Posted By Ian J. Durber
I thought discussion forum readers may be interested to see this:
Work at Height Regulations 2005
The Work at Height Regulations 2005¹ have this week been laid before Parliament and will come into force on 6th April 2005. The Regulations:
• apply to all work at height where there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury, but don't apply to the provision of instruction or leadership in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team building or similar activities;
• place duties on employers, the self-employed, and any person that controls the work of others to the extent of their control (for example facilities managers or building owners who may contract others to work at height);
• require duty holders to ensure:
- all work at height is properly planned and organised;
- those involved in work at height are competent;
- risks from work at height are assessed;
- appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
- risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled;
- equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained;
• include Schedules giving requirements for existing places of work and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (e.g. guardrails and working platforms), collective fall arrest (e.g. nets, airbags etc), personal fall protection (e.g. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders;
• repeal S.24 of the Factories Act 1961;
• make amendments to:
- The Shipbuilding and Ship-repairing Regulations 1960 S.I. 1960/1932, amended by S.I. 1983/644 and 1998/2307;
- The Docks, Shipbuilding etc. (Metrication) Regulations 1983 S.I. 1983/644;
- The Docks Regulations 1988, S.I. 1988/1655;
- The Loading and Unloading of Fishing Vessels Regulations 1988 S.I. 1988/1656;
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 S.I. 1992/3004;
- The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 S.I.1996/1592.
¹ The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (S.I.2005 No 735) will soon become accessible at:
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si20050735.htm, Copies of HSE's simple guide to the Regulations will be available shortly and are free at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/. Specific industry sectors are expected to review and develop their own guidance and advice for work at height.
² Duty holders must:
• 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.