Guide
Working at height risk assessment
A working at height risk assessment has to say how this job will be reached. A sentence that says “use a harness” is not a plan if there is no anchor and no rescue.
The hierarchy is the point
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require work at height to be avoided where it is reasonably practicable, and otherwise done from a place that prevents a fall, or that reduces the distance and the consequences. Collective protection, such as a scaffold with edge protection, comes before personal protection.
The four library hazards below are not interchangeable. A roof edge, a ladder used along the eaves, a scaffold that has no guard rail yet, and a decorator painting a whole elevation from a ladder are different decisions. Score them for the site in front of you.
Anchors and rescue
This note is draft – awaiting competent review. It is not a rescue procedure for a particular site, and it is not a reason to choose a harness.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 4, require work at height to be planned, and that planning includes emergencies and rescue. A harness only limits a fall if it is connected to an anchor that can take it. Schedule 5 of those regulations expects the people using personal fall protection to know the rescue procedures. A person left hanging in a harness needs to be rescued. This page does not design the anchor or the rescue.
Collective protection still comes first, where that is reasonably practicable. If this job needs a harness, the plan for the site has to name the anchor and how a suspended person will be brought down. Do not paste this note onto a RAMS and treat it as that plan.
No law requires a document called a RAMS. The duty is to assess risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, and to plan the work safely.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Fall from the roof edge, through a fragile rooflight, or from a ladder
Library status: draft – awaiting competent review
From the roofer library, task: Pitched roof tile replacement. Who might be harmed: Operatives and people below
Before controls: 20 High. After controls: 10 Medium. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Follow the hierarchy in the Work at Height Regulations 2005: avoid the work at height if a repair from a safe platform is reasonably practicable, otherwise prevent a fall, otherwise mitigate it.
- Provide edge protection or a properly designed scaffold. A roof ladder is secured over the ridge and used with edge protection or another justified system.
- Cover or barrier fragile rooflights. Do not step on them.
- Stop in high wind, ice, or heavy rain. Wet moss is not a walking surface.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.
Fall from a ladder used as a place of work along the eaves
Library status: draft – awaiting competent review
From the roofer library, task: Gutter and downpipe replacement. Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 16 High. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Use a scaffold or podium so both hands are free and the operative is prevented from falling.
- If a ladder is used only to reach the platform, it is footed or tied and extends far enough above the step-off.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022).
Fall of a scaffolder during erection, before guard rails exist
Library status: draft – awaiting competent review
From the scaffolder library, task: Independent scaffold erection. Who might be harmed: Scaffolders
Before controls: 20 High. After controls: 10 Medium. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Use a recognised erection method that protects the erector, such as an advanced guard rail system where the equipment provides it.
- Follow the Work at Height Regulations 2005 hierarchy. A harness is a last resort and only with anchors and rescue.
- Stop in high winds or ice.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022).
Fall from a ladder used to paint a whole elevation
Library status: draft – awaiting competent review
From the painter and decorator library, task: Exterior painting. Who might be harmed: Operatives
Before controls: 16 High. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Paint elevations from a scaffold or podium, not from a ladder leaned along the wall.
- Stop if the platform is incomplete or the weather makes the surface slippery.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022).
Start a gutter replacement RAMS