New regulations on working at height will came into force in the UK on 6 April.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 state that all work at height where there is a risk of fall must be properly planned and organised. Risks must be assessed and the appropriate work equipment is used.
The new regulations consolidate previous legislation on working at height and implement European Directive 2001/45/EC concerning minimum safety and health requirements for the use of equipment for work at height (the Temporary Work at Height Directive).
Elizabeth Gibby, head of the Health & Safety Executive’s Injuries Reduction Programme, said: ‘In 2003/4 falls from height accounted for 67 fatal accidents at work [in the UK] and nearly 4,000 major injuries. They remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the biggest causes of major injury.’
She added: ‘These Regulations set out a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Duty holders must:
• avoid work at height where they can;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and
where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.’
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 are available at www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si20050735.htm
A guide to the regulations can be downloaded from www.hse.gov.uk
