Working at Height Training

This course is aimed at anyone who undertakes work at height, or who employs people who regularly work at height.

There’s a legal requirement under the working at height regulations for employers to protect their employees and the wider public. If employers fail in their legal obligations, they can face prosecution. In addition, employers owe a duty of care under civil law, which means they can be made to pay compensation to injured people or their relatives. To stay on the right side of the law, both workers and employers need to comply with several key pieces of legislation.

The first stage of the risk assessment requires you to identify the risks. Where people are working at height the obvious risk is from falls, which can be either materials or equipment falling or people falling. These risks can be exacerbated by certain conditions, including the weather, high winds in particular. And the greater the potential height of any fall, the more serious the risk becomes.

The risks aren’t only borne by the workers, but also by anyone passing below the place where the work is going on. You need to think about who is affected and how many people are involved. Any safeguards you put in place must work for everyone. You can’t worsen the hazard for one group just to protect another.

This training takes you through a robust risk assessment process to determine which controls or measures are most suitable. Risk must be controlled through a proper risk assessment and planning process. There are six key principles to be applied to any risk assessment

1. Any measures should apply to everyone, meaning that you can’t impose measures that minimise risk for one individual or group at the expense of others.
2. Identify the hazards and assess and quantify the risks.
3. Select the correct equipment for the task, which means it must be properly maintained and installed
4. Use the equipment correctly, understand its purpose and limitations and don’t abuse or misuse it.
5. Ensure that all work is undertaken by trained and competent persons
6. Recognise the need for collective responsibility. If something isn’t right, it’s everyone’s responsibility to alert a competent person to the issue before it becomes an incident

There are two kinds of preventative controls, individual controls or collective controls. Individual controls like work restraint lanyards only protect the individual using them. Whereas collective controls like this safety parapets protect everybody.

Collective controls are preferable to individual controls and should, wherever possible, be used. The course outlines the types of steps that can be taken to use collective controls, where this option is available. However, there will be situations where they isn’t a practical collective solution. In these instances, it’s necessary to apply individual controls to prevent the risk of falls.

Here, you will be taken through various options to consider, which mainly involves the use of some kind of PPE, or personal protective equipment. PPE encompasses everything from appropriate gloves to work restraint equipment. Work positioning, lanyards, and restraints are designed to prevent workers getting into an unsafe position from which they could fall. But they won’t help in the event of a fall. They’re not fall arrest devices.

Properly planned and implemented risk assessments ensure that controls are applied properly and employers meet their legal obligations in these areas. In addition, there are duties that apply to other groups including architects and employees.

Please note that this is an awareness course only so if your duties include working at height you also need further practical training.  Please contact us if you would like more information.