Rank: Forum user 
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Hi all, I'm trying to better understand wah and ladder safety. This is what I require some advice on: - When would a harness be required?
- Anchoring ladder vs footing
- Three points of contact (other than a brief period of time)
The type of work I'm exploring is where a leaning type ladder is required for metering work in domestic and micro business settings. This is in the scenario where a stepladder is not appropriate.
We generally need access anywhere upto 8ft. We will also allocate two men to complete the work and one would foot the ladder.
The bit I'm confused about is if I should mandate a harness for this and anchor the ladder to stop it moving sideways. The operatives would maintain 3 point of contact with both feet and potentially have knees leaning against the ladder but not be able to maintain a handhold as generally both hands are required.
HSE states 'other means of fall protection must be provided where three points of contact cannot be maintained'
thanks in advance!
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hi hardworkingdude. HSE guidance needs to be taken with a bit of salt sometimes but the relevant guidance takes you to the Ladder Association LA455 and the Association's Code of Practice both free downloads. The CoP mentions using harnesses but with warnings. Before considering the use of a harness and lanyard you would have to whether the ladder is designed and constructed for the purpose of attaching a lanyard. Supposing you are using this harness as "work positioning" rather than "fall arrest", it won't hurt any less if the ladder keels over with the worker attached to it. Might even hurt more! However, my greatest concern is about why these metering installations should be so high up. Are they inappropriately located? Edited by user 02 February 2023 14:03:07(UTC)
| Reason: Typo
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Rank: Super forum user 
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HSE define 3 points of contact as including leaning in to the ladder while using both hands. If I remember correctly, they have a drawing to illustrate this.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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With Peter on this one
- why would domestic / micro business meters be placed effectivley out of reach / out of sight? Why is eliminating the hazard by ground level installation not being employed?
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Rank: Super forum user
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With Peter on this one
- why would domestic / micro business meters be placed effectivley out of reach / out of sight? Why is eliminating the hazard by ground level installation not being employed?
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Rank: Forum user
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Could you describe what the job entails? Are you installing, servicing or other? In my former experience (many moons ago now) as a retro-fit cavity wall insulator, we would secure the ladders to the wall to ensure no slippage inneither direction and use a harness whilst working off the ladder as high as four storey gable end using leaninig ladders. If your team are installing then surely install in a place for convenient future maintenance, as has already been suggested. If your team are inspecting already installed units then good luck in pursuading the owner to reloacte at their cost.
The nature of the work you are carrying out should inform your company's risk assessment, along with adequate training for your guys who work at height, ladder inspection training etc.
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Rank: Super forum user
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“ However, my greatest concern is about why these metering installations should be so high up. Are they inappropriately located?” Obviously they are badly locatedbecause nobodyhas come up with a way to safely move them that is complaint with WAH!
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks for the replies all! Unfortunately the meter positions are something we cannot change and we would still need to access them for maintenance. Eliminating the WAH is not a possibility.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Sorry HWD Failed to answer all elements of your original question. I would need to check the current HSE guidance but I doubt that it has veered much from what it used to say about securing ladders. Clear hierarchy of control. 1. Secure near the top. So tie off against something OR use a spreader bar at the top. [I am guessing that suitable places to tie the ladder have not been already provided!] 2. Secure near the bottom. Lots of ways of doing this. 3. Foot the ladder - heavily dependent on the person at the bottom keeping their concentration and using both feet and both hands, which for a task that might reasonably last up to 30 minutes (according to the HSE guidance) is actually quite a big ask. I've numerous training courses where one of the case studies involved the person footing the ladder not following the "rules"! They got distracted, distracted the person at the top of the ladder who duly fell off. P
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