Rank: Forum user 
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Hi all, I've just done a site inspection and of the 104 issues found two are the same and I can't find the control measure I'm looking for. We have a low beam in the upstairs mezzanine office which has a 'please mind your head' sticker on one side (nothing on the other side)... ...and we have a metal stairway with walkways around all sides of it including underneath. Despite us not having had a head injury from either of these CCP's (yet), I don't think the sign is sufficient control, especially when it's only on one side. I have seen in some places foam guards, (looks like off-cuts of pipe insulation or similar) stuck to the hazardous edges as padding if someone was to bump their noggin, does this stuff have a name or place I can buy it, several Google searches have been fruitless. is it just foam pipe insulation offcuts? is this a suitable control? I can't simply isolate the walkways due to the lay out of the building, any segragation would leave the stairs or half an office inaccessable.
Advice appriciated.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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It is (should be!) very unusual to find this kind of hazard on a ' general access' walkway... In plant rooms and occasionally in cellar/attic storerooms, where they are genuinely unavoidable, the yes, foam pipe lagging may reduce the severity of likely impact from severe laceration/skull damage down to mild concussion/bruising. Wrapping the foam in black/yellow tape may increase the likelihood of avoidance and reduce the frequency if impact. Depending on the nature of the place and the workforce, introducing compulsory bump cap wearing may also be sensible... None of these should be seen as ideal... If the building has been built/refurbished since ?97? (First cdm regs?) then it suggests the planning supervisor/cdmc/principal designer has been negligent in their duties. This kind of obstruction should not occur in a well designed workplace!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Unfortunately I will disagree - having just spent a weekend looking around some historic Grade 1 listed buildings as a person of average height I found myself ducking under doorways. By contrast I also visited my brother and found myself looking up to my 14 year old nephew! This makes me consider these later generations tend to have a 4 - 6" advantage in attracting attention at the bar in the local. Designers rarely consider the interaction of humans, and when they do it is always based upon what is considered the "norm" (at the time of design). How soon before someone actually bothers to review current standards e.g. safety barrier height to take into account this taller generation for whom existing barriers are possibly just a touch too low at an ideal pivot point? In a previous workplace built in the 1800's I found a number of access issues and applied solutions similar to https://www.arco.co.uk/products/5638359 (other solutions and providers are available) Note: these are specific PU foams so not necessarily a general "pipe" insulation
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Rank: Super forum user
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Unfortunately I will disagree - having just spent a weekend looking around some historic Grade 1 listed buildings as a person of average height I found myself ducking under doorways. By contrast I also visited my brother and found myself looking up to my 14 year old nephew! This makes me consider these later generations tend to have a 4 - 6" advantage in attracting attention at the bar in the local. Designers rarely consider the interaction of humans, and when they do it is always based upon what is considered the "norm" (at the time of design). How soon before someone actually bothers to review current standards e.g. safety barrier height to take into account this taller generation for whom existing barriers are possibly just a touch too low at an ideal pivot point? In a previous workplace built in the 1800's I found a number of access issues and applied solutions similar to https://www.arco.co.uk/products/5638359 (other solutions and providers are available) Note: these are specific PU foams so not necessarily a general "pipe" insulation
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Rank: Forum user
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Designers use the 5-95% rule, as in they account for the majority of people but not for all. this would be nearly impossible and unrealistic. granted it is of a poor ergonomic design but think that most guidance notes are exactly guidance. the client always has the final say so and if they accept it then generally it is our job to risk assess the remainder.... also the pipe lagging can be purchased from any building supplier.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Regulation 10 of the Workplace Regulations makes it clear that (1) every room where persons work shall have sufficient floor area, height and unoccupied space for purposes of health, safety and welfare. And the ACoP adds “This includes ceilings being high enough to allow safe access to workstations unless the work is only for a short duration. Obstructions such as low beams should be clearly marked.” Building Regulations (Code M I think?) covers this as well. I am curious to know how this arrangement came about. Have they been in here since the year dot and never moved out or has there been “an exercise in optimising our footprint with the intention of reducing our accommodation overheads” ie has everybody had to squeeze up and a store or something like it been pressed into service as an office. I this has been done recently you could be in breach of the regulations. Of course it is unlikely that the HSE or the local authority will turn up to investigate this but if someone was to be injured bashing their head on a beam I would suggest that a claim would soon follow.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Self- the foam to which you allude is indeed pipe lagging off cuts, best served garnished with stripy tape and a wonky mind you head notice ;)
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Rank: Super forum user
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Please - there is pipe lagging, pipe insulation and protective foam strip To put it in an understandable H&S perspective there are Hi-Vis from the market / pound store, there are Hi-Vis from main distributors and there are Hi-Vis from manufacturers certifying conformity.
They all look "similar" but in reality are very different products
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Rank: Super forum user
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Please - there is pipe lagging, pipe insulation and protective foam strip To put it in an understandable H&S perspective there are Hi-Vis from the market / pound store, there are Hi-Vis from main distributors and there are Hi-Vis from manufacturers certifying conformity.
They all look "similar" but in reality are very different products
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