Weather conditions in Work At height

1. Ensure work at height is carried out only when weather conditions do not jeopardise the health and safety of workers
2. This is an absolute duty
3. Strong winds will be the most common reason for halting work at height.

JEOPARDISE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Jeopardise means endanger the health and safety of workers. So if weather conditions pose a threat to health and safety then stop work. (ie not thermal discomfort and exposure to rain which can be dealt with by
PPE).

EXAMPLE. POWER COMPANY TRYING TO REINSTATE SUPPLIES AFTER A STORM
If workers and access equipment is likely to be blown off or over, wait for improvements. If there is no risk to health and safety then carry on. Thermal discomfort etc can be dealt with by PPE.


OTHER WEATHER EXAMPLES Which could jeopardise health and safety High winds during lifting operations or roof sheet laying Ice, snow or rain causing slippery conditions
CONSIDER OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE RISK ASSESSMENT (MHSWR DUTIES)
Heat stress risk in boiler room/plant room Exposure to flue gasses on a stack Allow cooling and switch off.

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Protecting the public when working at height

Contact the appropriate highway authority before erecting a scaffold on a public highway or on any roads, pavements, paths or routes used by the public.

Ensure the scaffold is designed to carry the load from stored materials and equipment.

Scaffolds should be designed to prevent materials falling.You may need to provide brickguards, netting or
sheeting.Where the risk is high, or for example during demolition or facade cleaning, you should provide extra protection in the form of scaffold fans or covered walkways.

In populated areas such as town centres, erecting and dismantling scaffolds should preferably be undertaken during quiet times. People should be prevented, with suitable barriers and signs, from walking under the scaffold during erection or dismantling.



Stop unauthorised access onto the scaffold, for example by removing all ladders at ground level, whenever it is left unattended.
Never ‘bomb’ materials from a scaffold. Use mechanical hoists or rubbish chutes to move materials and waste.



Design for Safety
To facilitate the design for safety for buildings and structures, a Design Review Process is recommended. It
is a systematic process where the risks of the design are highlighted, reviewed and recorded.
In a Design Review Process, a safety and health review committee is established and should consist of the
main stakeholders such as client, design engineer, architect, project safety and health coordinator and
contractor.
The outcome of the review process should be a safe design endorsed by all parties and a record of the
resultant hazards or vital safety and health information. A GUIDE process is recommended to assist in the
review process.
G – Group together a review team consisting of major stakeholders.
U – Understand the full design concept by looking at the drawings and calculations, or have the
designers elaborate on the design.
I – Identify the risks that arise as a result of the design or construction method. The risks should
be recorded and analysed to see if they can be eliminated by changing the design.
D – Design around the risks identified to eliminate or to mitigate the risks.
E – Enter all the information including all vital design change information affecting

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Fall Protection Plan For Work At Height

Implementing a Fall Protection Plan For Work At Height.

1.   A fall protection plan is a site specific plan that is designed to be integrated into the Safety and Health Management System. It provides a systematic approach towards eliminating or reducing the risk of falling from height by ensuring that all reasonable fall protection measures and methods have been taken prior to the commencement of the work.
2. All workplaces engaged in activities that require workers to work at height shall develop and implement a fall protection plan to ensure the safety of the workers during their course of work.
3. The fall protection plan is to be developed by a competent person. Provisions must also be made for adequate supervision to ensure that the plan is being implemented at the workplace.
4. The fall protection plan shall be monitored and reviewed periodically to ensure its relevancy and effectiveness. It is also required to be properly documented and kept readily available at the workplace.

Components of a Fall Protection Plan For Work At Height.

The fall protection plan should be customised to address the unique conditions at individual workplaces.

A comprehensive fall protection plan should include (but not be limited to) the following components.
a) Policy for fall protection
b) Responsibilities
c) Hazard identification and risk assessment
d) Control measures/methods
e) Procedures
f) Personal fall protection equipment
g) Inspection and maintenance
h) Training
i) Incident investigations
j) Emergency preparedness

Policy for Fall Protection  For Work At Height.

• A policy for fall protection will set clear and unambiguous terms on the organisation’s approach and commitment towards fall prevention.
• Top management with executive or site responsibility shall define, endorse and document its policy for fall protection. The policy for fall protection shall be appropriate to the needs, nature and scale of the organisation’s activities and work at height risks.
• The organisation shall establish a policy which demonstrates its commitments to prevent falls from height incidents, comply with applicable legal and other requirements.
• It is important that the policy for fall protection is understood, implemented and maintained at all levels of the organisation. The policy for fall protection should be reviewed periodically and amended as and when necessary.

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What is Work at Heights?

Why introduce these New Regulations?

1. Biggest Killer 67 Fatal Accidents 2003/04 
2. 3884 Major Accidents 2003/04
3. The single biggest cause of Workplace Deaths
4. One of the biggest causes of major accidents 
5. 2/3 of all major injuries caused by ‘low falls’

Why are these rules important?
These regulations have been made to prevent the Deaths and Injuries caused each year by falls at work.
They REPLACE all the earlier regulations about working at height and implement European Council Directive 2001/45/EC concerning safety and health for use of equipment for work at height (the Temporary Work at Height Directive).

What is Work at Height?
Explains for the purposes of the Regulations, certain words and phrases that will crop up throughout the document which unless defined could be interpreted differently from one industry to another.

Work at Height:
Work in any place, including a place in:
the course of obtaining access to or egress from any place except by a staircase in a permanent workplace or;
At or below ground level from which a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury and any reference to working at height will include access to or egress from such places whilst at work.

Working at height

1. Working on a scaffold or MEWP
2. Working on the back of a lorry
3. Using cradles or ropes to gain access
4. Climbing permanent structures such as gantries
5. Working close to excavations, cellars or other openings.
6. Staging or trestles (concerts filming etc)

Not working at height

1. Activities carried out by private individuals (even if the equipment used is from work). Trips and slips on the level surface
2. Falls on permanent stairways (unless under structural maintenance)
3. Working in a building (e.g. office) with multiple floors where there is no risk of falling (except if the staff use a stepladder to change the bulbs within the office)

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