Miller By Honeywell Carabiner

The Work at Height Regulations 2005

The Work at Height Regulations 2005, which came into affect in April 2005, apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. The creation of this one, comprehensive set of legal requirements for any work at height is intended to further serve the underlying principle that regulations should provide goal-setting objectives for management rather than prescriptive codes of practice, which can create unnecessary problems. They effectively remove the old 'two-metre rule' division between low and high falls of which there are more reported cases of major injuries resulting from 'low' falls than 'high'.

Essential Requirements

all work at height, including emergencies and rescue is properly planned and organised;
all work at height takes account of weather conditions that could endanger health and safety;
those involved in work at height are trained and competent;
the risks from work at height are assessed (using the Risk Management Hierarchy) and appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
the risks from fragile surfaces, falling objects and dangerous areas are properly controlled;
equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained;
places of work at height are inspected and checked on each occasion before use

Duty holders must ensure:

Schedules

existing places of work and means of access for work at height
collective fall prevention (e.g. guard-rails, toe boards and working platforms)
collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc)
personal fall protection (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access)
ladders and step ladders
inspection reports (for working platforms in construction only)

The Regulations include Schedules giving requirements for:

Risk Management Hierarchy

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.

There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height.
Duty holders must:

Key Messages

those following good practice for work at height now should already be doing enough to comply with these Regulations;
follow the risk assessments that have been carried out (for work at height activities) and make sure all work at height is planned, organised and carried out by competent persons;
follow the hierarchy for managing risks from work at height - take steps to avoid, prevent or reduce risks; and
Choose the right work equipment and select collective measures to prevent falls (such as guard-rails 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.

The key messages the HSE wish to convey to duty holders through these Regulations are: