Is it acceptable to lean into a deep pit ranging from a depth of 2-5 metres whilst holding onto a hand hold; for example an architrave of a door frame to access a ladder that could potentially be 500mm to 800mm away in the corner, or other items that may be in the pit but still requires you to lean in slightly without any fall protection in place or is holding onto something deemed acceptable? Time of exposure to the risk is seconds. To imagine this scenario try reaching out and around a door as this represents the physical barrier you have between you and the ladder i.e. the pit wall and how you would need to lean in, also consider the different physical dimensions of each individual i.e. height, weight etc that will make this more difficult for some. I have my own opinion, and to some the above may seem like a silly question, but I wanted to get the opinions of others, is there an acceptable distance to lean into from an unprotected edge whilst holding onto something?

Sorry, not acceptable. Everything that ashleywillson has said I agree with. Any slip and your person has fallen into the pit, possibly up to a 5 metre fall on to objects from what I understand, they only need to have oily or sweaty palms and you have a potential fatal accident on your hands. Please look at a harness and lanyard as standard for this work.

Hi Toby, would we be referring to a lift/elevator pit? if so there are set dimensions regarding distance of ladder, height of ladder, distance of ladder from the wall to allow suitable foot hold etc. this would be listed in BSen81 (or as it used to be called). my memory is a bit vague on the actual dimensions allowed.