working at height training

Who do the Regulations apply to?
If you are an employer or you control work at height (for example if you are a
contractor or a factory owner), the Regulations apply to you.
How do you comply with these Regulations?
Employers and those in control of any work at height activity must make sure work
is properly planned, supervised and carried out by competent people. This includes
using the right type of equipment for working at height.
Low-risk, relatively straightforward tasks will require less effort when it comes to
planning. Employers and those in control must first assess the risks. See the risk
assessment website for more advice at www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment.htm.
Take a sensible, pragmatic approach when considering precautions for work at
height. Factors to weigh up include the height of the task; the duration and
frequency; and the condition of the surface being worked on. There will also be
certain low-risk situations where common sense tells you no particular precautions
are necessary.
How do you decide if someone is ‘competent’ to work at height?
You should make sure that people with sufficient skills, knowledge and experience
are employed to perform the task, or, if they are being trained, that they work under
the supervision of somebody competent to do it.
In the case of low-risk, short duration tasks (short duration means tasks that take
less than 30 minutes) involving ladders, competence requirements may be no more
than making sure employees receive instruction on how to use the equipment
safely (eg how to tie a ladder properly) and appropriate training. Training often takes
place on the job, it does not always take place in a classroom.
When a more technical level of competence is required, for example drawing up a plan
for assembling a complex scaffold, existing training and certification schemes drawn up
by trade associations and industry is one way to help demonstrate competence.
What measures should you take to help protect people?
Always consider measures that protect everyone who is at risk (collective protection)
before measures that protect only the individual (personal protection).
Collective protection is equipment that does not require the person working at
height to act to be effective, for example a permanent or temporary guard rail.
Personal protection is equipment that requires the individual to act to be effective.
An example is putting on a safety harness correctly and connecting it, via an
energy-absorbing lanyard, to a suitable anchor point.