Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. ‘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 a fall through a fragile roof).

We will take simple, practical measures to reduce the risk of any of our workers falling while working at height.

What we will do

Make sure work is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people with the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job. Use the right type of equipment for working at height.

Take a sensible approach when considering precautions. Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to planning and there may be some low-risk situations where common sense tells us no particular precautions are necessary.

Assessing and controlling the risks

We will first assess the risks, considering the:

• height of the task
• duration and frequency
• condition of the surface being worked on

Before working at height follow these simple steps:

• We will avoidwork at height where it’s reasonably practicable to do so
• where work at height cannot be easily avoided, we will preventfalls using either an existing place of work that is already safe or the right type of equipment
• where the risk cannot be eliminated, minimise the distance and consequences of a fall by using the right type of equipment

For each step, we will consider measures that protect everyone at risk (collective protection) before measures that only protect the individual (personal protecti

Collective protection

Collective protection is equipment that does not require the person working at height to act for it to be effective. Examples are:

• permanent or temporary guardrails
• scissor lifts
• tower scaffolds

Personal protection

Personal protection is equipment that requires the individual to act for it to be effective. An example is putting on a safety harness correctly and connecting it, with an energy-absorbing lanyard, to a suitable anchor point.

What we will do and not do when working at height

When working at height we shall:

• do as much work as possible from the ground
• ensure our workers can get safely to and from where they work at height
• ensure equipment is suitable, stable and strong enough for the job, maintained and checked regularly
• take precautions when working on or near fragile surfaces
• provide protection from falling objects
• consider emergency evacuation and rescue procedures

To prevent accidents and injuries we will not:

• overload ladders – consider the equipment or materials workers are carrying before working at height. Check the pictogram or label on the ladder for information
• overreach on ladders or stepladders
• rest a ladder against weak upper surfaces, for example glazing or plastic gutters
• use ladders or stepladders for strenuous or heavy tasks, only use them for light work of short duration (a maximum of 30 minutes at a time)
• let anyone who is not competent (who doesn’t have the skills, knowledge and experience to do the job) work at height