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Working at Height - Practical Applications

John Barnacle-Bowd

Head of QEHS Tyco

UK & Ireland and

South Africa

Steve Lampett

BSIA Technical Officer

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About BSIA

• Trade association for the UK’s professional private

security industry. Our members are companies that

have made a commitment to quality and BSIA

membership demonstrates this.

• Strong and productive relationships with Government,

Police and key legislative and standards setting bodies.

• BSIA produce guidance for our members and their

customers and help to develop standards for the

security industry.

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This Presentation

• Rules and Regulations

• Statistics

• Planning:–Site Survey

–Risk Assessment

–Resources

–Plant and Equipment

–Emergency Procedures

• Working at Height Options

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Work at Height Means:

• work in any place where, if there were no

precautions in place, a person could fall a

distance liable to cause personal injury.

For example:

– working on a ladder or a flat roof;

– could fall through a fragile surface;

– could fall into an opening in a floor or a hole in

the ground.

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Rules and Regulations

• Work at Height Regulations 2005

• Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

• Management of Health and Safety at Work

Regulations 1999

• The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate

Homicide Act 2007

• Provision and Use of Work Equipment

Regulations 1998 (PUWER)

• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment

Regulations 1998 (LOLER)

• HSE guidance

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For health & safety, food safety offences and corporate

manslaughter cases heard after 1st February 2016

irrespective of the date of offence

• Includes individuals as well as organisations

• Fine levels to be based on turnover (not profit)

• Fines set relevant to offence and culpability

• Under this guidance fines for H&S offences will increase significantly

• Guidelines designed to remedy perceived ‘low fines’ for large

companies

• But proportionately SMEs will also suffer

• It could no be easier to fall within the high culpability range

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/

New Sentencing (Sentencing Council)

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Statistics

• Falls from heights are the single largest

cause of workplace fatalities in the UK

• All fatal fall fatalities were to males

(2013/14)

• While the number of fatal injuries has

generally continued to fall over the past

13 years, fatal fall injury numbers have

remained steady

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• Fatalities

• Major injuries

• Lost time

Year Falls from height

2008/09 4684

2009/10 4226

2010/11 3957

2011/12 3063

2012/13 2575

2013/14 2895

Injuries

by year

over 3

days

over 7

days

Days

(min)

2008/09 7119 21357

2009/10 6324 18972

2010/11 5728 17184

2011/12 4297 12891

2012/13 2786 22288

2013/14 3038 24304

Injury Falls from height

Fatal 39

Major/specified 2895

Over-seven-day 3038

Total 5972

Statistics

Avoidable Fatalities

• Construction operatives:

– Electricians (8)

– Electrical fitters (3)

– Electrical and electronic trades, not

elsewhere classified (2)

• Over 1 person per month in similar

trades to ours (fire and security)

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Falls From Ladders

Most common reasons for falls from ladders:• Unsuitable for the job they are being used for

• Maintenance (either badly or not at all)

• Unable to safely grip the ladder or steps because of the

need to use hand tools or carry materials or tools up and

down

• The absence of anti slip feet

• Insecure – ladder not secured at the top or bottom

• No stabilisers fitted to the ladder at the base

• Nobody to foot the ladder to prevent the ladder slipping

• Inadequate surface on which the ladder has to rest at the

base or top

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Other Falls From Height

• Falls from Scaffolding:

– Not erected correctly

– Lack of inspection

– Badly maintained

• Falls from Other Open Edges:

– No safety barrier

e.g. loading bay, roof, platform, a pit or hole in the

floor.

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When Things Go Wrong!

• Lost workers

• Lost working days

• Uninsured losses

• Loss of reputation

A worker is fatally injured

almost every working day

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Plan and Communicate

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Planning – Survey (Site Visit)

Hazard spotting

• Site conditions – ceiling height, wet, ground conditions, access, traffic

(people or vehicles),

• Site specific hazards – machinery, chemicals, animals, temperature, open

water, overhead obstructions, electrical hazards, other works taking place,

• Working height – height to the feet of person doing the work, focus should

be on elimination

• Customer requirements – banned use ladders/step ladders, permits,

customer specific rules,

• Additional hazards –, electrical work, confined space, lone working,

materials falling from height

• Type of work – heavy, light, both hands/one hand

• When working off plans make the usual assumptions but ensure that the

people doing the work are competent to spot hazards.

• Communicate this information to those who need to know.

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Planning - Risk Assessment

Risk access

• Objective is to design (& provide) a safe system

of work

• Review the information gained at the site survey

• Try to design the hazards out as much as

possible

• Aim to eliminate/reduce risk

• Embrace new technology

• Communicate this to people who need to know

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Planning - Resources

• Supervision

requirements

• Emergency procedures

• Availability of the right

people

• Hazard, risk and controls

communication

• Policies and procedures

Think about the resources required:

• Competence

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Planning – Plant & Equipment

Objective should be to find (& use) the most suitable piece

of equipment:

• Inspection & maintenance

• Records

• Pre-use checks

• Customer provided equipment

• PPE – fall arrest, work restraint

• License (IPAF & PASMA)

• User competence, training & qualifications

• Supervision

• Lone working

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Planning – Emergency Procedures

• Emergency plan

• Rescue

• Access egress

• Consider lone working

• Communicate this to people who need to

know!

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Working at Height Options

Objective should be to match the right piece of equipment to the task:

• Ladders steps stabilizers

• Mobile platforms (scissor lifts, cherry pickers)

• Scaffold towers

• Staging and trestles

• Cradles or rope

• Scaffolding

• Also consider:

– PPE – harnesses etc. fall arrest systems,

work positioning systems

– Collective protection – scaffolding, handrails,

airbags, nets

Ladders alone are not suitable for every working at height task!

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Ladders

• So if ladders aren’t banned when can they

be used?

• Short duration

• Light work

• Existing features of a site cannot be altered

• But think first:

– Has the task been risk assessed to assess alternatives

– User competence, ladder maintenance etc.

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Good/Bad Examples

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Good/Bad Examples

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Conclusions

• Plan – don’t just assume

• Communicate – make sure people really

understand

• Discipline – ensure the plan is followed

• Learn from your experiences

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WAIT - (Work at height Access equipment Information Toolkit)

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Work at Height Resources

• http://www.hse.gov.u

k/work-at-

height/wait/index.htm

• http://www.hse.gov.u

k/work-at-

height/index.htm

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BSIA Publications

• BSIA publish a large number of guides for our

industry.

• Many of these are available free of charge

from:

www.bsia.co.uk/publications

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The End

• Thank you

• Questions?

BSIA

Kirkham House, John Comyn Drive, Worcester, WR3 7NS

Tel: 0845 389 3889

Web: www.bsia.co.uk