Considering the risks associated with working at height and implementing sensible and proportionate measures to manage them is an important part of working safely.
Falling from height remained the most common cause of work related fatal injuries in 2024/25 with 35 fatalities, accounting for over a quarter of worker deaths in 2024/25.
Working at height means working where a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.
If you are an employer, you have health and safety responsibilities for your workers whether they are on the ground, underground or working at height.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR) are in place to prevent death and injury caused by a fall from height. Following these regulations is enough to comply but you are free to take further action, except where the guidance says you must do something specific.
Falls from ladders lead to many fatalities. Major injuries are also often caused by working at height. Common causes include falls from ladders and through fragile roofs.
Our working at height course is for Managers and Supervisors who are responsible for planning, managing and organising work activities at height, as well as those who carry out the work activity.
Although mainly affecting those in the construction industry, working at height is one of the greatest risks taken within many industries. Subsequently, clear safety information and consideration of the risks is required when anyone is working at height.
Managing health and safety at work, including height work, should be part of the day to day operation of an organisation. It should be an integral part of workers behaviour and attitude towards safe working to ensure that legal compliance is met as a minimum standard.
Managing work at height follows a hierarchy of controls – avoid, prevent, arrest. First and foremost, you must ask yourself can the work be done safely from the ground? Fall restraints and safety netting should only be considered as a last resort if other safety equipment cannot be used.
All work at height must be properly planned, supervised and organised. This will require co-operation and communication between all parties involved. The place of work must be safe. Temporary platforms should be designed by a competent person and built by trained and competent people or under the supervision of a competent person.
You must always be aware of current guidance. New ladder safety guidance was introduced last summer by HSE and the Ladder Association, who joined forces to release two new ladder safety guidance documents.
Places of work should be reviewed to see if any additional measures are needed to ensure compliance with the Work at Height Regulations which require inspections of workplaces and equipment, including any fall prevention equipment.
All those working at height must be trained and competent. The requirements for training and competence will depend on the work but workers should have sufficient skills, knowledge and experience to perform the tasks safely.
Our course programme employs a variety of teaching techniques to meet the needs of individual delegates and includes the following:
An overview of working activities involving risk of injury from working at height
Actual cases and examples of criminal and civil litigation
The occurrence of bad practice in the workplace
Planning work at height
Supervision of work at height
Organising work at height
Selection of appropriate access equipment and formal inspections
Risk assessment
Main precautions to prevent falls and falling materials
The course is 3 hours over a half a day and runs as both an open course and in-house course where we can carry out in-house group training at your premises and tailor the content to include the activities an organisation routinely carries out as required.
We provide a comprehensive range of working at height training courses covering everything from steps and hop up’s through to fixed scaffold and scissor lifts.
Whatever your health and safety needs, contact us. Give us a call today 0117 453 7083 or e-mail us and make your health and safety, ‘Hassle Free’
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