or on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg401.pdf

The Ladder Exchange

The Ladder Exchange scheme enables people and businesses across the UK to trade their old ladders in for discounted new ones. The scheme will begin again in Autumn 2015. Run by industry body the Ladder Association, it takes old, potentially dangerous ladders out of circulation by offering people a cash incentive to trade them in.

The HSE estimates that around two million people work on ladders daily in the UK. Further information at: http://ladderassociation.org.uk