“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.”
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 sets out the measures that should be taken to prevent falls when working at height is unavoidable. Below is the latest Working At Height Regulations came into force during 2005.
The Ladder Association, (formerly the British Ladder Manufacturers Association, BLMA), has produced a Working At Height Regulations document in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, (HSE) and the Department of Trade and Industry, (DTI), and the British Standards Institution, (BSI), to assist in the understanding of how the new legislation will affect the use of ladders.
Essentially the message is clear and precise…
- Ladders are legal and are not banned in the workplace
- Ladders can be used for access, egress and to work from
- If it’s right to use a ladder, use the right ladder
- Use the right ladder safely
The use of portable ladders in industry in UK is currently controlled under a number of legal items including:
- Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
- Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSWR)
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Manual Handling Regulations 1992
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulations 1992*
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
The primary objective of the WAHR legislation is to eliminate work at height where possible and where it is not possible to ensure that ALL work at height is performed safely and that equipment had been appropriately selected, whether it is from a mobile access tower, scaffold or a ladder.
Ladders are work equipment as defined by PUWER 98 and must be suitable for the task undertaken.
Ladders can be used as workplaces when it is not reasonably practicable to use other potentially safer means and the Risk Assessment shows that risks are low.
Ladders can be used for access when the insulation of a permanent staircase is not reasonably practicable.
Ladders should be used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and:
- Leaning ladders should be placed at the correct angle
- Leaning ladders should be secured to prevent slippage
- Ladders should be placed on a firm level surfaces with rungs horizontal
- Users should face the ladder at all times whilst climbing or dismounting
- Stepladders should not be used sideways-on where sideways loads are supplied
- Only one person should climb or work from a ladder or a stepladder
- Do not overreach
- Ladders should be stored correctly
- Ladders should be checked before setting up and inspected regularly
Note: WAHR spells out the need to check and maintain ladders. WAHR are not requiring anything new, but they are clearly stating the general requirements of PUWER to maintain and inspect work equipment (Regulations 5 and 6 (2)).
Many of these points do not change from current legislation however the Ladder Association have produced Risk Assessment Guidelines forms for stepladders and leaning ladders to aid those responsible for ladder use, and these items are available as a free download from the Ladder Association website.
Source: The Ladder Association UK
It’s important that you understand the difference between the classes in each category and the functions they’re suitable for to ensure you’re using the right ladder for a particular job. This is also important to enhance your safety when using the tool. When using the ladder in a commercial environment, you can easily lose the payout from your insurer if you used the wrong ladder.
If you are still unsure about any ladder classes or what class you need to purchase please don’t hesitate to get in touch and speak to us. You can contact us by clicking the button below. We have a wide range of step ladders and extension ladders that follow the new classifications mentioned above.
