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)